Design Director - Infrastructure
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Key skills for this role
About the Role
Buro Happold seeks a Design Director – Infrastructure to lead infrastructure design on a luxury development in Riyadh. The role involves directing design strategy, managing consultants, and ensuring technical excellence across roads, utilities, and transport interfaces.
Key Skills for This Role
Responsibilities
- Lead the full infrastructure design strategy and delivery across the project lifecycle, from concept and schematic design through detailed design, tender and construction support
- Direct and manage design consultants, specialist subconsultants and internal teams to achieve programme, budget and quality objectives
- Provide senior technical leadership across roads, grading, wet and dry utilities, sitewide infrastructure corridors and authority interfaces
- Drive design integration across architecture, landscape, transport, utilities, structures and MEP disciplines to ensure coordinated project outcomes
- Oversee design governance, design reviews, gateway submissions and technical approvals
- Lead value engineering, buildability reviews and cost validation exercises without compromising design intent or operational performance
- Manage design risks, changes, constraints and critical dependencies to support on time delivery
- Establish design management protocols, reporting structures, deliverable trackers and consultant performance standards
- Support procurement activities including scope definition, RFP preparation, technical bid reviews and consultant appointments
- Act as the key client facing lead on infrastructure design matters and present recommendations to senior stakeholders
- Work closely with project leadership, planning, commercial and construction teams to align design outputs with delivery priorities
- Mentor senior design managers and discipline leads and contribute to continuous improvement in design management practices
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering or related engineering discipline; Master's degree preferred
- Extensive experience leading infrastructure design on major mixed use, hospitality, destination or luxury developments
- Strong understanding of multidisciplinary design management and complex interface coordination
- Proven ability to lead consultant teams and manage client, authority and executive level stakeholders
- Strong knowledge of design stages, technical assurance, authority approvals and construction support processes
- Demonstrated experience in value engineering, programme recovery and design risk management
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including ability to write and review high level technical reports
- Highly organised, commercially aware and capable of managing multiple priorities in a fast paced project environment
- Experience operating within a BIM led design environment is preferred
- Middle East project experience, ideally in Saudi Arabia, is strongly preferred
Full Job Posting
Role Overview
- On this landmark luxury project in Riyadh, you will help shape a world class destination through the leadership of integrated infrastructure design, coordination and delivery.
Key Duties
- Lead the full infrastructure design strategy and delivery across the project lifecycle, from concept and schematic design through detailed design, tender and construction support.
- Direct and manage design consultants, specialist subconsultants and internal teams to achieve programme, budget and quality objectives.
- Provide senior technical leadership across roads, grading, wet and dry utilities, sitewide infrastructure corridors and authority interfaces.
- Drive design integration across architecture, landscape, transport, utilities, structures and MEP disciplines to ensure coordinated project outcomes.
- Oversee design governance, design reviews, gateway submissions and technical approvals.
- Lead value engineering, buildability reviews and cost validation exercises without compromising design intent or operational performance.
- Manage design risks, changes, constraints and critical dependencies to support on time delivery.
- Establish design management protocols, reporting structures, deliverable trackers and consultant performance standards.
- Support procurement activities including scope definition, RFP preparation, technical bid reviews and consultant appointments.
- Act as the key client facing lead on infrastructure design matters and present recommendations to senior stakeholders.
- Work closely with project leadership, planning, commercial and construction teams to align design outputs with delivery priorities.
- Mentor senior design managers and discipline leads and contribute to continuous improvement in design management practices.
Skills and Experience
- Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering or a related engineering discipline; Master's degree preferred.
- Extensive experience leading infrastructure design on major mixed use, hospitality, destination or luxury developments.
- Strong understanding of multidisciplinary design management and complex interface coordination.
- Proven ability to lead consultant teams and manage client, authority and executive level stakeholders.
- Strong knowledge of design stages, technical assurance, authority approvals and construction support processes.
- Demonstrated experience in value engineering, programme recovery and design risk management.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to write and review high level technical reports.
- Highly organised, commercially aware and capable of managing multiple priorities in a fast paced project environment.
- Experience operating within a BIM led design environment is preferred.
- Middle East project experience, ideally in Saudi Arabia, is strongly preferred.
What We Offer You
- The opportunity to lead infrastructure design on a flagship luxury development in Riyadh.
- A senior leadership role with significant influence on project outcomes and long term legacy.
- An attractive salary and benefits package.
- A collaborative, high performance environment with exposure to leading consultants and stakeholders.
- The chance to contribute to a project that will set new benchmarks for luxury development in the region.
About Buro Happold
- Buro Happold values individual's flexible approaches to working patterns.
- We welcome applications from those who are seeking flexibility in their careers.
- Our exceptional portfolio of projects is the result of diversity of thought, identities, backgrounds and experiences.
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