POSITION SUMMARY:
The Design Manager owns the design process for data center design and engineering programs, coordinating architects, structural, civil, and MEP consultants through Schematic Design, Design Development, and Construction Documents to ensure every design package is complete, coordinated, and ready for construction.
This is a hands-on design coordination role, not a broad portfolio or program management position. We're looking for someone who lives inside the design phase; running design review meetings, resolving inter-disciplinary conflicts, tracking design RFIs and comments, and holding external design consultants accountable to scope, quality, and schedule.
You will be the owner's primary point of contact for the design team throughout each project's design phases, handing off a clean, fully coordinated design package to construction once CDs are complete.
Key Responsibilities
Design Process Ownership- Own and manage the design process across architectural, structural, civil, and MEP disciplines from Schematic Design (SD) through Design Development (DD) and Construction Documents (CD).
- Develop and maintain design phase schedules, ensuring each discipline's deliverables are coordinated and issued on time.
- Run recurring design review meetings across disciplines, tracking open items, design decisions, and action items to resolution.
- Identify and resolve inter-disciplinary design conflicts before they reach construction catching coordination gaps between architectural, structural, civil, and MEP design packages.
Consultant & Design Team Management- Manage external architects, engineers of record, and specialty design consultants throughout the design phase, holding them accountable to scope, quality, and schedule commitments.
- Review design deliverables at each milestone (SD/DD/CD) for completeness, internal coordination, and alignment with Fluidstack's design standards.
- Track and drive resolution of design-phase RFIs, comments, and clarification requests across all disciplines.
- Serve as the primary escalation point when design consultants fall behind schedule or deliverables fail to meet Fluidstack's quality bar.
Design-to-Construction Handoff- Ensure a clean, fully coordinated design package is handed off to construction teams once CDs are complete, minimizing RFIs and design-related delays during construction.
- Support early construction-phase design clarifications and RFI resolution as the design team's representative.
- Maintain design decision logs and documentation to preserve design intent through the construction handoff.
Reporting & Coordination- Produce regular design phase status reporting for internal stakeholders: milestone progress, open design issues, and risks to the design schedule.
- Coordinate closely with civil, structural, MEP, and construction teams to ensure design decisions reflect real-world constructability and site conditions.
QUALIFICATIONS:
Basic Qualifications
- 5+ years of experience managing the design phase of complex technical projects data center, mission-critical, or large-scale industrial/commercial facility experience strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated experience coordinating multi-disciplinary design teams (architectural, structural, civil, MEP) through SD/DD/CD milestones.
- Experience managing external architects, engineers of record, and design consultants, including deliverable review and schedule accountability.
- Strong organizational skills with the ability to run design review cadences and resolve conflicts across disciplines under real schedule pressure.
- Proficiency with design coordination and documentation tools (Bluebeam, Procore, or equivalent); familiarity with BIM/Revit workflows a plus.
- Comfortable in a fast-paced, owner/developer environment where design decisions carry real schedule and cost consequences.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in hyperscale data center, mission-critical, or large-scale industrial facility design.
- Background managing design consultants as an owner's representative or developer, rather than as a design firm employee.
- Familiarity with FM Global design requirements and how they intersect with architectural and structural design coordination.
- Experience with modular or prefabricated design coordination across disciplines.
- PMP or equivalent project management certification.
- Bachelor's degree in Architecture, Engineering, Construction Management, or a related technical discipline.
BENEFITS SUMMARY: Individual compensation is determined by skills, qualifications, experience, and location. Compensation details listed in this posting reflect the base hourly rate or annual salary only, unless otherwise stated. In addition to base compensation, full-time roles are eligible for Medical, Dental, Vision, Commuter and 401K benefits with company matching.
IND123