Senior Engineering Design Manager - Remote (United States)

Decima International is a professional services company that delivers project management and controls services in the U.S. and the Middle East. The Senior Engineering Design Manager will support multiple data center projects, ensuring multidisciplinary designs meet client requirements and operational goals while managing several projects across multiple regions.

Responsibilities:

• Act as the owner’s trusted design authority, ensuring all multidisciplinary designs meet program requirements, operational goals, and long-term reliability objectives
• Serve as the primary liaison between the owner and the external design team, ensuring client requirements, performance criteria, and operational needs are clearly communicated, interpreted, and incorporated into coordinated design solutions across all disciplines
• Review and approve consultant design packages (concept, SD, DD, IFP, IFC) across CSA, MEP, ICT, and Security disciplines
• Provide critical evaluation of proposed solutions, identifying gaps, risks, interdisciplinary inconsistencies, constructability issues, or value-engineering opportunities that protect the owner’s interests
• Lead technical and commercial negotiations with designers, contractors, and specialty consultants
• Provide technical leadership and strategic oversight across all data center design disciplines, ensuring systems are resilient, efficient, scalable, secure, and maintainable
• Oversee civil, structural, and architectural design elements, including: Site development, grading, utilities, and drainage; Structural systems and building envelopes; Architectural layouts, space planning, and constructability; Life-safety, fire separation, and code compliance coordination
• Validate design assumptions, calculations, and interdisciplinary coordination
• Oversee key mechanical systems, including: Data center cooling (CRAH/CRAC, chilled water, DX, evaporative cooling); Hydronics and fluid distribution; Heat rejection systems; Airflow management, pressurization, and containment strategies; Smoke exhaust and other life-safety systems
• Review and validate CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) models to ensure efficient airflow, thermal performance, and operational reliability
• Validate mechanical design calculations, equipment selections, and modeling outputs
• Evaluate and guide the development of electrical power systems, including: Medium-voltage and low-voltage distribution; UPS systems and battery/energy-storage technologies; Generators, switchgear, and paralleling gear; Protective relaying, grounding, and bonding; Emergency power, lighting, and controls
• Review load studies, short-circuit analyses, arc flash studies, and selective coordination plans
• Oversee ICT and security system designs, including: Structured cabling and pathways; Network rooms and data halls integration; Physical security systems (access control, CCTV, monitoring systems); Integration with building management and operational systems
• Ensure alignment with client security standards and operational requirements
• Drive the design review and governance process, ensuring alignment with codes, standards, and the owner’s design basis
• Coordinate interdisciplinary design integration across CSA, MEP, ICT, Security, controls, and other engineering disciplines
• Manage design budgets, forecasts, and cost controls using ERP systems, ensuring alignment with program financial objectives
• Manage specifications, technical standards, and consultant submittals to ensure consistency and compliance
• Lead and manage value engineering initiatives to optimize cost, performance, and constructability without compromising reliability or client requirements
• Oversee BIM coordination, clash detection, and model reviews using Revit and Navisworks to ensure fully coordinated, construction-ready designs
• Ensure all design deliverables are complete, coordinated, and construction-ready
• Maintain design logs, review matrices, risk registers, decision documentation, and change records
• Provide design-intent interpretation during construction and ensure contractors’ work aligns with approved drawings, specifications, and client requirements
• Manage and review RFIs, submittals, and field issues to ensure alignment with design intent and contractual obligations
• Evaluate all design-related change order requests across CSA, Mechanical, Electrical, ICT, and Security disciplines, including: Determining root cause (design development, unforeseen conditions, scope gaps, or contractor means/methods); Assessing technical and commercial validity; Identifying alternate solutions or mitigation strategies; Leading technical negotiations to minimize unnecessary change costs; Ensuring documentation is compliant, justified, and properly approved
• Participate in commissioning planning, witness system testing, and validate that installed systems meet performance, security, and reliability requirements
• Work closely with program management, operations, construction, finance, and external designers to ensure design solutions meet functional, operational, and business objectives
• Communicate design decisions, risks, and recommendations clearly and effectively to leadership and external stakeholders

Requirements:

• 15+ years of design experience in data centers or mission-critical environments across CSA, MEP, ICT, and Security disciplines
• 5+ years as an owner's representative, design manager, or consulting lead managing multidisciplinary design teams
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Architecture, Construction Management, or a related discipline
• Extensive experience with hyperscale data center programs
• Strong understanding of applicable codes and standards, including: ASHRAE, NFPA, Uptime Institute, NEC, NFPA 70/70E, IEEE standards, International Building Code (IBC) and local jurisdictional requirements
• Proven ability to manage external design firms, control budgets, and hold partners accountable for performance
• Demonstrated experience with BIM coordination, clash detection, and model review processes
• Professional Engineer (PE) license or equivalent professional certification
• Master's degree in Engineering, Architecture, or a related field