Job Description – Design Manager – Wet Utilities
Position: Design Manager – Wet Utilities
Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE
Department: Engineering Design
Employment Type: Full-Time
Position Summary
We are seeking an experienced Design Manager – Wet Utilities to lead the planning, design, coordination, and delivery of wet utility infrastructure projects. The successful candidate will be responsible for managing multidisciplinary design teams, ensuring technical excellence, maintaining compliance with local authority requirements, and delivering high-quality designs for major infrastructure developments across the UAE.
The role requires extensive experience in water transmission and distribution networks, sewerage systems, stormwater drainage, irrigation networks, firefighting systems, and district cooling infrastructure, preferably within an engineering consultancy environment.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and manage the design and delivery of wet utility infrastructure projects from concept through detailed design and IFC stages.
- Oversee the design of:
- Potable water transmission and distribution networks
- Sewerage and wastewater collection systems
- Stormwater drainage networks
- Irrigation systems
- Firefighting water networks
- District cooling networks
- Pumping stations and related hydraulic structures
- Manage multidisciplinary design teams and coordinate with Roads, Utilities, Structures, Landscape, and MEP disciplines.
- Ensure designs comply with client requirements, local authority regulations, and international engineering standards.
- Review and approve engineering calculations, hydraulic models, reports, specifications, BOQs, and design drawings.
- Coordinate with clients, contractors, government authorities, and utility providers throughout the project lifecycle.
- Lead design reviews, technical workshops, value engineering exercises, and risk assessments.
- Manage project schedules, budgets, resource allocation, and design deliverables.
- Support proposal preparation, technical presentations, and business development activities.
- Mentor and develop junior engineers and design staff.
- Ensure quality management procedures are followed throughout all design stages.
- Support authority submissions and obtain required design approvals.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering.
- Master's Degree is an advantage.
- Professional registration (PMP, PE, Chartered Engineer, ICE, etc.) is preferred.
Experience Requirements
- Minimum 15 years of experience in wet utility design.
- Minimum 5 years in a Design Manager or Team Lead role.
- Strong experience within an engineering consultancy.
- Proven experience delivering large-scale infrastructure and master planning projects.
- Extensive UAE/GCC experience is highly preferred.
- Experience working with government and semi-government clients.
