Manager of Project Design
About The Position
The Manager of Project Design leads and coordinates the planning, engineering, and design phases of a large, complex capital project – the Red Line Commuter Rail project, which includes track and guideway infrastructure, stations, facilities and systems elements. Working under general direction, this role ensures design deliverables meet safety, operational, regulatory, constructability, accessibility, sustainability, and life-cycle requirements. The role oversees consultant design teams, facilitates design reviews, integrates stakeholder needs, and ensures project documentation is complete, traceable, and compliant with funding and permitting requirements. This role supports transition to procurement and construction phases by ensuring design intent, risks, and assumptions are well-documented and communicated, and manages the approval process for design changes during construction.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a closely related technical field.
- 5 years of progressive experience managing or overseeing design for complex capital infrastructure or facility projects.
- Demonstrated experience coordinating multi-disciplinary consultant design teams.
- Working knowledge of public-sector project delivery, permitting, and procurement environments.
- Applies engineering and architectural judgment to guide consultant design efforts and ensure compliance with standards, codes, and agency requirements.
- Integrates civil, structural, systems, architectural, utilities, and life-safety considerations into cohesive design solutions.
- Evaluates design decisions for constructability, maintainability, operational impacts, and long-term asset performance.
- Anticipates technical, regulatory, and integration risks and leads resolution strategies prior to construction.
- Effectively coordinates with operations, maintenance, safety, real estate, environmental teams, and external partners.
- Maintains clear records of design decisions, assumptions, approvals, and changes to support audit readiness and transition to construction.
- Communicates complex technical issues clearly to both technical specialists and executive decision-makers.
- Ability to organize heavy and complex workloads, establish and adjust priorities, and accomplish objectives within established scopes, budgets, and schedules are required.
- Ability to Lead complex design efforts from concept through readiness for construction and communicate design decisions clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Nice To Haves
- Professional registration (PE) desired
- Experience with large transit, transportation, or public infrastructure programs.
- Experience supporting alternative delivery models (e.g., Design-Build, CM/GC, Progressive Design-Build).
- Familiarity with FTA-funded projects, accessibility requirements, and life-safety standards.
Responsibilities
- Lead and manage the design process across planning, preliminary engineering, final design, and pre-construction phases.
- Coordinate the work of multiple design disciplines (civil, structural, systems, architecture, signal/communications, environmental, ADA, fire/life safety, and utilities).
- Ensure designs comply with applicable codes, engineering standards, design criteria, accessibility requirements, fire/life safety guidelines, operational needs, and federal funding conditions.
- Maintain configuration control and design decision records.
- Facilitate design coordination with Operations, Maintenance, Safety, Real Estate, Environmental compliance, external utilities, jurisdictions, and third-party stakeholders.
- Lead constructability reviews, value engineering workshops, and cost-risk analyses in collaboration with Project Controls and construction partners.
- Coordinate design timelines to align with procurement strategy and construction phasing.
- Develop or review scopes of work, technical specifications, bid documentation, and design-related contractual submittals.
- Support procurement evaluations and design clarification meetings.
- Ensure design documents support construction execution, testing, commissioning, and system start-up needs, with clearly documented assumptions and change history.
- Manage design changes during construction and ensure project goals and design intent continue to be met.
- As part of your responsibility to support the CATS Safety Culture, report safety concerns and issues through the various methods established by Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) as outlined in the ASP.
Benefits
- Comprehensive benefits package
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
