Lead Civil Design Manager (Rail/Metro)

Job description / Role

The Riyadh Metro is the flagship public transportation project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In order for it to be a success, the project will require the active leadership support of strong design and technical project teams.

There is an immediate need for a senior level Design Manager to manage the Program and Construction Management (PMCM) services relevant to the technical process for this design-build (DB) contract. An integral part of the leadership team, this the most senior technical position for this major rail project and will require the successful candidate to manage and motivate a large multi-disciplinary engineering design team.

As a multi-disciplinary design engineering manager under the direct supervision of one of two Package Managers, the chosen candidate will lead the delivery of a robust, integrated rail system design. This person will be responsible for the management and governance of all technical and engineering aspects on the Riyadh Metro project and will work with key rail stakeholders to guarantee successful project delivery.

The position involves the provision of excellent engineering skills, technical knowledge of all rail systems disciplines and expertise in inter-disciplinary coordination. The ideal candidate will be familiar with the detailed processes required to deliver multi-disciplinary rail projects and hold a reputation of technical excellence and trust within the industry.

The chosen candidate will be an individual with strong business acumen, who has a proven record of successful delivery on large scale engineering design projects and can display a high level of technical ability within the railway civil engineering field.

Furthermore, the Design Manager must demonstrate the ability to lead large teams of engineers to superior performance, train and mentor younger staff, push the boundaries of technical excellence, increase efficiency by developing better processes and procedures and ensure the delivery of safe, buildable, value engineered design solutions, delivered on time and within budget.

Responsibilities will include but are not limited to the following:
- Providing technical guidance, governance and day-today coordination of all DB contractor design review activities for contractual conformance
- Drafting and reviewing the status and adequacy of the design review plan to ensure continuing suitability and effectiveness
- Receiving, distributing, and tracking design reviews of the DB contractors design submittals for the duration of design and construction
- Contributing to the successful delivery of the project by leading and coordinating cross-discipline interfaces from a technical design perspective
- Ensuring appropriate processes and skills are in place to assure the safety and integrity of all engineering deliverables and projects
- Developing and managing a large multidisciplinary team of design engineers to raise the level of their technical capability and understanding
- Regularly engaging with the project senior management team when determining the allocation of resources (design/engineering) to support the project and initiating changes when necessary
- Providing leadership, direction and guidance to staff to ensure quality technical services are provided that meet both the project and client requirements
- Identifying and managing the delivery of information required by the DB contractors, the client and other internal and external stakeholders; monitoring their progress against agreed delivery dates
- Liaising with the client and the DB contractor to establish their requirements and to discuss technical solutions
- Identifying risks and opportunities associated with coordination (e.g. differing time scales for developing inter-related design solutions) and reporting back to the project senior leadership team
- Identifying, reviewing and advocating changes (variations) to designs in terms of technical capability, cost effectiveness, scope, durability and maintainability of design solutions

Requirements

- Bachelor degree in Civil Engineering or related technical discipline
- Minimum of 18 years of experience in design and construction of major Metro Rail infrastructure projects at feasibility, outline detail design, and construction stages
- Successful track record in technical design review on major Metro Rail Projects for civil and systems related disciplines
- Knowledge of rail, metro or related project design, project, design assurance and safety management principals
- Experience of managing risk and opportunity and administering change on projects
- Demonstrated ability to train, mentor and develop staff in technical engineering design excellence
- Ability to educate clients in all aspects of systems engineering
- Responsive to changing requirements, flexible and able to work under pressure
- Proven ability to communicate effectively, work collaboratively with others, inspire and to add value to projects
- Strong capacity to resolve conflicts and reach an agreement with external and internal stakeholders
- Full professional proficiency in English (verbal and written, including technical writing)
- Excellent communication, relationship management and influencing skills and effective collaboration with multiple stakeholders

Desirable
- Professional Engineer, Chartered Engineer or a member of a relevant engineering institution
- Knowledge of design-build principles
- International exposure and cross-cultural experience. Knowledge of Middle East is highly beneficial
- Arabic Language

About the Company

Parsons is a leader in many diverse markets such as infrastructure, transportation, water, telecommunications, aviation, commercial, environmental, planning, industrial manufacturing, education, healthcare, life sciences and homeland security.

Parsons provides technical and management solutions to federal, regional and local government agencies as well as private industries worldwide.