Associate - Design Manager Data Centre - Dubai

Role overview

Client and project delivery

• Serve as the primary client interface and lead design reviews and executive steering committee sessions.
• Engage clients on deliverables, priorities, risks, schedules, and budgets; resolve scope ambiguities, changes, and conflicts.
• Set up project tools, schedules, workstreams, teams, and work breakdown structures; plan and allocate resources.
• Coordinate technical disciplines, third-party consultants, and project stakeholders.
• Maintain the master schedule, track performance, identify delays, and implement corrective actions.
• Identify and mitigate technical, schedule, budget, and commercial risks; manage scope variations through formal change control.

Design management and quality

• Lead mechanical, electrical, ELV/IBMS, architectural, structural, and civil disciplines.
• Resolve cross-discipline conflicts early and ensure SLDs, P&IDs, layouts, and specifications are coordinated, integrated, and constructible.
• Review designs for buildability and operability and guide teams through technical challenges.
• Review deliverables for compliance with TIA-942, Uptime Tier standards, ASHRAE, fire codes, and local UAE regulations.
• Manage BIM coordination workflows and maintain quality standards throughout project stages.

Reporting and team leadership

• Provide monthly reporting inputs on budget versus actuals, timesheets, utilization, EVM, and P&L; monitor resource efficiency.
• Lead, motivate, and mentor multidisciplinary teams and foster a collaborative culture.
• Communicate with C-suite clients, senior leadership, and multidisciplinary teams.

Technical qualifications

• Strong working knowledge across HVAC and mechanical systems, electrical power, ELV/IBMS, architecture, and structural design.
• Understand data centre design, current data centre requirements, AI infrastructure, construction methods, and how design decisions affect other disciplines.
• Review SLDs, P&ID drawings, layouts, BIM models, equipment schedules, and technical specifications.
• Familiarity with TIA-942, Uptime Institute Tier III/IV, ASHRAE 90.4, fire codes, and UAE regulations.

Experience and credentials

• 8+ years of project or design management experience, including at least 5 years managing data centre or mission-critical facility projects.
• Track record of delivering large multidisciplinary projects on schedule and within budget; experience managing engineers across disciplines and geographies.
• Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical, Electrical, or Building Services, or equivalent.
• PMP or equivalent certification is strongly preferred.
• Hands-on hyperscale or mission-critical data centre experience; familiarity with Uptime Institute certification processes.
• BIM experience with Revit, Navisworks, or equivalent; knowledge of UAE authority approvals such as DEWA, ADDC, and Civil Defence.
• Experience with global delivery across geographies and time zones; integrated project delivery experience is a good-to-have.

Communication and leadership

• Exceptional verbal and written English communication.
• Client-facing ability, senior stakeholder relationship management, accountability, and decision-making.
• Ability to mentor engineers and develop high-performing teams.

What Ramboll offers

• Investment in development, supportive leadership, varied work, and opportunities to influence areas of responsibility.
• A collaborative environment with continuous learning and colleagues, clients, and projects that provide inspiration.