Senior Manager, Design, AMERS

Nscale; Seattle (WA); Remote; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Nscale is seeking a Senior Design Manager to own data center project design end-to-end. You will lead the AE team, coordinate internal and external stakeholders, and drive permitting and turnover to Operations.

This hands-on role reports to the Vice President, Design Management and is based in the United States with campus site assignments and travel as required.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in design/construction industry.
• Led design on at least one project from early design through Construction Administration.
• Experience scoping, procuring, negotiating, and administering AE contracts.
• Working knowledge of building systems and permitting processes.
• Bachelor's degree in Architecture, Engineering, or Construction Management.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the single point of accountability for design on assigned data center projects.
• Own the project design schedule and sequencing deliverables for procurement and permitting milestones.
• Translate design standards into scopes of work for the AE team.
• Drive design decisions with safety, schedule, quality, cost, and sustainability priorities.
• Coordinate design interfaces with utility providers and major equipment vendors.
• Define AE scope, issue RFPs, evaluate proposals, and administer contracts.
• Lead design coordination meetings and manage change discipline.
• Oversee permitting strategy, approvals, and documentation for projects.
• Conduct regular site visits to verify design intent and catch deviations early.

Skills

Design management

AE contracts

Stakeholder coordination

Construction administration

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Architecture, Civil, Structural, Mechanical, Electrical Engineering, Construction Management, or related

Job description

About Nscale

Nscale is the vertically integrated AI cloud engineered for AI. We own and operate the full stack — energy, data centers, GPU superclusters, orchestration, and AI services — delivering high-performance infrastructure to AI-native companies, enterprises, and governments across Europe and the US. We are deploying GPU capacity at hyperscale, operating some of the densest, most advanced AI infrastructure in the world.

About the Role

As Senior Design Manager, you will own the design of assigned data center projects end to end. You'll lead the architecture and engineering (AE) team, coordinate every internal and external stakeholder, hold the AE accountable through permitting, and deliver fully coordinated design packages that construction can build from without hesitation. Once construction starts, you'll stay on the project as the design lead through Construction Administration until turnover to Operations.

This is a hands-on delivery role, not an oversight role. You will be the single point of accountability for design on your projects: you'll procure the AE at the project level, set the design schedule, run the design reviews, resolve coordination conflicts, and make sure permits are issued on time. When the construction team has a question, you're the person who makes sure it gets answered.

You’ll report to the Vice President, Design Management and serve as the project-level backbone of Nscale's design management function. This is an individual contributor role. You'll lead AE teams, specialist consultants, and internal stakeholders through influence and project authority rather than line management. The role is based in the United States, and you'll be assigned to one or more campus sites, with travel to sites and AE offices as required.

You'll thrive here if you:

• Treat the project as your own and own the outcome, not just the process
• Make the call on an RFI in hours, not weeks, then document it and move on
• Know the difference between a drawing set that looks finished and one that is actually coordinated
• Earn the trust of Construction, Operations, and Commissioning by solving their problems, not defending the drawings
• Are curious about AI-assisted design review, automated clash workflows, and anything that shortens the loop

What You'll be Doing

Project Design Leadership

• Serve as the single point of accountability for design on assigned data center projects, from AE engagement through construction documents, permitting, Construction Administration, and turnover to Operations.
• Build and own the project design schedule, sequencing deliverables to support long-lead equipment procurement, early-release packages, permitting milestones, and construction start.
• Translate Nscale's design standards, campus master plan, and conceptual design basis into clear scopes of work for the AE team.
• Drive design decisions with a clear hierarchy of priorities: safety first, then schedule, quality, cost, and sustainability.
• Manage multiple concurrent projects or phases without losing visibility or control on any of them.

AE Procurement and Contract Management

• Define the AE scope of services, deliverables, and schedule for each project, and prepare and issue RFPs to the approved AE bench.
• Evaluate proposals, lead fee negotiations, and recommend award, balancing fee, team quality, capacity, and data center experience.
• Administer AE contracts by tracking scope, reviewing invoices against earned progress, and managing additional service requests and changes.
• Procure and manage specialist consultants, including geotechnical, civil, commissioning, acoustic, code, fire protection, and security, as each project requires.

Stakeholder and Partner Coordination

• Run a disciplined requirements capture process with Construction, Operations, Commissioning, Security, Network/IT, Procurement, EHS, and Finance, then reconcile conflicts and freeze the design basis at defined milestones.
• Chair regular design coordination meetings with clear agendas, documented decisions, and tracked actions.
• Manage change discipline by evaluating late requests for schedule and cost impact and securing a decision before the AE proceeds.
• Coordinate design interfaces with utility providers, major equipment vendors (generators, switchgear, UPS, chillers, CRAHs, transformers), and modular and prefabricated component fabricators.
• Maintain a single, current log of all external design inputs and their status.

Permitting Oversight

• Hold the AE accountable for developing and executing the project permitting strategy and schedule, with every required approval and critical-path dependency identified early.
• Track permit submissions and comment responses, and elevate slippage before it reaches the construction schedule.
• Make sure conditions of approval are reflected in the construction documents and communicated to the construction team.
• Coordinate with Nscale's community engagement and entitlement efforts so project design supports commitments made to the community and jurisdiction.

Design Coordination and Quality

• Drive structured design reviews at schematic design, design development, and construction document milestones, holding internal SMEs accountable for completing reviews on time and closing out every comment.
• Require the AE to run and document model-based clash detection so architectural, structural, MEP, fire protection, and site civil designs are genuinely coordinated before issue.
• Verify compliance with Nscale's design standards and owner's project requirements, and document any approved deviations.
• Review constructability, maintainability, and operational access with Construction and Operations before documents are released.

Construction Administration

• Serve as the design authority to the construction team and the owner's interface to the AE through construction.
• Hold the AE accountable for RFI and submittal turnaround, prioritizing long-lead and critical-path items.
• Drive field design issues to fast resolution, and elevate changes with cost or schedule impact promptly and with a recommendation.
• Conduct regular site visits and construction observation to validate design intent and catch deviations early.
• Support commissioning and close out the design side of the project, delivering as-builts, the record BIM model, and O&M documentation to Operations on schedule.

Reporting and Collaboration

• Report design status, risks, decisions, and upcoming milestones clearly to design and project leadership.
• Work closely with Construction, Operations, Procurement, Finance, and Legal so design decisions reflect Nscale's full range of priorities.
• Share knowledge with other design managers, and feed lessons learned and recurring issues back into Nscale's design standards and AE bench.

About You

• 5+ years of experience in the design and construction industry, in design management, architecture, engineering, or construction.
• Experience as the owner-side or AE-side design lead on at least one project delivered from early design through construction documents, permitting, and Construction Administration.
• Direct experience scoping, procuring, negotiating, and administering AE and specialist consultant contracts.
• Working knowledge of complex building systems, including electrical, mechanical, fire protection, structural, and site civil, sufficient to ask the right questions and recognize when an answer is incomplete.
• Working knowledge of building permitting and agency approval processes.
• Proven Construction Administration experience, including RFIs, submittals, field issue resolution, and close-out, on a fast-paced construction program.
• Experience coordinating major equipment vendors and modular or prefabricated building components into a coordinated design.
• A disciplined organizer and communicator who can run meetings, document decisions, track actions, and keep many parties aligned on a tight schedule.
• A strong cross-functional collaborator who works effectively with Construction, Operations, Commissioning, Procurement, and external partners.
• Entrepreneurial and resourceful, and comfortable in a fast-moving environment where process is built alongside delivery.
• Bachelor's degree in Architecture, Civil, Structural, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering, Construction Management, or a related discipline.

Nice to Have

• Direct experience in data center or hyperscale AI infrastructure design and delivery, including data center electrical, mechanical, and fire protection systems.
• Experience with modular, prefabricated, or offsite construction delivery on a completed project.
• Experience with early-release and fast-track design packaging to support accelerated construction starts.
• Familiarity with commissioning processes for mission-critical facilities.
• Existing relationships with high-performing AE firms and specialist consultants in the US data center market.
• Experience with sustainability design strategies, energy modeling, or LEED certification.
• Master's degree in Architecture, Engineering, Construction Management, or a related field.

Why this role matters

Every Nscale data center starts as a design, and every day of design delay or uncoordinated drawings shows up later as RFIs, change orders, and lost time in the field. As Senior Design Manager, you are the schedule protection on your projects. You make sure AE firms are scoped precisely and held accountable, requirements are frozen before they drift, permits land on time, and construction never waits on design. Success means projects that start construction with complete, buildable packages, assemblies that fit when they arrive on site, and lessons that make every project better than the last.

What We Can Offer You

At Nscale, you'll find a collaborative, supportive, and innovative environment where your contributions spark real impact. We're building something extraordinary, and we want you at the core.

Highly competitive package, including base salary and equity, with reviews every 12 months.

Join one of the fastest-growing tech startups: your chance to push boundaries, collaborate with brilliant minds, and make your mark on cutting-edge AI.

Expect a dynamic progression plan tailored to your ambitions. Grow by trying new things, leading, challenging the status quo, and owning your impact, always with our full support.

Human-first flexibility. We treat you as humans first. Our flexible workplace trusts Nscalers to deliver, giving you the autonomy to shape your day around life's moments.

Join our thriving remote-first team. Geography is no barrier to impact or connection. We build seamless virtual collaboration, empowering you wherever you work.

Equal Opportunities Statement

At Nscale, we are committed to fostering an inclusive, diverse, and equitable workplace. We believe that a variety of perspectives enrich our work environment, and we encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, experiences, and abilities. We strongly encourage applications from people of colour, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, neurodivergent people, parents, carers, and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

If there's anything we can do to accommodate your specific situation, please let us know.

The range below reflects the base salary for the position. Actual compensation may vary based on job-related factors such as skill set, experience, education, and location. In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible for bonus, equity, and/or commission programs. Nscale may offer a competitive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, flexible paid time off, parental leave, and retirement plan participation.

Salary Range

$150,000—$200,000 USD

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