Design Management Lead

Dokainish & Company; United Arab Emirates; On-site; AED 120,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A global consultancy firm is seeking a Design Management Lead with architecture training and luxury interior design expertise to oversee a high-end mixed-use project in Dubai. The ideal candidate will have over 10 years of design management experience and proven leadership on luxury projects. Responsibilities include ensuring design coherence, managing teams, and driving design development while meeting luxury market expectations. Candidates must be based in Dubai or the UAE and willing to relocate.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in design management with architecture degree.
• Extensive luxury interior design experience across residential, hospitality, and retail sectors.
• Proven leadership on large-scale mixed-use or luxury projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead design coordination across ultra-luxury residential, hospitality, and retail components.
• Manage design consultant teams and review design deliverables for quality.
• Drive design development balancing aesthetic ambition with budget constraints.

Skills

Design management

Luxury interior design

Architecture

Leadership

Technical knowledge

Design software proficiency

Education

Architecture degree (B. Arch or M. Arch)

Tools

AutoCAD

Revit

SketchUp

Job description

About us

Dokainish& Company is a global organization that has been providing world class professional consultancy services since 2011. We have recently launched our MENA operations, headquartered in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. This expansion supports our strategy to serve government and private sector clients in capital projects across construction, infrastructure, energy, and commercial developments.

Overview

Dokainish& Company is seeking an experienced Design Management Lead with architecture training and luxury interior design expertise to orchestrate design excellence across a high-end, luxury, mixed-use project in downtown Dubai. We need someone who ensures design coherence, quality, and timely delivery across multiple asset classes and branded partnerships, and bridges architectural vision with interior execution while maintaining luxury positioning and technical feasibility.

This is a full-time position, and the selected candidate must be based in Dubai, or in the UAE, willing to independently relocate to Dubai.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead design coordination across ultra-luxury residential, hospitality, branded residences, and retail components
• Ensure design language coherence while respecting individual asset class requirements
• Manage design consultant teams (architects, interior designers, landscape architects, lighting designers)
• Review and approve all design deliverables for quality, specification standards, and brand compliance
• Coordinate branded operator design requirements and resolve conflicts across multiple brands
• Drive design development balancing aesthetic ambition with budget constraints and constructability
• Establish specification standards and material palettes justifying premium market positioning
• Lead design review meetings with stakeholders, consultants, and brand partners
• Manage design changes, RFIs, and value engineering exercises without compromising design intent
• Ensure interior design execution meets luxury market expectations across all customer touchpoints
• Coordinate authority approvals for architectural and interior design submissions

Background & Requirements

• 10+ years in design management with architecture degree (B. Arch or M. Arch required)
• Extensive luxury interior design experience across residential, hospitality, and retail sectors
• Proven leadership on large-scale mixed-use or luxury projects (AED 1B+ development value)
• Deep understanding of high-end materials, finishes, FF&E, and luxury specification standards
• Experience managing international design consultants and branded operator design processes
• Strong technical knowledge bridging architectural design and interior execution
• Excellent aesthetic judgment with ability to balance creative vision and commercial reality
• Proficiency in design software (AutoCAD, Revit, SketchUp) and visualization tools
• Dubai/GCC market experience with understanding of regional luxury design trends
• US, Canada, UK, or Australian education preferred

What Success Looks Like

• Design coherence achieved across all asset classes with distinct yet complementary identities
• Specification standards justify premium pricing and competitive differentiation
• Design deliverables on schedule supporting construction and launch timelines
• Brand partner design approvals secured without compromising project vision
• Interior execution sets new luxury benchmarks in the Dubai market