Principal Design Manager

About the Role
The Principal Design Manager will provide leadership and direction for the planning, coordination, management and assurance of multidisciplinary design activities on major buildings and transport infrastructure projects in Saudi Arabia and, where required, across the wider Middle East.

The role will be responsible for establishing and implementing effective design-management arrangements throughout the project lifecycle, with a particular focus on detailed design delivery. This will include managing design scope, deliverables, interfaces, programme, resources, technical assurance, design changes, risks and approvals.

The Principal Design Manager will lead multidisciplinary design teams and work closely with clients, contractors, consultants, approving authorities, project managers and technical discipline leads. The role will ensure that design outputs are coordinated, technically robust, compliant with contractual requirements and applicable codes and standards, and delivered in accordance with the agreed programme, budget and quality objectives.

The role requires a strong understanding of detailed design processes, engineering codes and standards, design assurance, scope management and change control. The successful candidate will also require the leadership, communication and stakeholder-management skills necessary to operate effectively within the Saudi Arabian project-delivery environment.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Lead multidisciplinary design delivery, coordinating discipline leads and design teams to achieve the required scope, programme, quality and commercial objectives.
• Manage the detailed design process, ensuring designs are sufficiently developed, coordinated, constructible and appropriate for procurement and construction.
• Manage design scope and change, maintaining clarity of contractual requirements, deliverables, assumptions and exclusions, and identifying scope changes or additional services at an early stage.
• Oversee technical assurance and design reviews, ensuring appropriate checking and approval processes are undertaken by suitably qualified discipline leads.
• Ensure compliance with applicable codes and standards, including relevant Saudi codes, authority requirements, client standards and applicable international engineering standards.
• Manage multidisciplinary interfaces, identifying and resolving gaps, conflicts, dependencies and coordination issues between disciplines, packages, contractors and third parties.
• Manage design programme and resources, monitoring progress against deliverables, milestones, budget and resource requirements and implementing corrective actions where necessary.
• Manage design risks and opportunities, including constructability, safety in design, technical risks, information dependencies and decisions affecting successful delivery.
• Lead client, contractor, consultant and stakeholder engagement on design matters, communicating technical issues clearly, facilitating decisions and maintaining effective working relationships.

Candidate specifications:
Essential:

• Bachelor’s degree in civil, structural, mechanical or electrical engineering, architecture, or another relevant engineering or built-environment discipline.
• Proven relevant professional experience, including significant experience in design management and multidisciplinary design delivery.
• Strong detailed design experience on major buildings, transport or infrastructure projects, including the coordination of multidisciplinary design packages.
• Demonstrated experience leading and managing multidisciplinary design teams.
• Strong understanding of engineering design codes, standards, specifications and technical assurance requirements.
• Demonstrated experience in scope management and change control, including identifying scope gaps, changes and additional services.
• Experience managing design against programme, budget, resources, deliverables and quality requirements.
• Strong understanding of design coordination and interface management across multiple engineering disciplines.
• Good commercial and contractual awareness, including an understanding of the relationship between design development, scope, programme, resources and fee.
• Strong communication, leadership, stakeholder-management and decision-making skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with clients, contractors, consultants and senior management.
• Ability to manage complex design issues, establish priorities and drive multidisciplinary teams towards timely resolution.
• Experience working within a structured quality and technical-assurance environment.

Desirable:

• Experience delivering major multidisciplinary projects in Saudi Arabia or the wider Middle East, with an understanding of the regional client, contractor and authority environment.
• Good understanding of the Saudi project-delivery and authority-approval environment.
• Familiarity with relevant Saudi codes, standards and authority requirements, alongside applicable international standards.
• Chartered or professionally registered status with an appropriate engineering or built-environment institution.
• Experience with BIM, common data environments and ISO 19650-based information management.
• Understanding of FIDIC or comparable forms of contract used on major Middle Eastern projects.
• Experience supporting design-and-build or contractor-led detailed design delivery.
• Experience engaging with major clients, developers, government organisations and delivery partners within Saudi Arabia.
• Arabic-language capability would be advantageous but is not essential.

Your benefits and rewards
Our benefits vary by country and are subject to eligibility and local policy:

• Rewards and bonuses: we are owned by our people (no external investors) and through our employee ownership model success is shared through annual bonus opportunities and longer-term participation as your career grows (subject to local plan, eligibility and business performance).
• Medical insurance and life insurance as per local plan (standard and enhanced coverage may vary by country and policy).
• Annual leave in line with local policy (competitive within the market).
• Maternity leave above and beyond local provisions and paternity leave provisions where applicable.
• Professional membership/institution subscription support.
• Learning and career development through project variety, technical networks and structured development opportunities.
• An inclusive culture: we’re committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, and creating a workplace where everyone feels valued and supported.