Project Director - Design and Engineering

Parsons; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 350,000 - 600,000; Full time

Job summary

Parsons Corporation in Abu Dhabi seeks an accomplished Project Director to lead the planning, design and engineering delivery of major development programmes. You will direct multidisciplinary teams across master planning, infrastructure, buildings and utilities to achieve client objectives.

You will establish governance, manage budgets and schedules, ensure quality and regulatory compliance, and drive sustainability throughout the project lifecycle.

Qualifications

• Bachelor degree in Architecture, Engineering, Urban Planning or related field.
• 20+ years in major development projects including master planning, infrastructure, and buildings.
• Experience in senior leadership roles overseeing design, engineering and delivery.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning, design and engineering delivery of major development projects.
• Establish governance, budgets, schedules and quality standards.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary teams across architecture, civil, MEP, and urban planning.
• Provide strategic direction and client liaison throughout the project lifecycle.
• Oversee tender documentation, construction support, and design reviews.
• Ensure regulatory compliance and sustainability objectives.

Skills

Leadership

Project Management

Master planning

Stakeholder Management

Multidisciplinary Coordination

Education

Bachelor's degree in Architecture, Engineering, Urban Planning, or related field

Tools

BIM

GIS

MS Project

Job description

Project Director — Design and Engineering

Job Snapshot: Role: Project Director - Design and Engineering - Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - Industry: Civil Engineering - Function: Project-Program Management - Experience: 20 years in major master planning, infrastructure, building, or large-scale development projects - Job Type: Full Time - Work Arrangement: On-site

Parsons Corporation is seeking an experienced Project Director to lead the planning, design, and engineering delivery of major development projects in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The role requires strategic leadership, multidisciplinary technical expertise, and comprehensive project management capabilities across master planning, infrastructure, buildings, and integrated development programmes. The successful candidate will oversee project delivery from master planning and concept design through detailed design, tender documentation, and construction support. The position involves coordinating architecture, urban planning, civil and structural engineering, utilities, transportation, mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP), landscape, and specialist design disciplines. The Project Director will establish project governance, manage design strategies and delivery priorities, oversee budgets and schedules, and ensure that technical deliverables meet client expectations, applicable regulations, quality standards, and sustainability objectives. Candidates must have a relevant Bachelor 's degree, more than 20 years of experience in major development projects, and proven experience in a senior project, design, or engineering leadership position.

Job Details

• Country: United Arab Emirates
• City: Abu Dhabi
• Industry: Civil Engineering
• Function: Project-Program Management
• Salary: Not disclosed
• Gender: No Preference
• Candidate Nationality: Not specified
• Job Type: Full Time
• Work Arrangement: On-site

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Project Leadership and Delivery

• Lead the planning, design, and engineering delivery of major development projects.
• Establish project delivery strategies aligned with client objectives and contractual requirements.
• Provide strategic and technical direction across multidisciplinary engineering and design activities.
• Oversee project performance against approved schedules, budgets, quality requirements, and delivery priorities.
• Establish project governance arrangements and technical management procedures.
• Coordinate major project decisions with clients, consultants, and relevant stakeholders.
• Identify project delivery challenges and develop appropriate management responses.
• Maintain oversight of critical project milestones and technical deliverables.
• Promote consistent project management and engineering standards throughout the delivery lifecycle.

Master Planning and Development Coordination

• Lead master planning and associated engineering coordination activities.
• Oversee the integration of land use planning, infrastructure, buildings, mobility, and public realm requirements.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary inputs during master planning and concept development.
• Review planning strategies to support practical and coordinated project delivery.
• Assess relationships between development components and site-wide infrastructure systems.
• Coordinate planning requirements with architecture, urban planning, transportation, and engineering teams.
• Identify design interfaces and dependencies affecting development planning.
• Support the alignment of master planning outcomes with client objectives and regulatory requirements.

Multidisciplinary Design and Engineering Management

• Manage multidisciplinary teams across architecture, urban planning, civil engineering, structural engineering, utilities, transportation, MEP, landscape, and specialist disciplines.
• Coordinate design activities to maintain consistency across project components.
• Oversee technical coordination between buildings, infrastructure, and site-wide engineering systems.
• Establish design responsibilities and technical delivery priorities.
• Review multidisciplinary design progress and identify coordination issues.
• Support the resolution of technical conflicts between engineering disciplines.
• Maintain oversight of design quality and technical consistency.
• Ensure engineering teams work toward coordinated project deliverables.

Design Lifecycle and Technical Delivery

• Oversee design development from master planning and concept design through detailed engineering.
• Manage the preparation and coordination of tender documentation.
• Provide leadership during construction support activities.
• Review design deliverables against agreed project requirements and technical standards.
• Monitor design progress and coordinate activities required to achieve project milestones.
• Ensure appropriate technical coordination between successive design stages.
• Address major design issues affecting project delivery.
• Support continuity of engineering information throughout the project lifecycle.

Infrastructure and Building Systems Integration

• Oversee the integration of building design and infrastructure engineering requirements.
• Coordinate utilities, transportation, mobility, and site-wide infrastructure systems.
• Ensure effective interfaces between buildings, roads, utilities, and public realm components.
• Review multidisciplinary coordination requirements affecting development layouts.
• Identify infrastructure dependencies and potential design conflicts.
• Coordinate technical solutions involving civil, structural, transportation, utilities, and MEP disciplines.
• Support consistent integration of engineering systems across the development.
• Promote coordinated design solutions that meet project objectives and technical requirements.

Design Reviews and Technical Governance

• Establish and maintain technical governance arrangements for project design activities.
• Lead multidisciplinary design reviews.
• Oversee the implementation of relevant technical standards and design procedures.
• Review critical engineering decisions and technical recommendations.
• Coordinate value engineering assessments to evaluate potential design improvements.
• Lead constructability reviews to identify practical construction considerations.
• Support the resolution of complex design and engineering issues.
• Ensure technical reviews address quality, compliance, coordination, and project requirements.
• Maintain oversight of technical decisions affecting project performance.

Project Controls and Commercial Management

• Establish and monitor project schedules, budgets, and delivery priorities.
• Coordinate project controls activities with relevant management teams.
• Monitor progress against agreed project objectives and performance requirements.
• Identify potential schedule and budget impacts arising from design developments.
• Support commercial management of project design and engineering services.
• Review significant project changes and their implications for delivery.
• Coordinate management responses to emerging project constraints.
• Maintain oversight of project performance and reporting requirements.

Risk, Change and Interface Management

• Identify design risks, technical interfaces, and project dependencies.
• Oversee the assessment of risks affecting engineering quality, programme delivery, and project objectives.
• Coordinate mitigation measures with relevant project teams.
• Review design changes and assess their potential effects on other project components.
• Manage multidisciplinary interfaces throughout the project lifecycle.
• Support timely resolution of issues affecting technical coordination.
• Monitor significant project risks and associated management actions.
• Maintain effective coordination between disciplines to reduce avoidable design conflicts.

Regulatory Compliance and Sustainability

• Ensure project design activities address applicable engineering codes and technical standards.
• Oversee compliance with relevant authority requirements.
• Coordinate design matters involving regulatory and approval requirements.
• Ensure technical deliverables reflect applicable client specifications.
• Support the integration of project sustainability objectives into design activities.
• Review significant compliance issues and coordinate appropriate technical responses.
• Maintain oversight of regulatory considerations throughout relevant design stages.
• Coordinate with consultants and stakeholders regarding design compliance requirements.

Design Consultant and Subconsultant Management

• Manage design consultants and specialist subconsultants involved in project delivery.
• Establish clear technical deliverables and coordination expectations.
• Monitor consultant performance against agreed quality and schedule requirements.
• Review technical submissions and identify matters requiring clarification.
• Coordinate specialist design inputs with the wider project team.
• Address significant consultant coordination and performance issues.
• Support the timely completion of multidisciplinary design deliverables.
• Maintain effective communication between internal teams and external consultants.

Client and Stakeholder Management

• Build and maintain professional relationships with clients, developers, authorities, consultants, and other key stakeholders.
• Act as a senior point of coordination for major project delivery and technical matters.
• Communicate project priorities, progress, risks, and significant engineering issues.
• Lead discussions concerning design strategies and technical project requirements.
• Support effective coordination of stakeholder expectations.
• Negotiate and resolve significant project delivery and technical coordination matters.
• Present recommendations and project information to relevant decision-makers.
• Promote transparent communication and collaborative working relationships.

Digital Engineering and Design Coordination

• Promote the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) across relevant design disciplines.
• Encourage appropriate integration of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) into planning and engineering coordination.
• Support the adoption of digital engineering tools and data-driven design processes.
• Promote coordinated digital information exchange between project teams.
• Encourage consistent digital design coordination practices.
• Support the use of project information to improve technical reviews and multidisciplinary integration.
• Coordinate with relevant technical teams regarding digital engineering requirements.

Team Leadership and Professional Development

• Lead multidisciplinary project and design teams.
• Establish clear responsibilities, performance expectations, and delivery priorities.
• Provide strategic guidance and technical leadership to senior engineering and design personnel.
• Mentor and develop project team members.
• Encourage collaboration across technical disciplines and project functions.
• Support effective communication and problem-solving within project teams.
• Promote accountability, professional development, and continuous improvement.
• Foster a high-performance working environment focused on project quality and successful delivery.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor 's degree in Architecture, Engineering, Urban Planning, or a related discipline.
• 20 years of professional experience in major master planning, infrastructure, building, or large-scale development projects.
• Proven experience as a Project Director, Design Director, Engineering Director, or in an equivalent senior leadership position.
• Extensive experience managing multidisciplinary design and engineering teams.
• Strong background coordinating master planning, architecture, infrastructure, utilities, transportation, and building engineering disciplines.
• Comprehensive understanding of the project design lifecycle from concept development through detailed design, tender documentation, and construction support.
• Strong knowledge of design management and technical governance.
• Experience overseeing project schedules, budgets, and technical delivery priorities.
• Knowledge of project controls, risk management, and commercial management.
• Ability to manage complex technical interfaces and multidisciplinary project dependencies.
• Experience coordinating design consultants and specialist subconsultants.
• Strong stakeholder coordination and client relationship management skills.
• Excellent leadership and team management capabilities.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Effective negotiation, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.

Preferred Qualifications and Experience

• Experience delivering major master-planned communities, mixed-use developments, infrastructure programmes, or complex building portfolios in the United Arab Emirates or wider Middle East.
• Knowledge of regional planning requirements, authority approval procedures, engineering design codes, and utility requirements.
• Experience integrating master planning, buildings, infrastructure, transportation, utilities, and public realm systems.
• Professional certification or registration such as Project Management Professional (PMP), Professional Engineer (PE), Chartered Engineer (CEng), Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), or an equivalent qualification.

Technical and Professional Competencies

• Major development project leadership.
• Master planning and integrated development coordination.
• Multidisciplinary engineering management.
• Architecture and urban planning coordination.
• Civil and structural engineering integration.
• Infrastructure and utility systems coordination.
• Transportation and mobility planning interfaces.
• Building engineering and MEP coordination.
• Landscape and public realm integration.
• Concept and detailed design management.
• Tender documentation oversight.
• Construction support coordination.
• Project governance and technical standards.
• Design review and technical quality assurance.
• Value engineering and constructability assessment.
• Project scheduling and budget oversight.
• Project controls and commercial management.
• Design risk and change management.
• Multidisciplinary interface management.
• Regulatory and authority compliance.
• Sustainability objective integration.
• Design consultant and subconsultant management.
• BIM and GIS coordination.
• Digital engineering and data-driven design processes.
• Client and stakeholder relationship management.
• Senior leadership, negotiation, and decision-making.
• Team mentoring and professional development.

Working at Parsons

You will provide strategic and technical leadership for major development projects involving master planning, infrastructure, buildings, and multidisciplinary engineering services. The position offers the opportunity to manage complex design programmes, coordinate specialist disciplines, guide senior project teams, and work with clients and stakeholders on significant development initiatives. You will contribute to the delivery of coordinated engineering solutions while maintaining oversight of project quality, technical compliance, schedules, budgets, and client objectives.

Parsons promotes innovation, collaboration, professional development, technical excellence, and employee wellbeing.

About Parsons Corporation

Parsons Corporation provides engineering, technical consulting, design, and project services across infrastructure and development sectors. Its multidisciplinary teams support planning, design management, engineering coordination, and project delivery. The company emphasizes technical leadership, innovation, collaboration, and the development of practical engineering solutions for complex projects.

Parsons is committed to equal employment opportunity without discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information.