Design Director – Data Centers

Hunter Philips Executive Search; Texas; On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Hunter Philips Executive Search is recruiting a Design Director – Data Center for a mission-critical design and engineering program in Texas. You will lead multidisciplinary design across data center environments and own senior client relationships while directing engineering specialists across critical power, cooling and resilience.

The role demands 7+ years of data center delivery and strong leadership across disciplines.

Qualifications

• 7+ years’ experience within data center consultancy, design or mission-critical project delivery.
• Strong multidisciplinary understanding of data center MEP infrastructure, particularly critical power and cooling systems.
• Experience leading and coordinating data center design across multiple engineering disciplines.
• Working knowledge of resilience, reliability, commissioning and technical standards governing mission-critical environments.
• Strong client-facing capability with the credibility to lead technical workshops, design reviews and senior stakeholder discussions.
• The technical authority to direct subject matter experts across multiple engineering disciplines.
• Commercial awareness with experience owning project scope, budget and delivery performance.
• Experience operating across engineering teams, consultants, contractors and client organisations.
• CDCDP, PMP or Professional Engineer (PE) credentials would be advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Lead multidisciplinary design engagements across data center and mission-critical projects, taking ownership of technical delivery across the project lifecycle.
• Own senior client relationships, translating technical, operational and commercial requirements into coordinated engineering solutions.
• Direct multidisciplinary engineering specialists across critical power, cooling, MEP and resilience strategy.
• Lead technical workshops, design reviews and critical project-stage discussions, driving decisions and alignment between clients and engineering teams.
• Define technical direction around reliability, resilience and project-specific design requirements.
• Own the quality and integration of engineering deliverables, identifying technical gaps and resolving interfaces before they impact delivery.
• Drive coordination between engineering disciplines, specialist consultants, contractors and client stakeholders.
• Influence projects from early client engagement and tendering through design and execution.
• Provide technical leadership across proposals, specifications, design reviews and contractor engagement.
• Own project scope, budget and commercial performance alongside technical delivery.

Job description

Design Director – Data Center ¦ Mission-Critical Design & Engineering – Texas

Do you have the technical breadth to lead multidisciplinary design across complex data center environments? Are you comfortable owning senior client relationships while directing engineering specialists across critical power, cooling and resilience? Do you want greater influence over how technically demanding infrastructure moves from initial requirements into executable design? If so, read on...

The Company

An international data center infrastructure platform expanding its presence across the United States.

The business is developing large-scale digital infrastructure for increasingly power-intensive customer requirements, combining development, engineering, construction, and operational capability.

The Role

As Design Director, you will:

• Lead multidisciplinary design engagements across data center and mission-critical projects, taking ownership of technical delivery across the project lifecycle
• Own senior client relationships, translating technical, operational and commercial requirements into coordinated engineering solutions
• Direct multidisciplinary engineering specialists across critical power, cooling, MEP and resilience strategy
• Lead technical workshops, design reviews and critical project-stage discussions, driving decisions and alignment between clients and engineering teams
• Define technical direction around reliability, resilience and project-specific design requirements
• Own the quality and integration of engineering deliverables, identifying technical gaps and resolving interfaces before they impact delivery
• Drive coordination between engineering disciplines, specialist consultants, contractors and client stakeholders
• Influence projects from early client engagement and tendering through design and execution
• Provide technical leadership across proposals, specifications, design reviews and contractor engagement
• Own project scope, budget and commercial performance alongside technical delivery

The Person

The successful candidate will likely bring:

• 7+ years’ experience within data center consultancy, design or mission-critical project delivery
• Strong multidisciplinary understanding of data center MEP infrastructure, particularly critical power and cooling systems
• Experience leading and coordinating data center design across multiple engineering disciplines
• Working knowledge of resilience, reliability, commissioning and technical standards governing mission-critical environments
• Strong client-facing capability with the credibility to lead technical workshops, design reviews and senior stakeholder discussions
• The technical authority to direct subject matter experts across multiple engineering disciplines
• Commercial awareness with experience owning project scope, budget and delivery performance
• Experience operating across engineering teams, consultants, contractors and client organisations
• CDCDP, PMP or Professional Engineer (PE) credentials would be advantageous

With continued growth across the Americas, this role provides the opportunity to take significant ownership of client relationships, multidisciplinary design and technical delivery as the data center business expands.

If you are looking for a broad and challenging design leadership role with the technical authority, commercial ownership and client exposure to match.