Federal Design Manager – Design-Build Focus

Parsons•Huntsville, AL

About The Position

The Federal Design Build Manager is responsible for leading and managing the design execution process on federal projects delivered through design-build or other integrated delivery methods. This role is accountable for the oversight, coordination, and integration of the contractor’s design efforts, ensuring compliance with contract requirements, federal criteria, and client expectations from project startup through final design, construction, commissioning, and closeout. The Design Manager serves as the primary interface between the owner, contractor, and design teams, providing technical leadership and rigorous oversight of the contractor’s design development, submittals, and design changes. The role requires deep experience in design-build project delivery, including constructability reviews, design validation, and proactive resolution of design-construction interface issues. The Design Manager operates as part of a project leadership triad with the Project Manager and the Project Engineer/Senior Project Engineer.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in engineering, architecture, construction management, or a closely related technical discipline.
Fifteen or more years of progressive experience in design, engineering, architecture, or project delivery, with substantial responsibility for multidisciplinary design coordination and formal deliverables on design-build projects.
Demonstrated experience leading or serving in a senior design-management role on complex, high-profile, regulated, mission-critical, infrastructure, facility, or federal design-build projects.
Proven track record supporting projects from startup and design planning through final design, issue for construction, construction support, commissioning, and closeout.
Experience overseeing and validating contractor’s design, managing submittals, and ensuring compliance with owner’s project requirements and federal standards.
Strong background in constructability reviews, design-construction integration, and facilitating effective collaboration between design and construction teams.
Experience planning and coordinating design reviews, QA/QC interfaces, comment disposition, package-readiness reviews, and documented exceptions.
US Citizenship with the ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance.

Nice To Haves

Active Professional Engineer or Registered Architect license preferred; registration may be required for specific assignments.
PMP, DBIA, CCM, or other relevant project, design-build, construction, quality, or safety credential.
Experience with U.S. federal agencies, defense or civilian programs, secure facilities, complex infrastructure, or mission-critical environments.
Extensive experience with design-build, engineer-procure-construct, integrated delivery, progressive design-build, or other delivery methods requiring close design-construction integration.
Strong understanding of multidisciplinary building, site, utility, infrastructure, systems, digital delivery, constructability, procurement, and commissioning interfaces.
Experience supporting design budgets, labor forecasts, change documentation, scope clarification, entitlement protection, and recovery planning.
Experience integrating subconsultants, specialty consultants, vendors, utilities, reviewers, authorities having jurisdiction, and construction teams.
Demonstrated success coaching, mentoring, and developing design managers, discipline leads, and emerging project leaders in a matrixed organization.
Secret Security Level Clearance

Responsibilities

Oversight and integration of the contractor’s design and design-build team activities.
Ensuring design compliance with contract documents, federal standards, and owner’s project requirements.
Managing design reviews, submittal processes, and design change control.
Leading constructability reviews and facilitating seamless transition from design to construction.
Providing technical direction and resolving design-related issues during construction.
Lead and manage the design process on design-build projects, including direct oversight of the contractor’s design team, subconsultants, and specialty designers.
Integrate contract requirements, federal criteria, client direction, and design-basis information into a coordinated design-build delivery approach.
Plan, coordinate, and lead design reviews, interdisciplinary checks, constructability reviews, and quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) activities.
Oversee and track design submittments, responses to comments, and resolution of design issues to ensure timely and compliant deliverables.
Manage design changes, evaluate impacts, and ensure proper documentation and communication of design modifications.
Provide technical oversight and support during construction, including review of shop drawings, RFIs, field changes, and as-built documentation.
Serve as the primary point of contact for design-related matters with the contractor, owner, federal agencies, and other stakeholders.
Identify, assess, and mitigate design and constructability risks throughout the project lifecycle.