Director, Design Management

CoreWeave•Sunnyvale, CA

1d•$198,000 - $264,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Data Center Design team is responsible for managing the delivery of architectural, engineering, and technology designs across CoreWeave’s global data center portfolio. The team coordinates the design lifecycle from early-stage project definition through construction, commissioning support and IT deployment, ensuring CoreWeave’s technical requirements are incorporated into each project and delivered in accordance with established scope, schedule, budget, and quality expectations. Working in partnership with the Data Center Engineering and Data Center Technology teams, Design Management integrates the work of internal subject matter experts, data center providers, architects, engineers, consultants, contractors, and equipment suppliers. Through disciplined project leadership, design coordination, and consistent execution, the team enables CoreWeave to rapidly and reliably expand its physical infrastructure to support next-generation, high-density compute workloads. We are seeking an accomplished Director level individual to lead the Design Management team responsible for overseeing project management across CoreWeave’s data center portfolio. This individual will supervise, mentor, and develop a team of Design Managers, ensuring they have the direction, resources, processes, and cross-functional support required to deliver successful projects. The Director will serve as CoreWeave’s subject matter expert in design project management, with a professional foundation in MEP, Architectural, Civil, or a related engineering discipline. This role will be accountable for the management and coordination of multidisciplinary design activities across Greenfield developments, build-to-suit facilities, leased data centers, tenant fit-outs, renovations, infrastructure upgrades, and equipment replacement projects. As a peer to the Director, Data Center Engineering and Director, Data Center Technology, the Director, Design Management will focus on design execution, project governance, resource allocation, consultant performance, and portfolio delivery. The role will partner closely with these technical leaders and their subject matter experts to ensure MEP, architectural, civil, low-voltage, structured cabling, and other technical requirements are incorporated into coordinated, constructible, and executable project designs. The Director will also serve as the senior escalation point for design delivery issues, providing leadership in resolving scope gaps, coordination conflicts, schedule constraints, consultant performance concerns, and other risks that could affect project outcomes. This individual will maintain portfolio-level visibility while remaining capable of engaging directly in complex or distressed projects when additional leadership is required. 20% travel required to various data center sites.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Civil, Architectural or a related engineering discipline.
15+ years of progressively responsible experience in data center design, engineering, design management, construction, or project delivery, including at least 5 years in a leadership or people-management role.
Demonstrated subject matter expertise in data center design project management, including management of scope, schedules, budgets, risks, consultants, design deliverables, technical reviews, and stakeholder decisions.
Proven experience leading and developing Design Managers, Project Managers, engineers, architects, or other multidisciplinary professionals.
Proven track record of successfully managing the design delivery of large-scale, high-density data center projects.
Experience overseeing multiple concurrent projects across different locations, project phases, delivery models, and levels of complexity.
Strong working knowledge of data center infrastructure, including power distribution, UPS systems, generators, cooling plants, liquid cooling, BMS and controls, life-safety systems, white space infrastructure, low-voltage systems, and structured cabling.
Experience working with data center providers, real estate developers, A/E consultants, contractors, commissioning agents, equipment manufacturers, and other external partners.
Strong understanding of design contracts, consultant scopes, design schedules, fee structures, change management, deliverables, and professional service provider performance.
Excellent people-leadership skills, including the ability to establish accountability, manage performance, develop talent, and create an effective and collaborative team environment.
Excellent written, verbal, and executive-level communication skills, with the ability to translate complex project and technical issues into clear business impacts, options, and recommendations.
Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment while managing multiple projects, competing priorities, and evolving business requirements.
Strong analytical, organizational, negotiation, and problem-solving skills.

Nice To Haves

Professional Engineer (PE), Registered Architect (RA), or equivalent professional licensure is a plus.
Professional certifications such as PMP, Uptime Institute, LEED, BICSI, or similar credentials are a plus.
You are an experienced people leader who sets clear expectations, develops talent, and creates accountability while empowering your team to succeed.
You can maintain a portfolio-level perspective while engaging directly in the details necessary to resolve critical project issues.
You are a proactive problem-solver who can bring structure to ambiguity and translate technical and business requirements into actionable project plans.
You identify developing risks early, establish practical mitigation strategies, and communicate recommendations confidently to senior and executive leadership.
You build productive relationships among internal teams, data center providers, A/E firms, contractors, consultants, and equipment suppliers.
You establish trust through sound judgment, consistent communication, disciplined execution, and a strong commitment to successful project outcomes.

Responsibilities

Lead, manage, mentor, and develop a team of Design Managers. Establish clear expectations, provide ongoing coaching, evaluate performance, and support the continued growth of a high-performing team.
Maintain oversight of design delivery across a portfolio of concurrent data center projects, ensuring each project is progressing in accordance with approved scope, schedule, budget, quality, and business requirements.
Serve as the organizational subject matter expert for data center design project management, establishing consistent methods for planning, coordinating, tracking, and delivering multidisciplinary design activities.
Assign Design Managers to projects based on complexity, geography, schedule, risk, and business priority. Monitor team capacity and develop staffing or consultant strategies to address resource constraints.
Establish and administer design management processes, deliverable requirements, project controls, meeting structures, review milestones, decision logs, risk registers, change controls, and escalation pathways.
Oversee the performance of data center providers, architects, engineers, and other professional consultants. Establish expectations for deliverable quality, responsiveness, schedule performance, coordination, and adherence to contractual requirements.
Serve as the senior escalation point for design delivery risks, unresolved coordination issues, scope gaps, consultant performance concerns, and decisions affecting project cost or schedule.
Ensure CoreWeave’s Design & Engineering Guidelines, Basis of Design, technology standards, and project-specific requirements are communicated to external partners and consistently incorporated into project deliverables.
Establish expectations for interdisciplinary coordination, constructability, document completeness, quality control, and resolution of review comments. Participate in critical design reviews and page-turn meetings for high-risk or strategically important projects.
Partner with Construction Management, Finance, and other stakeholders to develop and monitor design schedules, consultant budgets, forecasts, and key milestones. Ensure design activities support procurement, construction, commissioning, and customer deployment requirements.
Establish disciplined processes for evaluating and documenting design changes, including their effects on project scope, cost, schedule, constructability, operations, and technical performance.
Lead or support the development of RFPs, evaluation of proposals, selection of A/E consultants and other design partners, negotiation of scopes and fees, and ongoing management of consultant contracts and invoices.
Ensure the Design Management team coordinates Owner-Furnished, Contractor-Installed equipment requirements with Engineering, Technology, Construction, Procurement, and external design teams.
Ensure appropriate design support continues through construction and commissioning, including the timely resolution of RFIs, submittal reviews, field conditions, design clarifications, and changes affecting design intent.
Provide executive leadership with clear reporting on design progress, project risks, consultant performance, key decisions, budgets, schedules, and issues requiring leadership action.
Establish expectations for timely and effective communication across Design Management, Engineering, Technology, Construction, Operations, Capacity, Supply Chain, Network Engineering, and other project stakeholders.
Ensure effective transitions between project development, design, procurement, construction, commissioning, and operations, with clear documentation of outstanding risks, decisions, and responsibilities.
Identify opportunities to improve design workflows, project gating, document control, consultant management, risk tracking, lessons learned, and overall consistency of project delivery.
Collaborate with Engineering and Technology leadership to incorporate lessons learned, emerging technologies, and improved delivery practices into future projects.