Design Manager

Job Title: Design Manager Job Description
The Design Manager serves as the primary technical advocate for the Owner, overseeing external architecture and engineering teams as they convert industrial brownfield structures into mission-critical facilities. This role guides complex warehouse-to-data-center retrofits from initial building assessment and feasibility through permitting, structural reinforcement, utility service upgrades, and final construction, ensuring that design intent, budget, and schedule are consistently protected.
Responsibilities
- Lead technical due diligence and feasibility studies for converting existing warehouse shells into data center infrastructure, including structural load assessments and utility capacity evaluations to optimize layouts.
- Act as the primary technical liaison between internal stakeholders, external Engineers of Record, and general contractors, consistently advocating for the Owners design intent, budget, and schedule.
- Oversee and review 30%, 60%, 90%, and Issued-for-Construction design packages, ensuring seamless integration of heavy electrical and mechanical systems within existing building footprints.
- Navigate complex change-of-use permitting processes, zoning requirements, and variances with local Authorities Having Jurisdiction, ensuring full compliance with US codes such as NFPA, NEC, and IBC for building retrofits.
- Coordinate structural and utility designs, including reinforcements for heavy AHU and chiller loads, slab-on-grade modifications, localized trenching, and routing of medium-voltage power upgrades into existing sites.
- Proactively identify unforeseen existing site conditions and manage associated technical and contractual impacts through Requests for Information, careful evaluation of contractor change orders, and structured scope control.
- Lead Value Engineering workshops to balance performance, reliability, and cost, while maintaining the mission-critical requirements of data center and advanced technology facilities.
- Support project delivery from structural exploration and core/shell modifications through permitted construction and final handover, ensuring technical consistency and quality throughout.
- Collaborate closely with construction management and design teams to align building design, construction sequencing, and data center requirements across all phases of the project.
- Maintain accurate and organized design data and project documentation, contributing to effective data and project management practices across multiple concurrent retrofit projects.
Essential Skills
- Bachelors degree in Civil, Structural, Electrical, or Mechanical Engineering, Architecture, or a closely related technical field.
- Minimum 5+ years of professional experience in design, engineering, or construction management for mission-critical facilities such as data centers, telecom, or advanced technology environments.
- Explicit experience in building conversions, adaptive reuse, or major retrofits of existing industrial or warehouse structures.
- Proven experience developing, reviewing, and permitting construction documents under US Building Codes (IBC), National Electrical Code (NEC), and NFPA standards, particularly for existing structures and renovations.
- Demonstrated history of delivering industrial or mission-critical projects from structural exploration and core/shell modification through permitted construction and handover.
- Strong project management skills, including scope control, change management, and coordination of multidisciplinary design and construction teams.
- Experience in construction and design project management within building design and construction environments.
- Ability to manage and interpret complex design data and documentation for mission-critical facility projects.
- Deep familiarity with mission-critical facilities and data center design principles, including reliability, redundancy, and infrastructure resiliency.
Additional Skills & Qualifications
- Direct experience converting large-scale logistics, fulfillment, or industrial distribution centers into Tier III or Tier IV data center infrastructure.
- Deep understanding of integrating heavy mechanical systems such as rooftop air handlers and chiller plants into existing building envelopes.
- Strong knowledge of high-density electrical topologies, including substations, generators, and UPS systems, and their integration into retrofit projects.
- Structural savvy with retrofitting challenges, including column-grid constraints, roof loading limitations, and building envelope thermal upgrades.
- Hands-on experience with Bluebeam for document review and markups.
- Proficiency with construction and design management platforms such as Procore and BIM 360/Navisworks for coordinating existing and new utilities.
- Experience using project scheduling tools such as MS Project or Primavera P6 to plan and track complex retrofit projects.
- Background in data management related to design and construction projects.
- Experience working in mission-critical facilities environments and data center construction management.
Work Environment
This position operates in a virtual and remote work environment, enabling collaboration with distributed architecture, engineering, and construction teams through digital platforms and design coordination tools. The role requires travel within Texas to project sites, with approximately 25% travel expected to conduct on-site assessments, design reviews, and coordination meetings. Work is focused on industrial brownfield and warehouse facilities undergoing conversion to mission-critical data centers, involving close interaction with field conditions, existing building infrastructure, and active construction environments.
Job Type & Location
This is a Contract position based out of Seattle, WA.
Pay and Benefits
The pay range for this position is $60.00 - $70.00/hr. Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors. Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job
classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be
subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits
available for this temporary role may include the following:

Medical, dental & vision
Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
401(k) Retirement Plan Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
Short and long-term disability
Health Spending Account (HSA)
Transportation benefits
Employee Assistance Program
Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)
Job Type & Location
This is a Contract position based out of Seattle, WA.
Application Deadline
This position is anticipated to close on Nov 26, 2026.
Workplace Type
This is a fully remote position. About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without
regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability,
sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected
by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or
adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability,
please email [email protected] for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance:
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the
city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants
with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector:
It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a
condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law
shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI):
We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process,
including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications
and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you
acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.