Structural Lead - Data center

COWI; Haugesund; On-site; NOK 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

COWI is expanding its involvement in data centre projects and seeks a Structural Lead to supervise the structural discipline across multiple facilities. You will coordinate design work, guide teams, and ensure delivery quality while collaborating with clients and multidisciplinary teams to meet stringent project requirements.

You will lead through all project phases from feasibility to construction, enabling critical milestones, handling complex technical solutions, and growing COWI's

Qualifications

• Experience leading structural engineering teams or acting as lead discipline engineer.
• Experience working in a consulting engineering environment.
• Strong analytical skills and a solid understanding of engineering design.
• Experience from multidisciplinary building, industrial, or infrastructure projects.
• Professional proficiency in English.

Responsibilities

• Lead the structural discipline on data centre projects, with responsibility for scope, budget, and schedule within your discipline.
• Lead and develop structural engineering teams and provide technical direction throughout the design process.
• Coordinate structural design activities and ensure deliverables are produced to the required quality and timeline.
• Review and challenge structural concepts, design assumptions and technical solutions, and identify key technical risks.
• Work with clients and project stakeholders to understand project requirements and translate them into practical engineering solutions.
• Support projects through all phases, including feasibility studies, concept development, detailed design, construction, and commissioning.
• Collaborate closely with colleagues across disciplines such as civil, electrical, mechanical, and project management.
• Provide guidance and support to structural engineers and designers within project teams.
• Contribute to developing COWI's structural capabilities within the data centre sector.

Skills

Leadership

Coordination

Client interaction

Multidisciplinary collaboration

English proficiency

Education

Degree in Civil or Structural Engineering

Job description

Take a leading structural role in COWI's growing portfolio of data center and industrial projects.

COWI is expanding its involvement in data centre projects across Europe and is looking for a Structural Lead to strengthen our team.

In this role, you will lead the structural discipline on data centre projects, working closely with clients, colleagues, and project teams across multiple locations. You will be responsible for planning and coordinating structural engineering deliverables throughout the project lifecycle, from early design phases through detailed design and construction support.

The role combines technical leadership, project coordination, and client interaction in projects characterised by high technical requirements, tight schedules, and close multidisciplinary collaboration.

As Structural Lead, you will

• Lead the structural discipline on data centre projects, with responsibility for scope, budget, and schedule within your discipline.
• Lead and develop structural engineering teams and provide technical direction throughout the design process.
• Coordinate structural design activities and ensure deliverables are produced to the required quality and timeline.
• Review and challenge structural concepts, design assumptions and technical solutions, and identify key technical risks.
• Work with clients and project stakeholders to understand project requirements and translate them into practical engineering solutions.
• Support projects through all phases, including feasibility studies, concept development, detailed design, construction, and commissioning.
• Collaborate closely with colleagues across disciplines such as civil, electrical, mechanical, and project management.
• Provide guidance and support to structural engineers and designers within project teams.
• Contribute to developing COWI's structural capabilities within the data centre sector.

Your background

We are looking for someone who combines strong structural engineering experience with the ability to coordinate complex design work and work effectively with clients and multidisciplinary teams.

To succeed in the role, you will ideally have

• A degree in Civil or Structural Engineering.
• Experience from data centre projects or other large-scale mission-critical facilities such as industrial, energy and other technically complex projects.
• Strong analytical skills and a solid understanding of engineering design
• Experience from multidisciplinary building, industrial, or infrastructure projects.
• Experience leading structural engineering teams or acting as lead discipline engineer.
• Experience working in a consulting engineering environment.
• Professional proficiency in English.

Some projects may be subject to specific security requirements, and the ability to obtain relevant security clearance may be required.

What we offer

You will become part of COWI's established structural engineering environment, working with colleagues with experience from data centres, industry and complex building project across Norway, the Nordics and Europe, supported by a broader international network of specialists within COWI. The role offers opportunities to work on technically demanding projects and further develop your expertise within the data centre sector.

Work location

The role can be based in any of our offices across Norway. This includes offices in: Bergen, Bodø, Drammen, Fredrikstad, Hamar, Haugesund, Kristiansand, Oslo, Stavanger, Tromsø and Trondheim. We work in international and multidisciplinary teams, and many of our projects are delivered across offices and borders.

Do you have more questions?

If you have any unanswered questions about the role or what we have to offer, please reach out to Sophia Walfridsson Haugen at [e-mail]. Get to know our work with data centre projects even better here: Can you make tomorrow’s digital infrastructure feel at home?

A place to work and so much more

At COWI, we work together with our customers to shape a sustainable and liveable 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 lead by example 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 Scandinavia, 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.

Diversity is fundamental to COWI, inclusion is key

We are committed to creating a respectful and fair work environment where all employees have a sense of belonging and equitable opportunities to thrive and grow. We ensure that our leaders are role models for inclusive leadership by cultivating a culture where diverse perspectives and thoughts are seen as strengths. And we take diversity and inclusion into account in all relevant decisions and processes and when setting teams and fora. We do it because it is part of our values and because it is simply the right thing to do.