Head of Design

Job description / Role

Head of Design & Engineering
Up to 75,000 AED Per Month + Flights, Family Visas

Real Tier 1 - Global Business
Based in Dubai Head Office

Role Overview
Tier-1 Buildings main contractor in Dubai is seeking a highly experienced Head of Design & Engineering to lead multidisciplinary design teams across major building from Mega Watt Data Centers to High Rise Buildings.

Role is responsible for design strategy, technical excellence, value engineering, design coordination, and ensuring constructable, compliant, and cost-effective solutions from pre-contract through project delivery. You will be managing BIM, Sustainability, Quality, Temporary Works , Design & Engineering Departments.

Reporting into the Group General Manager you will lead and drive the business capability.

As a business they are very keen to embrace MMC and are constantly looking to drive efficiencies from Carbon Footprint, Innovation, Safety & Time to meet clients needs in a different way to help all stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Strategy
• Lead the design & engineering department across multiple large-scale projects. Current size of Team is 38 Staff.
• Develop & manage in house design strategies aligned with project & teams objectives
• Manage in-house engineering teams and external consultants.
• Drive innovation, digital design processes, and best-practice engineering standards.

Design Management
• Oversee the full design lifecycle: concept, schematic, detailed design, and IFC stages.
• Ensure timely delivery of design packages in line with project schedules.
• Conduct constructability reviews and coordinate with construction teams.
• Lead technical reviews, value engineering, and design optimization.

Stakeholder Coordination
• Act as the primary interface between consultants, clients, and authorities.
• Lead technical meetings and workshops with subcontractors and design partners.
• Ensure compliance with UAE building codes, local authority requirements, and international standards.

Quality, Risk, and Compliance
• Ensure all design work meets quality, health & safety, and regulatory standards.
• Identify design risks early and implement mitigation strategies.
• Oversee approvals, permits, and NOCs for major projects.

• Bachelor’s degree in Architecture, or related field
• 15–20+ years’ experience, including significant time with Tier-1 main contractors.
• At least 5 Years local experience in a relevant senior decision making capacity
• Proven leadership of design/engineering on major projects with clear experience on Technology and Data Center Projects
• Strong knowledge of UAE authority processes
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and technical leadership skills.
• Ability to manage large multidisciplinary teams and fast-track projects.

Package

• Salary up to AED 75,000 per month, depending on experience.
• Annual flight allowance, medical insurance, performance bonus.
• Long-term career prospects with a major regional contractor.

Salary:
AED 70,000 to 75,000 per month inclusive of fixed allowances.
Additional benefits: Plus Flights, Medical & Bonus

About the Company

At NSR we pride ourselves on market knowledge, integrity, loyalty and professionalism. Through personal relationships and knowledge of what our clients look for in specific requirements we like to pride ourselves on matching people to the right role.

The partners at NSR have always dealt with people in an open and honest manner and as a company we are driven to find the right opportunity for people enhancing their career where ever this may be worldwide.

We work on the principal that every person we deal with is a potential client, this process has proved beneficial for us as there are many people we have dealt with on the International circuit that have approached NSR Associates to recruit for them as a client after we have worked on their behalf as a candidate.