Utilities Design Director - Airport Infrastructure

Parsons; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Parsons Corporation in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia seeks a Utilities Design Director for Airport Infrastructure to lead master planning, design governance, and technical assurance of wet and dry utility networks across a major airport program.

The role directs multidisciplinary teams, sets engineering standards, and ensures integration with other disciplines to support terminals, runways, and future expansion. A long track record in international airport projects is preferred.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering or related field.
• Minimum 25 years of utilities engineering, design, and leadership experience.
• Master's degree preferred for advanced leadership roles.

Responsibilities

• Lead utilities design strategy for multidisciplinary teams.
• Provide executive-level technical leadership for wet and dry utilities.
• Establish engineering standards, governance, and review processes.
• Oversee potable water, firefighting, drainage, sewerage, irrigation networks.
• Coordinate with civil, structural, electrical, ICT, and other disciplines.
• Ensure designs meet airport operational requirements and sustainability goals.
• Lead BIM coordination, digital engineering reviews, and model-based interface resolution.
• Drive design optimization, risk management, and handover readiness.

Skills

Utilities design leadership

Wet utilities

Dry utilities

Potable water networks

Firefighting water systems

Sewerage networks

BIM coordination

Hydraulic modelling

Asset information management

Utility network sizing

Education

Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering

Master's preferred in Infrastructure/Utilities

Tools

WaterGEMS

SewerGEMS

InfoWorks

StormCAD

Job description

Utilities Design Director - Airport Infrastructure Job Snapshot Role: Utilities Design Director - Airport Infrastructure Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Industry: Civil Engineering Function: Utilities Experience: Minimum 25 years Job Type: Full-time Position Overview Utilities Design Director - Airport Infrastructure in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is a senior Civil Engineering opportunity leading utility master planning, design governance, technical assurance, multidisciplinary coordination, and infrastructure delivery for a major airport development program. Parsons Corporation is hiring an accomplished utilities engineering leader to direct complex wet and dry utility networks supporting passenger terminals, runways, taxiways, cargo facilities, aircraft stands, operational buildings, and future airport expansion.

Job Details

Country: Saudi Arabia City: Riyadh Industry: Civil Engineering Function: Utilities Salary: 50000-70000 Estimated salary range based on similar jobs in the job city; please confirm the final offer with the employer. Gender: Any Candidate Nationality: Any Job Type: Full-time

Role Context

The Utilities Design Director will provide executive-level technical leadership for the planning, integration, design, and delivery of critical airport utility infrastructure. The position covers potable water, firefighting networks, drainage, sewerage, irrigation, utility corridors, electrical duct banks, ICT pathways, district cooling interfaces, and other essential infrastructure systems. The role will influence major design decisions from master planning through construction and handover. By aligning utility capacity, resilience, maintainability, constructability, sustainability, and future expansion requirements, the director will help protect airport operations while reducing interface conflicts, lifecycle risks, and delivery delays.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the overall utilities design strategy and establish clear technical direction for multidisciplinary infrastructure teams.
• Provide executive leadership for wet utility, dry utility, and specialist infrastructure design activities across the airport program.
• Establish utilities engineering standards, governance frameworks, design criteria, technical review processes, and delivery objectives.
• Lead large engineering teams comprising civil, utilities, infrastructure, and specialist design professionals.
• Ensure utility design packages support airport operational requirements, client objectives, sustainability targets, and future growth.
• Provide senior technical advice to Project Directors, client representatives, and project leadership.
• Review and approve utility master plans, infrastructure strategies, phasing proposals, and development plans.
• Oversee potable water distribution networks and associated storage, pressure, and distribution requirements.
• Direct design development for firefighting water systems and ensure coordination with airport fire protection requirements.
• Review stormwater drainage networks, attenuation strategies, collection systems, and discharge arrangements.
• Oversee sewerage collection infrastructure, pumping requirements, and interfaces with treatment or municipal systems.
• Review irrigation networks and water-efficiency strategies for landscape and public realm areas.
• Coordinate utility tunnels, corridors, duct banks, chambers, service routes, and underground infrastructure.
• Oversee electrical and ICT ducting networks serving terminals, airfield areas, support buildings, and operational facilities.
• Manage district cooling interfaces and other specialist utility requirements affecting airport developments.
• Verify that utility networks are appropriately sized for current demand, redundancy, resilience, maintenance access, and future expansion.
• Review hydraulic calculations, engineering models, design reports, specifications, drawings, and technical submissions.
• Evaluate utility systems serving terminals, concourses, cargo areas, runways, taxiways, aprons, aircraft stands, and maintenance facilities.
• Coordinate infrastructure requirements across airside and landside developments.
• Lead utility interfaces with Civil, Structural, Architectural, Mechanical, Electrical, ICT, Security, Airfield, and specialist airport disciplines.
• Ensure underground services are integrated without conflicts affecting foundations, pavements, drainage, structures, or airport systems.
• Participate in BIM coordination, clash detection, digital engineering reviews, and model-based interface resolution.
• Drive timely closure of design conflicts that could affect construction sequencing or infrastructure performance.
• Establish technical assurance procedures for utilities submissions and major engineering decisions.
• Review critical calculations, design reports, specifications, and technical solutions before approval.
• Ensure compliance with international engineering standards, airport requirements, client specifications, and local authority regulations.
• Lead value engineering and design optimization initiatives focused on reliability, lifecycle cost, constructability, and sustainability.
• Evaluate alternative technical solutions where significant cost, schedule, resilience, or operational implications exist.
• Provide technical leadership during construction, installation, testing, commissioning, and handover.
• Review major shop drawings, method statements, material submissions, RFIs, design changes, and construction-related technical proposals.
• Resolve complex site issues requiring senior utilities engineering judgment.
• Ensure utility designs remain practical and coordinated with actual construction conditions.
• Support testing, commissioning, operational readiness, and asset handover activities.
• Act as the senior utilities representative when coordinating with airport authorities, government agencies, utility providers, consultants, contractors, and specialist suppliers.
• Lead strategic workshops, authority meetings, design reviews, and technical coordination sessions.
• Support permits, approvals, regulatory submissions, and utility provider interfaces.
• Maintain productive relationships with key technical stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle.
• Lead utilities design risk assessments and establish appropriate mitigation actions.
• Identify risks affecting cost, schedule, safety, constructability, operational continuity, or long-term asset performance.
• Monitor utilities design progress against program milestones and critical delivery dates.
• Provide executive-level status reports, risk assessments, technical recommendations, and strategic advice.
• Support implementation of lessons learned and continuous improvement across the design organization.
• Ensure final utility records, asset information, design documentation, and closeout requirements are properly coordinated for handover.

Ideal Profile

• Bachelor 's degree in Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
• Minimum 25 years of utilities engineering, infrastructure design, design management, and technical leadership experience.
• Master 's degree in Infrastructure Engineering, Utilities Engineering, or a related field is preferred.
• Proven leadership experience on international airport developments, aviation infrastructure programs, transportation projects, or complex infrastructure schemes.
• Extensive expertise in wet utilities, dry utilities, utility master planning, infrastructure integration, and technical assurance.
• Strong understanding of potable water, firefighting, sewerage, drainage, irrigation, utility corridors, and ducting infrastructure.
• Demonstrated experience managing major consultants, contractors, multidisciplinary engineering teams, and specialist designers.
• Advanced knowledge of utility planning principles, engineering design practices, construction methodologies, and asset lifecycle considerations.
• Strong understanding of airport infrastructure constraints, operational continuity requirements, and future expansion planning.
• Experience reviewing hydraulic models, utility calculations, engineering reports, and large multidisciplinary design packages.
• Proficiency with WaterGEMS, SewerGEMS, InfoWorks, StormCAD, or equivalent hydraulic modelling platforms.
• Strong understanding of BIM, digital engineering coordination, and asset information management.
• Knowledge of international utility codes, standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Ability to make complex technical decisions at executive and program leadership level.
• Excellent leadership, negotiation, strategic planning, communication, and stakeholder management capability.
• Chartered Engineer, Professional Engineer, or equivalent professional registration is highly desirable.
• Extensive experience on airport mega-projects or greenfield airport developments is advantageous.
• Knowledge of ICAO, FAA, NFPA, AWWA, BS-EN standards, and related infrastructure requirements is beneficial.
• Familiarity with FIDIC and Design-Build, EPC, PMC, or Delivery Partner delivery models is preferred.
• Experience developing utilities strategies for smart airports and sustainable infrastructure programs is valuable.

Skills Set

• Utilities design leadership
• Utility master planning
• Wet utilities
• Dry utilities
• Potable water networks
• Firefighting water systems
• Stormwater drainage
• Sewerage networks
• Irrigation systems
• Utility corridors
• Utility tunnels
• District cooling interfaces
• Electrical duct banks
• ICT ducting infrastructure
• Hydraulic modelling
• WaterGEMS
• SewerGEMS
• InfoWorks
• StormCAD
• Utility network sizing
• Infrastructure resilience
• Utility redundancy
• Airport infrastructure
• Airport utility integration
• Underground utilities
• Airfield utility coordination
• Terminal utilities
• Cargo facility utilities
• Utility provider coordination
• Authority approvals
• Technical governance
• Design assurance
• Design management
• Engineering standards
• Multidisciplinary coordination
• BIM coordination
• Clash detection
• Digital engineering
• Asset information management
• Value engineering
• Constructability review
• Technical risk management
• Design optimization
• Construction support
• Testing and commissioning
• Operational readiness
• Asset handover
• NFPA
• AWWA
• BS-EN standards
• FIDIC
• Executive technical reporting

Why Join Us

This position offers the opportunity to shape the utility infrastructure strategy of a major airport development in Riyadh, where resilient water, drainage, firefighting, utility corridor, electrical, and communications infrastructure directly support safe and continuous airport operations. The scale of the program provides substantial influence over master planning, technical standards, design integration, construction readiness, and long-term asset performance. For an experienced utilities executive, the role provides a high-level platform to lead multidisciplinary engineering teams while contributing to one of the most technically demanding areas of airport development. The combination of strategic design leadership, authority coordination, smart infrastructure, sustainability, and operational resilience offers strong long-term value for senior infrastructure professionals.

About the Company

Parsons Corporation delivers engineering, infrastructure, aviation, construction management, and technology solutions for major programs worldwide. Its multidisciplinary teams support complex airport, transportation, and urban development projects through integrated infrastructure planning, technical governance, digital engineering, and coordinated project delivery.