Design Director

Clear.; Dubai; On-site; AED 400,000 - 550,000; Full time

Job summary

Clear. in Dubai seeks a seasoned Engineering Design Leader to oversee MEP and CSA infrastructure for data center developments.

You will guide design standards, mentor a team of design engineers, and collaborate with project delivery to ensure reliable, scalable facilities. The ideal candidate has 10+ years of regional data center experience, a track record of leading multi-country design programs, and a hands-on approach to balancing safety, cost, and schedule while driving energy efficiency.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of large-scale data center design experience in the Middle East.
• Demonstrated delivery of data center facilities across multiple countries.
• Strong leadership and strategic execution in high-growth environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end design process for data center projects, from concept through detailed design, construction support, and commissioning handover.
• Own and continuously improve design standards, specifications, and basis-of-design documents.
• Review and approve designs, calculations, and drawings prepared by internal teams or external consultants / contractors.
• Drive design optimization from energy efficiency, reliability, modularity, speed to build with considerations of customer requirements as well as cost to build across all projects.
• Continuously explore the latest technologies on the market and support internal design & innovation projects.
• Lead internal standardization initiative covering not only design related documents but also project management, construction management, commissioning management & etc., which are supported by relevant discipline leads.
• Build, mentor, and manage a team of design engineers and coordinate with external design consultants.
• Set performance goals, conduct reviews, and support career development of direct reports.
• Allocate resources across multiple concurrent projects and manage workload and priorities.
• Evaluate and select power and cooling technologies appropriate to project requirements and industry trends (including AI/high-density rack cooling).
• Evaluate and select appropriate construction method from CSA side to project requirements as well as customers’ standards.
• Review vendor equipment selections, capacity calculations, etc.
• Lead value engineering exercises to balance cost, reliability, and schedule.
• Coordinate closely with project delivery teams to ensure integrated design delivery.
• Liaise with clients, consultants, contractors, and regulatory bodies on design related matters.
• Work with operations/facilities teams to ensure designs support maintainability and operational requirements.
• Manage design timelines, budgets, and deliverables across multiple sites/projects.
• Present design solutions and technical recommendations to senior leadership and clients.
• Ensure compliance with local codes, standards (e.g., ASHRAE, Uptime Institute, TIA-942, LEED & etc.), and sustainability / energy regulations.

Skills

Design leadership

Team management

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

Will lead the engineering design function for the data center developments, overseeing the design of MEP and CSA Infrastructure, as well as related systems across new-build, retrofit and expansions projects. The role owns design standards, leads a team of design engineers or technical specialists, and works closely with project delivery teams to deliver reliable, efficient and scalable data center facilities.

Key Responsibilities:

Design Leadership

• Lead the end-to-end design process for data center projects, from concept through detailed design, construction support, and commissioning handover.
• Own and continuously improve design standards, specifications, and basis-of-design documents.
• Review and approve designs, calculations, and drawings prepared by internal teams or external consultants / contractors.
• Drive design optimization from energy efficiency, reliability, modularity, speed to build with considerations of customer requirements as well as cost to build across all projects.
• Continuously explore the latest technologies on the market and support internal design & innovation projects.
• Lead internal standardization initiative covering not only design related documents but also project management, construction management, commissioning management & etc., which are supported by relevant discipline leads.

Team Management

• Build, mentor, and manage a team of design engineers and coordinate with external design consultants.
• Set performance goals, conduct reviews, and support career development of direct reports.
• Allocate resources across multiple concurrent projects and manage workload and priorities.

Technical Oversight

• Evaluate and select power and cooling technologies appropriate to project requirements and industry trends (including AI/high-density rack cooling).
• Evaluate and select appropriate construction method from CSA side to project requirements as well as customers’ standards.
• Review vendor equipment selections, capacity calculations, etc.
• Lead value engineering exercises to balance cost, reliability, and schedule.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Coordinate closely with project delivery teams to ensure integrated design delivery.
• Liaise with clients, consultants, contractors, and regulatory bodies on design related matters.
• Work with operations/facilities teams to ensure designs support maintainability and operational requirements.

Project & Stakeholder Management

• Manage design timelines, budgets, and deliverables across multiple sites/projects.
• Present design solutions and technical recommendations to senior leadership and clients.
• Ensure compliance with local codes, standards (e.g., ASHRAE, Uptime Institute, TIA-942, LEED & etc.), and sustainability / energy regulations.

Looking for:

• Minimum of 10 years’ experience in large scale Middle Eastern experience for Data Center design and technical engineering.
• Excellent understanding of the complexity of data centers and demonstrable experience of design and delivery of large-scale data center facilities across multiple countries.
• Recognized industry leader; strong executive presence; solid track record of strategic accomplishments in companies experiencing rapid growth and expansion where constant challenges are the norm.
• Multinational leadership experience, willingness to reconsider constantly innovative ways to reduce cost through creative design. Should not be constrained by traditional processes.
• Fully understands the priorities around safety, time, cost, and quality with a strong emphasis on delivery to budget.
• Commercially astute with a strong business acumen, appreciating the responsibilities of Design in the context to the whole business strategy.