Associate Director - Data Centre / Mission Critical Infrastructure

Tanqeeb; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 600,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Tanqeeb is seeking an Associate Director – Design Management for a semi-government data centre portfolio in Abu Dhabi. The role leads design governance, technical standards, and delivers projects from concept to handover.

You will manage architects, engineers and OEMs, drive value engineering, and ensure performance, resilience and energy efficiency across critical infrastructure with global standards in mind.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Civil/Structural Eng. or similar.
• Chartered Engineer status or equivalent desirable.
• Data centre qualifications (CDCP, CDCS, uptime) advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Lead design management across data centre projects from feasibility to handover.
• Establish and improve design standards, reference designs, and documentation.
• Oversee Basis of Design and ensure alignment with requirements and regulations.
• Translate objectives into technical requirements and manage the design lifecycle.
• Coordinate multi-discipline teams including architects, consultants and OEMs.
• Lead design governance, assurance processes, and design reviews.
• Oversee BIM, model coordination, clash detection and information exchange.
• Provide senior technical input on critical MEP and data centre systems.

Skills

Data centre design

MEP systems

BIM & digital design

Design governance

Stakeholder management

Value engineering

Regulatory standards

Energy efficiency

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Chartered Engineer status

CDCP / Uptime Institute qualifications

Tools

BIM tools

Project management software

Job description

Associate Director – Design Management

One of our key clients, a semi-government entity, are seeking an experienced Associate Director – Design Management to provide senior technical leadership across a growing portfolio of data centre and mission-critical infrastructure developments.

Nationals are encouraged to apply.

The role will be responsible for establishing and leading the design management function, setting technical standards, and ensuring the successful delivery of projects from early concept and feasibility through detailed design, IFC, construction support, commissioning, and handover.

The position will also play a key role in shaping design governance, technical assurance, value engineering, sustainability, and the ongoing development of the organisation's data centre design standards.

Responsibilities

• Lead the overall design management function across current and future data centre development projects.
• Establish, maintain, and continuously improve design standards, reference designs, technical requirements, and design documentation.
• Develop and oversee Basis of Design documentation and ensure project designs remain aligned with organisational, regulatory, customer, operational, and performance requirements.
• Translate project objectives, capacity requirements, resilience criteria, sustainability targets, and future expansion needs into clear technical and design requirements.
• Manage the complete design lifecycle from feasibility and concept development through detailed design, IFC, construction support, commissioning, and handover.
• Establish and manage design programmes, review cycles, technical submissions, approvals, design milestones, and IFC deliverables.
• Maintain effective design change control, assessing the technical, commercial, programme, and operational implications of proposed changes.
• Lead the appointment, coordination, and performance management of architects, engineering consultants, specialist advisors, OEMs, and other technical partners.
• Direct multidisciplinary coordination across civil, structural, architectural, mechanical, electrical, ICT, security, commissioning, and other specialist disciplines.
• Lead technical workshops, design reviews, assurance processes, and coordination meetings, ensuring issues and interfaces are identified and resolved at an early stage.
• Oversee BIM and digital design requirements, including model coordination, clash detection, information exchange, and project information requirements.
• Provide senior technical oversight of critical MEP and data centre systems, including HV/LV distribution, UPS systems, standby generation, cooling systems, BMS, fire protection, and associated infrastructure.
• Ensure appropriate levels of redundancy, resilience, capacity, maintainability, and operational readiness are incorporated into the design.
• Monitor key technical and performance indicators, including energy and water efficiency, and drive improvements throughout the design process.
• Incorporate sustainability objectives and relevant environmental and green-building requirements into project designs.
• Lead value engineering and design optimisation exercises to identify opportunities for capital and operational cost efficiencies without compromising safety, reliability, resilience, scalability, or performance.
• Maintain design risk registers and ensure technical risks are assessed, mitigated, monitored, and closed out appropriately.
• Provide technical input into feasibility studies, investment assessments, due diligence activities, and new development opportunities.
• Engage with existing and prospective customers to understand technical requirements, resilience expectations, service requirements, and future capacity needs.
• Represent the development function during customer-facing technical discussions, design reviews, and approval processes.
• Work closely with development, project management, operations, technology, finance, legal, and investment teams to ensure effective integration of design requirements with wider business objectives.
• Ensure design documentation, as-built information, commissioning records, O&M documentation, and other technical deliverables are complete and suitable for operational handover.
• Provide senior technical advice on design matters and elevate significant technical, commercial, or programme risks where required.

Skills

• Strong technical understanding of data centre and mission-critical infrastructure design.
• Comprehensive knowledge of critical MEP systems, including HV/LV power distribution, UPS systems, generators, cooling infrastructure, BMS, fire protection, and associated critical systems.
• Strong understanding of resilience, redundancy, capacity planning, power density, maintainability, and operational readiness requirements.
• Strong design management and multidisciplinary coordination capabilities.
• Experience with BIM, digital engineering, design coordination, technical assurance, change management, and design governance.
• Ability to manage multiple design workstreams involving consultants, contractors, customers, and internal stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of international data centre standards, industry best practice, applicable regulatory requirements, and customer technical specifications.
• Knowledge of recognised data centre standards and frameworks, including Uptime Institute Tier requirements, TIA-942, ISO standards, and relevant regulations.
• Strong commercial awareness and the ability to assess the cost and business implications of technical design decisions.
• Ability to lead value engineering and design optimisation initiatives.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capability, with the confidence to challenge technical assumptions and proposed solutions.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to explain complex technical matters to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong written and verbal English communication skills.
• Ability to establish technical standards, provide direction to consultants, and make sound technical decisions within demanding programme and commercial environments.
• Arabic language capability would be advantageous.
• Strong understanding of sustainability, energy efficiency, PUE, WUE, and green-building principles within data centre environments.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil/Structural Engineering, or another relevant engineering or technical discipline from a recognised institution.
• Chartered Engineer status or equivalent professional engineering accreditation is highly desirable.
• Additional data centre qualifications or certifications, such as CDCP, CDCS, or Uptime Institute accreditation, would be advantageous.

Experience

• Approximately 10–15 years of progressive experience in engineering design, design management, technical leadership, or a comparable discipline.
• Proven track record of managing complex data centre, mission-critical, or highly resilient infrastructure projects through multiple design and delivery stages.
• Experience taking projects from feasibility and concept through detailed design, IFC, construction support, commissioning, and handover.
• Demonstrable experience developing and managing Basis of Design documentation, technical standards, owner requirements, and reference design solutions.
• Significant experience leading multidisciplinary design teams and engineering consultants across MEP, CSA, ICT, security, commissioning, and specialist disciplines.
• Strong practical experience in critical power, electrical distribution, cooling systems, resilience strategies, and other mission-critical infrastructure.
• Experience working on hyperscale, colocation, enterprise data centre, or similarly complex critical infrastructure projects.
• Experience within a data centre developer, hyperscale organisation, engineering consultancy, EPC contractor, or mission-critical infrastructure business.
• Previous owner-side or client-side design management experience is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated experience managing design consultants, technical advisors, specialist contractors, and OEMs.
• Experience with technical due diligence, feasibility assessments, design risk management, and investment-stage technical reviews.
• Proven involvement in value engineering, cost optimisation, and design performance improvement.
• Experience engaging directly with customers, regulators, consultants, contractors, and senior internal stakeholders on technical and design matters.