Design Manager – Italy

DATA4 Group; Milano; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

DATA4 Group in Milan is seeking a Design Manager to own end-to-end design of data centres and campus infrastructure, ensuring alignment with Data4 standards, client requirements and project schedules. You will act as the technical authority across CSA, MEP, controls, networks and power substations, guiding design decisions that balance performance, cost and delivery risk.

You will lead design delivery, coordinate with stakeholders, drive permitting, optimize for PUE/WUE, and ensure designs are

Qualifications

• Technical Design Engineering experience with data centers.
• Exposure to data centers (3–5 years).
• Proven experience leading multi-discipline design scopes across campus and data hall infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Lead design delivery for high-level, low-level and campus master planning design.
• Act as technical authority across CSA, MEP, controls, networks and power substations.
• Interface with Client during sales cycle and delivery of the data centre.
• Lead design permitting process with local authorities and secure constructability permits.
• Ensure design quality and performance, meeting PUE/WUE targets and permitting requirements.
• Define and optimize technical solutions, set equipment requirements and drive cost-optimized designs.
• Coordinate vendor selection and validation of technical specifications.
• Coordinate commissioning readiness and engage with stakeholders during execution.

Skills

Technical design engineering

Data center engineering

Project leadership

CSA design

MEP design

Controls

Networks

Power substation

Vendor coordination

Education

Engineering degree (Electrical/Mechanical/Civil/ICT)

Tools

AutoCAD / Revit

Job description

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Design Manager is accountable for the end-to-end design of data centres and campus infrastructure projects, ensuring solutions meet Data4’s design standards, customer requirements, programme constraints, and Data4 quality and performance standards. The role owns the campus design delivery. The role owns the cross organizational design quality, acting as the technical authority across key disciplines (CSA, MEP, controls, networks, and power substation), and drives design decisions that balance technical performance, economics, schedule, and supply chain availability.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead design delivery:Own high-level, low-level, and campus master planning design.
• Act as technical authority:Provide product implementation expertise across CSA, MEP, controls, networks, and power substations.
• Client:Interface with the Client during the sales cycle and during the delivery of the data centre.
• Authorities: Lead the design permitting process, interfacing with local permitting bodies ensuring permitting constraints are met, and ultimately ensuring permits for constructiton are granted.
• Ensure design quality & performance:
  • Guarantee Max IT capacity and SLA compliance
  • Deliver efficiency targets (PUE, WUE)
  • Deliver a design which meets permitting requirements
  • Develop a design which is optimized to meet the Data4 and Client’s SLA performance requirements
• Define and optimise technical solutions:
  • Set equipment requirements with programme, delivery, and supply chain
  • Optimise design to target cost metrics
  • Drive modular / prefabricated design approaches
• Select and validate vendors:
  • Support vendor selection
  • Validate technical specifications
• Support constructability:
  • Define construction methods
  • Ensure design is buildable and aligned with delivery constraints
• Coordinate commissioning readiness:Interface with commissioning requireemts to Define, review, and validate commissioning protocols are included for execution
• Engage with customers & stakeholders:
  • Support technical discussions, engineering reviews and the prospecting and contract negotiation stage
  • Provide SME input for utility and permitting topics
  • Lead techncial validation with the Client during the execution phase
• Drive project alignment:Work with project controls and delivery to ensure schedule and cost adherence

RESPONSIBILITES IN TERMS OF IMS CERTIFICATIONS

Respect and enforce certification policies in terms of:

• H&S:Respect and enforce health and safety rules.
• Environment:Respect and enforce environmental policies.
• Information security:Respect and enforce information security policies
• Energy:Respect and enforce the policy of reducing energy consumption.

REQUIREMENTS

Education and experience

• Technical Design Engineering experience (E.g. Electrical, Mechanical, Architectural, ICT, Civil/Structural Engineering)
• Exposure to data centers (3-5 years)
• Proven experience leading multi-discipline design scopes across campus and data hall infrastructure (masterplanning through detailed design).

Technical skills

• Data centre engineering and delivery constraints: CSA / MEP design integration, Controls, networks (as relevant to DC infrastructure), and power substation interfaces
• Ability to make technical decisions based on Data4 product, Clients and site specific requirements. Coordination with SME’s as needed for specific deviations and high level expertise.
• Commissioning concepts, protocol definition and execution readiness
• Ability to define and validate equipment technical requirements, specifications and vendor submittals.
• Understanding of balanced commercial objectives of a data centre masterplanning & Ability to optimise designs against performance metrics (including PUE/WUE), MaxIT capacity, risk and speed.
• Demonstrated ability to combine technical and business skills to propose the right balance between technical specifications, cost, , speed SLAs and supply chain availability / delivery lead time.
• Cross functional management experience with a mid-size team

Behavioral skills

• Good communication skills
• Strong stakeholder management, negotiation and conflict-resolution skills
• Structured problem-solving
• Makes and owns decisions
• Rigour, and a quality-first mindset