MEP Design Manager – Data Centre

Location: Zaragosa, Spain

Employment type: Permanent

Role overview

We are seeking an experienced MEP Design Manager to join a main contractor delivering a major data centre project.

You will manage and coordinate the mechanical, electrical and public health design from pre-construction through construction, commissioning and handover. Working with consultants, specialist subcontractors and the site team, you will ensure design information is coordinated, buildable and issued in line with procurement and construction requirements.

This role requires strong technical knowledge, experience managing complex design interfaces and an understanding of the reliability, resilience and operational requirements of data centres.

Key responsibilities

Design management and coordination

• Manage the MEP design programme, tracking deliverables against procurement, construction and commissioning milestones.
• Coordinate design consultants, specialist subcontractors, equipment vendors and internal project teams.
• Review designs against the client’s requirements, project specifications, design responsibilities and applicable standards.
• Manage interfaces between MEP systems, architecture, structure, civil works and specialist packages.
• Chair technical and design coordination meetings, ensuring decisions, actions and outstanding issues are recorded and closed.
• Maintain design trackers, responsibility matrices, technical risk registers and information release schedules.

Technical reviews and procurement

• Lead reviews of technical submissions, drawings, calculations, specifications and equipment selections, obtaining input from the responsible designers and specialists.
• Challenge designs for buildability, maintainability, access, installation sequencing and commissioning requirements.
• Coordinate key systems including power distribution, generators, UPS, cooling, ventilation, controls, fire protection and public health services.
• Manage interfaces with BMS, EPMS, ICT, security and client-supplied equipment.
• Support procurement by reviewing technical scopes, tender returns, exclusions and vendor proposals.
• Identify value engineering opportunities while maintaining required performance, resilience and contractual compliance.
• Ensure proposed substitutions and design changes follow the agreed review and approval process.

Construction support and change control

• Work closely with construction teams to resolve design queries and installation constraints.
• Manage RFIs and technical clarifications, securing timely responses from the appropriate parties.
• Coordinate BIM activities with the BIM team, ensuring clashes and spatial issues are resolved before installation.
• Assess the technical implications of design changes and support the commercial and planning teams in identifying cost and programme impacts.
• Track design-related risks and escalate unresolved issues that could affect delivery or system performance.

Commissioning and handover

• Involve commissioning specialists and the client’s operational team early in design reviews.
• Ensure design information supports testing, commissioning, integrated systems testing and operational readiness.
• Coordinate designer and vendor responses to issues identified during factory testing, site testing and commissioning.
• Support the review and completion of as-built drawings, O&M information, design records and outstanding technical items.

Essential experience and qualifications

• A relevant qualification in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, building services or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• Demonstrable experience managing MEP design on data centre or comparable mission-critical construction projects.
• Experience working for a main contractor, major MEP contractor or design consultancy with substantial construction delivery involvement.
• Strong understanding of both mechanical and electrical building services, with detailed expertise in at least one discipline.
• Experience coordinating consultants, specialist subcontractors and equipment manufacturers across complex projects.
• Understanding of resilient infrastructure, redundancy arrangements and the interfaces between critical systems.
• Experience managing design programmes, technical submissions, RFIs and design changes.
• Working knowledge of BIM coordination and common data environments.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to resolve technical issues with clients, designers and delivery teams.

Desirable experience

• Delivery experience on hyperscale, colocation or enterprise data centres.
• Experience across pre-construction, construction, commissioning and handover.
• Familiarity with different cooling technologies, including liquid cooling.
• Experience coordinating long-lead plant and client-direct equipment packages.
• Professional registration or membership of a relevant engineering institution.
• Experience delivering projects internationally.

Key measures of success

• Coordinated design information issued in time for procurement and construction.
• Technical queries and design risks resolved within agreed timescales.
• Reduced installation clashes, design-related rework and late changes.
• Clear management of design responsibilities and approval status.
• Effective technical support through commissioning and handover.