Lead Design Manager

COWI; North Vancouver; Hybrid; CAD 128,800 - 198,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

4 weeks vacation

Floating holiday

Paid sick leave

Parental leave top-up

Fitness allowance

Dev fund

RRSP matching

Transit allowance

Health coverage

EAP

Insurance

Job summary

COWI is seeking a Lead Design Manager to provide senior design leadership on major underground and infrastructure projects in British Columbia. This role oversees multidisciplinary design, coordinates across geotech, structural, tunnel, FLS, MEP, systems, utilities, and interfaces, and ensures deliverables meet safety, quality, and schedule requirements.

The position supports the Owner's Engineer role for the Fraser River Tunnel Project, with a hybrid work model based in North Vancouver or

Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, or a related discipline.
• A registered Professional Engineer License (P.Eng.) in BC, or eligible to obtain
• A minimum of 15 years’ experience managing multidisciplinary design delivery on major infrastructure, transit, tunnel, underground, or complex civil works projects.
• Knowledge & experience with Canadian codes for steel and concrete design, familiarity with international codes and standards is an asset
• Strong understanding of design management, interface management, constructability, risk management, quality assurance, permitting, and stakeholder coordination.
• Demonstrated ability to lead senior technical professionals, resolve competing priorities, and make timely decisions in a complex delivery environment.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, reporting, and leadership skills, with the ability to engage technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Be self-motivated, capable of managing change, and able to handle multiple tasks in a shifting environment
• Be able to work remotely with staff located around the world.

Responsibilities

• Oversee and coordinate the OE design management function across all disciplines, ensuring alignment with objectives, client requirements, contract obligations, codes, standards, and approvals.
• Provide direction to OE discipline design managers, including geotechnical, structural, tunnel, FLS, MEP, systems, utilities, and architectural/interface teams.
• Act as a client liaison, providing progress reporting of design package delivery against the schedule and budget.
• Establish and maintain OE design management tools such as design management plan, design delivery schedule, review cycles, deliverable register, decision log, risk register, and interface management process.
• Manage interdisciplinary coordination to identify, resolve, and document design interfaces, clashes, gaps, assumptions, and dependencies before construction.
• Chair regular design coordination meetings with OE team, Design team, Independent Review team, and Client; track and close actions and risks.
• Facilitate value engineering and design optimization while maintaining safety, performance, durability, maintainability, and compliance.
• Support change management by assessing design impacts related to scope, cost, schedule, constructability, risk, and contractual obligations.
• Mentor and grow team members.

Skills

Leadership

Design management

Multidisciplinary coordination

Client liaison

Construction oversight

Education

Bachelor’s degree in civil/structural/geotechnical engineering

Professional Engineer License (P.Eng.) in BC or eligible

Job description

Are you interested in joining a top engineering consulting firm that adds value for clients, communities, and individuals around the globe? Can you apply your leadership skills effectively to regional and international underground structures and tunnels? Then this could be the next step in your career!

Create the solutions that will enable a better tomorrow

We are looking for a Lead Design Manager to join COWI’s global team of experts and provide senior design leadership on major underground and infrastructure projects. In this role, you will oversee the coordination and integration of multidisciplinary design activities across tunnels, underground structures, geotechnical, structural, fire and life safety, MEP, systems, utilities, and other specialist disciplines.

Acting as the central point of design integration, you will work closely with project management, construction teams, clients, stakeholders, and regulatory authorities to help ensure design solutions are coordinated, constructible, compliant, safe, and delivered to the required quality, budget, and schedule. This is a leadership opportunity to help shape one of British Columbia’s most significant transportation infrastructure projects.

Initially, this position specifically supports COWI’s role as the Owner’s Engineer (OE) for the new Fraser River Tunnel Project (FRTP). The FRTP project will replace the existing Massey Tunnel between Richmond and Delta, near Vancouver, BC. The ideal candidate will be responsible for the technical integrity, coordination and delivery of multidisciplinary design solutions.

The position can be based in COWI’s North Vancouver office or Surrey office, and a significant portion of the time is expected to be spent at the Client’s project office in downtown Vancouver.

Your key responsibilities will be to:

• Oversee and coordinate the overall OE design management function across all disciplines, ensuring alignment with project objectives, client requirements, contract obligations, codes, standards, and approvals.
• Provide direction to and support OE discipline design managers, including geotechnical, structural, tunnel, FLS, MEP, systems, utilities, and architectural/interface teams.
• Act as a client liaison, providing progress reporting of design package delivery against the agreed schedule and budget.
• Establish and maintain OE design management tools that may include a design management plan, design delivery schedule, review cycles, deliverable register, decision log, risk register, and an interface management process.
• Manage interdisciplinary coordination to identify, resolve, and document design interfaces, clashes, gaps, assumptions, and dependencies before they affect construction.
• Chair regular design coordination meetings with COWI’s OE team, the Design team, the Independent Review team, and the Client, ensuring actions, decisions, technical issues, and risks are clearly tracked and closed out.
• Facilitate value engineering and design optimization while maintaining safety, performance, durability, maintainability, and compliance requirements.
• Support change management by assessing design impacts related to scope, cost, schedule, constructability, risk, and contractual obligations.
• Mentor and grow team members.

Your skills. Our team. Together we design the future.

The first step to success in this role is that you are eager to collaborate with the people around you, whether they are colleagues, partners, or customers. Developing ties with others is something you do by acting respectfully and delivering on your promises. And you never get set in your ways but keep exploring new insights and ways to improve.

The ideal candidate will possess the following skills, qualifications and experience:

• A bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, or a related discipline.
• A registered Professional Engineer License (P.Eng.) in BC, or eligible to obtain
• A minimum of 15 years’ experience managing multidisciplinary design delivery on major infrastructure, transit, tunnel, underground, or complex civil works projects.
• Knowledge & experience with Canadian codes for steel and concrete design, familiarity with international codes and standards is an asset
• Strong understanding of design management, interface management, constructability, risk management, quality assurance, permitting, and stakeholder coordination.
• Demonstrated ability to lead senior technical professionals, resolve competing priorities, and make timely decisions in a complex delivery environment.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, reporting, and leadership skills, with the ability to engage technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Be self-motivated, capable of managing change, and able to handle multiple tasks in a shifting environment
• Be able to work remotely with staff located around the world.

A place to work and so much more At COWI, we work together with our customers to shape a sustainable and livable world. We do it by applying our knowledge and curiosity – and sometimes even our courage – to create the solutions the world needs today to enable a better tomorrow. We support our customers’ transition towards increased sustainability. We strive to set the standard by embedding environmental management, social responsibility and good governance into our business practices and the options we provide to our customers.

We value differences and development and cultivate an environment of belonging and having fun. Because that is what brings out the best in you, at work and at home.

With offices primarily located in the Nordic region, the UK, North America and India, we are currently more than 7,500 people who bring their expertise in engineering, architecture, energy and environment into play.

What we also offer: To us, a fair reward is more than a competitive salary. We invest in our people’s professional and personal well-being.

Our benefits include:

• Flexible working arrangement
• Full time hires get minimum 4 weeks vacation to start
• Floating holiday to celebrate employee diversity
• Paid sick leave
• Top-up parental and childbirth recovery leave
• Annual Fitness spending account. Yes, you can use this for a ski pass, yoga or gym membership
• Personal and Professional development fund
• Group RRSP program with company matching
• Parking or public transit allowance
• Extended Health coverage with 100% of premiums paid by us
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• STD, LTD, AD&D, and Life Insurance

Base compensation: $128,800 to $198,000 for the North Vancouver office only. Actual compensation is subject to variations due to education, experience, skill set, and location.

Equal opportunity employer

COWI provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, COWI complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.