Associate - Design Manager Data Centre - Dubai

Ramboll; Dubai; On-site; AED 350,000 - 600,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Development investment

Leadership guidance

Valued for individuality

Long-term foundation-owned company

Job summary

Ramboll in Dubai is seeking a Design Manager / Project Manager to own end-to-end delivery for large datacentre and mission-critical facilities, including scope, schedule, design quality, client engagement, and profitability.

You will lead mechanical, electrical, ELV/IBMS, architecture, structural and civil disciplines, coordinate with consultants, manage BIM workflow, track risks, and ensure compliance with UAE regulations.

Qualifications

• BE in Mechanical, Electrical, or Building Services (or equivalent).
• PMP or equivalent certification is strongly preferred.
• Hands-on experience with hyperscale or mission-critical datacentre projects.
• Familiarity with UAE regulatory landscape and BIM workflows.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end project delivery for large, multidisciplinary data centre and mission-critical facilities.
• Lead all technical disciplines and coordinate third-party consultants and stakeholders.
• Manage scope, schedule, design quality, client engagement, and profitability.
• Establish and maintain structured coordination processes across disciplines.
• Monitor risks, manage changes, and communicate schedule status to the client.
• Ensure outputs are coordinated, integrated, and constructible before submission.

Skills

HVAC systems

Electrical power systems

ELV/IBMS

Architecture

Structural design

Data center design

Project management

Cross-disciplinary leadership

Education

BE in Mechanical, Electrical, or Building Services

Tools

Revit

Navisworks

BIM coordination

Job description

Company Description

Working at Ramboll

To work at Ramboll means being part of a people organisation. We are focused on knowledge sharing and collaboration across competence areas and geography, and we aim for a strong diversity among our employees. This enables us to solve a broad range of projects, and we firmly believe that cross-collaboration leads to creative and longstanding solutions. Thus, the possibilities at Ramboll are many and diverse –we invest a lot in the development of people and offer career paths tailored for each individual.

Ramboll in Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa

Ramboll has more than 1,500 experts working across 15 offices in the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa. We are present in Dubai, Doha, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, China, India, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and South Africa. Our experts are applying their passion to deliver innovative solutions in markets as diverse as Buildings, Transport, Planning & Urban Design, Water, Environment & Health and Energy. Founded in Denmark, Ramboll is a people company. We invite you to contribute to a sustainable future working in an open, collaborative and empowering culture.

Job Description

The Design Manager / Project Manager will own end-to-end project delivery for large, multidisciplinary datacentreand mission-critical facility projects, responsible for scope definition, schedule management, integrated design quality, client engagement, and commercial success.

This role goes beyond design coordination and requires complete lifecycle ownership from concept development and team assembly through detailed design delivery, construction support, commissioning coordination, and project close-out. You will lead all technical disciplines, manage resource planning and allocation, track financial performance and profitability, and serve as the primary client interface ensuring expectations are met and relationships are strengthened.

• Client Engagement

• Act as the primary project interface with clients and senior stakeholders,leading project design review meetings, and executive steering committee sessions

• Continuously engage clients on deliverables, priorities, risks, and schedule/budget performance,proactively surfacingissuesand managing expectations

• Resolve scope ambiguities, change requests, and conflicts between client needs and project constraints

• Build andmaintainstrong client relationships through clear communication, demonstrated progress, and reliable delivery

• Design Management& LDC

• Initiateand setupthe project,the tools, theschedule,introduce the teams, create the workstreams,draftandmonitorthe WBS

• Lead and oversee all technical disciplines – Mechanical (HVAC, cooling, fire protection), Electrical (MV/LV systems, UPS, generators), ELV/IBMS (controls, security, monitoring), Architecture (planning, compliance), Structural (foundations, loads), and Civil (site development, utilities)

• Manage and coordinate third-party consultants andstakeholders in the project. Establish communication processes and ensure the highest level of quality and coordination between disciplines

• Establish andmaintaina structured coordination process

• Identifyand resolve complex cross-discipline conflicts at early design stage (concept/schematic) before they become costly rework

• Ensure all discipline outputs (SLDs, P&IDs, layouts, specifications) are coordinated, integrated, and constructible before client submission

• Review design for buildability and operability

• Identifyand assess technical, schedule, budget, and commercial risks at projectinceptionand continuously throughout delivery

• Develop mitigation strategies foridentifiedrisks and track mitigation status

• Manage change requests and scope variations using formal change control process and quantify impact

• Communicate schedule status and risks to client

• Develop andmaintainthe master project schedule incorporating all disciplines, design stages, client reviews, andpermittingmilestones

• Track schedule performance,identifydelays early and implement corrective actions

• Technical Oversight & Design Quality

• Review key design deliverables across all disciplines to ensure compliance with TIA-942, Uptime Tier standards, ASHRAE, NFPA/NBC fire codes, and local UAE regulations

• Guide multidisciplinary teams in solving complex technical challenges and ensuring design solutions areoptimal, integrated, and aligned with project objectives

• Manage BIM coordination workflow

• Ensure quality standards aremaintainedacross all project stages

• Support to Project Manager

• Provideinformation to the project managerregardingmonthly reportingonproject budget vs actual, timesheets, andutilization

• Provide the input and produce the monthly EVM reports

• Monitor resourceutilizationefficiency

• Provideall relatedinputforthemonthly P&L reports

• Team Leadership & Capability Building

• Lead and motivate the multidisciplinary project team

• Create a collaborative team culture

• Exceptional verbal and written communication in English

• Ability to communicate with C-suite clients, internal senior leadership, and multidisciplinary teams

• Accountability anddecision-makingskills

• Client-facing skillsandmanagingsenior stakeholder relationships

• Proven ability to mentor engineers and develop high-performing teams

Qualifications

Technical Expertise

• Strong working knowledge across multiple disciplines: HVAC & mechanical systems, electrical power systems, ELV/IBMS, architecture, and structural design

• Understanding ofdata center design processes

• Extended knowledge of current data centerrequirements, AI infrastructure, construction methods,etc

• Ability to review and understand design outputs: Single Line Diagrams (SLDs), P&ID drawings, system layouts, BIM models, equipment schedules, and technical specifications

• Understanding of how design decisions cascade across disciplines

• Familiarity with datacentrestandards and requirements: TIA-942, Uptime Institute Tier III/IV, ASHRAE 90.4, fire codes, and UAE regulatory landscape

Project & Delivery Management

• 8+ years of project management or design management experience, with at least 5 years managing datacentreor mission-critical facility projects

• Proventrack recordof delivering large, multidisciplinary projects on schedule and within budget

• Experience managing teams of engineers across multiple disciplinesand geographies

• Demonstrated ability toidentifyschedule/budget risks early and implement corrective actions

Qualifications & Experience

• BE in Mechanical, Electrical, orBuilding Services(or equivalent)

• PMP (Project Management Professional) or equivalent certification (strongly preferred)

• Hands-on experience in hyperscale or mission-critical datacentreprojects

• Familiarity with Uptime Institute certification processes (ATD, ATS, CAP, ICCA)

• Experience with global project delivery across multiple geographies/time zones

• Knowledge of UAE regulatory landscape and authority approval processes (DEWA, ADDC, CivilDefence)

• Experience with BIM workflows and coordination (Revit, Navisworks, or equivalent)

Good to Have

• Experience with integrated project delivery (IPD) or collaborative design methodologies

Additional Information

What we can offer you

• Investment in your development
• Leaders you can count on, guided by our Leadership Principles
• Be valued for the unique person you are.
• Never be short of inspiration from colleagues, clients, and projects.
• The long-term thinking of a foundation-owned company

We offer

• A challenging and interesting workday characterized by continuous learning, in an environment where you have many to spar with and learn from.
• Opportunity to work with varied work tasks, across the organization.