Design Manager - London - UK

Design Manager – Office (Data Centres)

Location: London, United Kingdom
Reporting To: Design Director & CEO
Employment Type: Full-Time
Working Pattern: Office-Based (5 Days per Week)

About CTS Group

CTS Group is a leading international design and build contractor specialising in the delivery of mission-critical data centre facilities across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). We combine engineering excellence, innovation, and digital expertise to deliver high-performance, sustainable, and future-ready infrastructure for hyperscale, colocation, and enterprise clients.

With a diverse workforce representing more than 40 nationalities, CTS fosters a collaborative and high-performance culture where technical excellence, safety, and innovation underpin every project. Beyond construction, CTS develops advanced digital solutions and standardised modular infrastructure, enabling faster, smarter, and more efficient data centre delivery.

As our project portfolio continues to grow, we are seeking an experienced Design Manager to join our London-based Design & Engineering team and support the successful delivery of complex data centre projects across the UK and Europe.

The Role

The Design Manager is responsible for leading and coordinating the design delivery of data centre projects and major project workstreams from our London office. Working closely with clients, consultants, engineering teams, vendors, and project delivery stakeholders, you will ensure designs are fully coordinated, technically robust, compliant, commercially viable, and aligned with programme requirements.

Acting as a key link between the Design & Engineering function and project delivery teams, you will oversee design activities from concept development through detailed design, procurement support, construction, commissioning, and final handover.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced design professional who thrives in a fast-paced, technically complex environment and has a passion for delivering world-class mission-critical facilities.

Key Responsibilities

Design Management & Leadership

• Lead and manage the overall design programme, ensuring engineering deliverables align with project milestones, procurement schedules, manufacturing requirements, and construction activities.

• Coordinate multidisciplinary design teams across Mechanical, Electrical, Civil, Structural, Architectural, and specialist disciplines.

• Ensure design outputs meet client requirements, project specifications, statutory regulations, and CTS engineering standards.

• Drive collaboration across internal and external stakeholders to achieve successful project outcomes.

Design Coordination & Delivery

• Manage and coordinate external consultants, specialist designers, and engineering partners, ensuring quality, programme, and performance objectives are achieved.

• Maintain and manage design deliverable schedules, information release plans, and project documentation registers.

• Lead technical design reviews to ensure compliance, constructability, operability, maintainability, and resilience requirements are achieved.

• Review and challenge design solutions to optimise project performance, quality, and efficiency.

BIM & Digital Engineering

• Coordinate BIM and digital design activities to ensure fully integrated, clash-free, and construction-ready design packages.

• Promote the effective use of digital engineering tools, Common Data Environments (CDEs), and BIM workflows.

• Work closely with BIM and digital delivery teams to ensure design information is accurately coordinated and maintained.

Construction & Site Support

• Act as the primary office-based escalation point for Site Design Managers and project teams.

• Review and resolve escalated RFIs, technical queries, design clashes, and construction-related design issues.

• Assess and manage design changes during project execution, considering programme, technical, commercial, and operational impacts.

• Provide ongoing technical support throughout construction, commissioning, and project handover.

Risk Management & Compliance

• Identify, manage, and mitigate design risks, technical challenges, and interface issues throughout the project lifecycle.

• Ensure compliance with UK Building Regulations, the Building Safety Act, CDM Regulations, British Standards, and client-specific requirements.

• Support planning approvals, permitting activities, building control submissions, and regulatory engagement as required.

• Promote Safety in Design principles across all projects.

Commercial & Stakeholder Management

• Manage consultant scopes, design budgets, and associated commercial risks.

• Support value engineering and design optimisation initiatives while maintaining project performance, resilience, and compliance requirements.

• Develop and maintain strong working relationships with clients, consultants, contractors, suppliers, and internal stakeholders.

• Provide regular reporting on design progress, risks, programme status, and resource requirements.

Continuous Improvement

• Drive the implementation of CTS design standards, best practices, and lessons learned.

• Contribute to the development of standardised design solutions and engineering excellence across the business.

• Support innovation initiatives and continuous improvement within the Design & Engineering function.

About You

Essential Qualifications & Experience

• Degree qualified in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Building Services Engineering, Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, Architecture, or a related technical discipline.

• Minimum 7 years' experience within design management, engineering, or multidisciplinary design coordination roles.

• Proven experience delivering complex construction, data centre, mission-critical, infrastructure, or industrial projects.

• Strong understanding of mechanical and electrical systems and their integration within mission-critical facilities.

• Experience managing design programmes and coordinating multidisciplinary engineering teams.

• Proven ability to manage consultants, technical stakeholders, and competing project priorities.

• Experience supporting projects throughout the full design lifecycle, including concept design, detailed design, procurement support, construction, commissioning, and handover.

• Working knowledge of BIM platforms and Common Data Environments, including Revit, Navisworks, BIM 360, and Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC).

• Strong understanding of UK construction legislation and standards, including:

  • Building Regulations and Approved Documents

  • Building Safety Act 2022

  • CDM Regulations 2015

  • BS 7671

  • Relevant British Standards and Eurocodes

• Excellent communication, organisational, and stakeholder management skills.

• Full professional proficiency in English.

Desirable

• Previous experience delivering hyperscale or enterprise data centre projects.

• Background within an EPC contractor, design-build contractor, consulting engineering practice, or mission-critical project environment.

• Understanding of Uptime Institute Tier classifications and resilience strategies.

• Experience with modular, prefabricated, or off-site manufactured solutions.

• Additional European language skills.

What We Offer

Joining CTS means becoming part of a business at the forefront of data centre innovation and delivery. You will work on some of the most technically advanced and high-profile projects in the industry while collaborating with talented professionals across an international organisation.

In return, we offer:

• Competitive salary and benefits package

• Career progression opportunities within a fast-growing international business

• Exposure to large-scale hyperscale and mission-critical projects

• Professional development and training opportunities

• Collaborative, diverse, and high-performance working culture

• Opportunity to contribute to innovative and future-ready infrastructure solutions

Eligibility to Work in the UK

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the United Kingdom at the time of application and throughout their employment.

Please note that CTS Group is unable to provide visa sponsorship or support Skilled Worker visa applications for this position. Candidates requiring current or future sponsorship to work in the UK will not be considered.

If you are an experienced Design Manager looking to play a key role in the delivery of world-class data centre projects, we would welcome your application.