Design Manager

General Purpose of the Position

Reporting to the Design and Engineering Lead, the Design Manager will manage the engineering scope, schedule, and budget for greenfield, brownfield and retrofit engineering / design projects. This position will manage internal and external resources for the delivery of Datacenter building, power, cooling, telecom, and controls infrastructure to align with datacenter capacity roadmap for EMEA.

The Design Manager will be responsible for the facilitation and delivery of datacenter designs including the development of innovative technology and advanced concepts from Site Due Diligence through design development, permitting, construction, Commissioning and the turnover to Operations.

This role is full-time and located either in one or all Company locations in EMEA.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide design management, technical direction, decision-making and overall leadership for our datacenter designs ensuring alignment with safety, sustainability (PUE), and high-availability goals.
• Oversee the delivery of multiple, concurrent, complete Datacenter design solutions aligned with the scopes, schedules, budgets, safety and sustainability goals
• Engage with key stakeholder groups within the Company as well as outside vendors who specialize in datacenter architecture, engineering and equipment (OFCI and CFCI)
• Support procurement in selecting local partners for design development, contract oversight, and Value Engineering implementation with the General Contractors and Vendors
• Cultivate strong client relationships by leading technical meetings and offering support to internal partners.
• Collaborate closely with the Sales and Operation team to ensure lease agreement compliance
• Actively track design-related RFIs, design deviations, and change requests on-site, driving timely responses from internal and external SMEs (supported by consultants and Construction PM)
• Provide regular, detailed updates on design progress, risks, blockers, changes, and priorities
• Drive benchmarking initiatives for internal regional alignment and ensure the highest design and construction quality standards
• Conduct regular meetings with design teams to provide feedback and address concerns
• Develop a culture of continuous improvement by conducting Lessons Learned meetings and implementing insights across projects and regions

Required Job Skills

• Deep understanding of critical MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing) infrastructure, including high-density cooling and redundant power systems.
• Problem-solving mindset with a focus on continuous improvement.
• Ability to forge strong client and supplier relationships, and accurate records and reports
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to effectively work with internal and external stakeholders
• Strong application software skills including MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Autocad;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English. Fluency in another major European language is a definite plus
• Excellent public speaking abilities
• Proven self-starter with attention to detail
• Travel is expected to be up to 15-30% but may increase over time as the business evolves

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in architecture, engineering or related field
• Minimum of 8 years of experience in engineering, equipment and/or construction for mission critical or high-tech industry
• 3+ years of experience in data center design management; 5+ years preferred
• 3+ years’ experience managing cross-functional and/or cross-team projects
• International academic or work experience is a plus