Senior Manager, Design Delivery - USA

Volta

22d • $185,000 - $280,000

About The Position

Volta is seeking a Senior Manager, Design Delivery to own and lead coordinated, multidisciplinary design delivery for its North American AI factory projects. The role is accountable for project design from the initial brief through detailed design, and remains engaged with the Delivery team through procurement, construction, commissioning and handover. It manages design scope, programme, interfaces and deliverables so that timely information and decisions support successful project delivery.

Working with Volta’s Product, Technology, Corporate Development, Engineering, Operations and Delivery teams, the role translates requirements into clear project design briefs and leads external design partners in applying Volta’s Reference Design to individual sites. It also liaises with customer teams to incorporate their requirements. The role balances technical detail with broader project objectives, including performance, reliability, cost, delivery speed and operability.

Requirements

• Degree in engineering, architecture, construction, or equivalent relevant experience.
• Significant experience managing multidisciplinary design delivery for large-scale data centres, AI factories or similarly complex infrastructure.
• Track record of taking projects from concept through detailed design and supporting procurement, construction, commissioning and handover.
• Strong understanding of interfaces between building infrastructure, power, cooling, controls and compute, including high-density AI and GPU facility requirements.
• Experience translating customer, product and operational requirements into clear design briefs and coordinated project deliverables.
• Proven ability to lead external consultants and coordinate internal technical specialists, suppliers and contractors around a common delivery programme.
• Experience managing design programmes, consultant scopes and fees, stage-gate reviews, design changes and technical information release.
• Understanding of adapting reference designs to site conditions, local requirements and project-specific needs while maintaining portfolio consistency.
• Strong commercial judgement and ability to balance design quality, capital expenditure, schedule, constructability, reliability and operability.
• Familiarity with BIM coordination, common data environments and document control processes for multidisciplinary design delivery.
• Experience integrating offsite manufacturing, prefabrication and DFMA into coordinated designs and delivery programmes.
• Confident communication skills, including explaining design issues, trade-offs and decisions to customers, technical teams and senior stakeholders.
• Collaborative and accountable approach, with ability to resolve competing priorities, challenge incomplete information and drive decisions to closure.
• Willingness to travel periodically to project sites, customer meetings and design partner locations across North America.

Responsibilities

• Own project design delivery from initial brief through detailed design, ensuring deliverables meet agreed scope, quality, budget and programme requirements.
• Provide design support during procurement, construction, commissioning and handover, working with the Delivery team.
• Establish and maintain the project design brief with customers and internal teams, documenting requirements, scope boundaries, acceptance criteria and responsibilities.
• Develop and manage the design delivery programme, coordinating design packages, reviews, approvals and information releases with project milestones.
• Coordinate design inputs for planning, permitting and statutory approvals, and incorporate requirements and approval conditions into the design and programme.
• Lead external design partners across disciplines, defining scopes, deliverables and accountabilities and managing performance against quality, programme and budget expectations.
• Manage application of Volta’s Reference Design and engineering standards to each project, coordinate site-specific adaptations and obtain technical-authority approval for departures.
• Lead multidisciplinary design coordination and resolve interfaces among civil, structural, architectural, mechanical, electrical, controls and GPU compute infrastructure disciplines.
• Serve as the principal coordination point for project design matters, working with customers and internal stakeholders to resolve requirements, obtain timely decisions and maintain alignment.
• Plan and lead design reviews and stage gates; ensure deliverables are complete, coordinated and reviewed, and track comments, actions and approvals to closure.
• Work with Project Controls, Delivery and Procurement to define design package boundaries and release priorities, support technical tender evaluations and integrate supplier and contractor design information.
• Incorporate construction sequencing, prefabrication, modular delivery, access, logistics and maintainability into the design in coordination with construction and operations teams.
• Manage design changes through change control, assessing impacts on scope, cost, programme, capacity and performance and securing approvals before implementation.
• During construction, coordinate responses to technical queries, design clarifications, submittals and proposed changes with designers and engineering teams.
• Incorporate testing, commissioning, maintenance and handover requirements into the design, including information required for safe and effective operation.
• Champion health and safety in design delivery and lead multidisciplinary reviews to eliminate foreseeable hazards and reduce risks through design.
• Track and report design risks, assumptions, interfaces and outstanding decisions, escalating issues early and keeping project leadership informed of design delivery status.

Benefits

• Equity in Volta, providing an opportunity to share in the company’s long-term success.
• Retirement or pension contributions.
• Comprehensive health, wellbeing and insurance benefits.
• Generous number of vacation days each year.
• Competitive salary based on the work performed.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior