Design Manager - Data Center
Gilbane Building Company· Construction· Oct 2, 2026 · 26d ago
Charlotte, NC, United States · Arlington, VA, United States · Baltimore, MD, United States · Columbus, OH, United States · Richmond, VA, United States
In office
Full-time
Manager
$150K–$190K est.
10+ years exp
Job description
Are you looking for a highly rewarding opportunity that provides extensive career growth opportunity? Gibane is seeking a Design Manager - Data Center who will lead the integration of design and construction teams to deliver coordinated, constructible, and cost-effective designs on schedule and within budget. This role supports advanced delivery models (Design-Build, IPD, P3, EPC), ensuring design intent, risk management, and project readiness for execution.
Who are we?
As a Top-10 ENR Contractor, Gilbane is a family-owned business with 45 offices that has been shaping communities since 1870. Consistently recognized as one of the most reputable construction management firms in the country, Gilbane is committed to delivering projects safely and on-time. You will have the opportunity to build schools, labs, hospitals, corporate offices, sports arenas and more!
We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
Who are you?
You are someone who acts inclusively, showing empathy and treating others with respect and dignity in order to uphold Gilbane’s core value of Caring and “People First” workplace culture. You seek to listen in order to understand and can convey information clearly. You’re a strong problem solver who can identify, prioritize, and implement alternatives for solutions, and you demonstrate adaptability by collaborating with others and supporting team members to achieve excellence. A self-starter who shows passion, commitment, and ownership all while delivering on business outcomes and driving results. You’re someone who identifies opportunities for new and improved ways of doing things that result in value-add solutions.
Your core values match Gilbane’s: Integrity, Caring, Teamwork, Toughmindedness, Dedication to Excellence, Discipline, Loyalty, and Entrepreneurship.
What’s in it for you?
Gilbane offers employees multi-dimensional training opportunities through a number of resources. While managing your responsibilities to projects, you will be able to enroll in trainings through our award-winning Gilbane University to build leadership and technical skills. In addition, you would work with an experienced team which provides you with the opportunity to learn new industry skills every day. You will protect and promote the interests of both Gilbane and the client in all matters as well as demonstrating the personal characteristics of a developing leader.
Preconstruction & Proposal Phase
-Serve as primary liaison between design and construction teams during proposals.
-Lead strategy for design services breakdown and integration of specialty consultants or
design/build trades.
-Define technical scope, manage RFIs, and ensure comprehensive bridging documents.
-Develop and maintain design deliverable schedules aligned with procurement and build phases.
-Validate A/E scope and fee structure; support Teaming Agreements.
-Collaborate with estimating to break down RFPs and support subcontractor/vendor pricing.
-Assemble and maintain the Endorsed Project Baseline (proposal, estimate, contract, schedule).
-Identify and communicate requirements to clarify RFPs for design and construction.
Design Development & Delivery
-Oversee design progression to ensure alignment with budget, schedule, and constructability;
lead target value design.
-Facilitate design charrettes, team chartering, and owner approval processes.
-Coordinate permitting process and maintain related schedules.
-Monitor and document design changes, minimizing scope creep.
-Lead design risk management, including cost-benefit analyses for RFIs and changes.
-Ensure Health & Safety integration: complete Safety Risk Assessments, introduce Hierarchy of
-Controls, and incorporate logistics planning into design.
-Ensure effective coordination between the VDC (Virtual Design & Construction) team and the
design team to align digital modeling, clash detection, and constructability reviews with project
goals.
-Maintain tools for tracking design issues and changes.
-Promote a design-build mindset and collaboration between disciplines.
-Oversee and validate design team invoices.
Construction Integration
-Communicate design scope and intent to construction teams.
-Support development of construction budgets from design estimates.
-Assist in trade contractor/supplier scope definition and procurement.
-Provide feedback for future bids and risk assessments.
-Resolve scope conflicts and develop recovery plans as needed.
-Ensure design team responsiveness to field issues and facilitate risk-mitigating solutions.
Quality, Compliance & Documentation
-Oversee design QA/QC for regulatory and standards compliance.
-Improve documentation of design basis and assumptions.
-Emphasize the importance of delivering the proposed design and managing scope changes.
EXPERIENCE/EDUCATION:
-Bachelor’s degree in Architecture, Engineering, Construction Management, or related field;
advanced degree preferred.
-10+ years’ experience in design/project management for large-scale construction.
-Proven experience with advanced delivery models (Design-Build, IPD, P3, EPC).
-Strong understanding of design-to-budget, constructability, and risk management.
-Experience establishing and executing departmental processes and procedures.
-Experience with Assumptions Management, Change Management, requirement tracking, and
Corrective Action Programs.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES:
-Excellent communication, leadership, and team-building skills.
-Ability to manage multiple stakeholders and drive consensus.
-Proficiency in design and construction management software/tools.
Salary to be determined based on factors such as geographic location, skills, education, and/or experience of the applicant, as well as the internal equity and alignment with the team.
The pay ranges from $123,600-$225,000 plus benefits and retirement program.
Gilbane offers an excellent total compensation package which includes competitive health and welfare benefits and a generous profit-sharing/401k plan. We invest in our employees’ education and have built Gilbane University into a top training organization in the construction industry. Qualified applicants who are offered a position must pass a pre-employment substance abuse test.
Gilbane is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status, or disability status.
Note to Recruiters, Placement Agencies, and Similar Organizations : Gilbane does not accept unsolicited resumes from agencies. Please do not forward unsolicited agency resumes to our jobs alias, website, or to any Gilbane employee. Gilbane will not pay fees to any third party agency or firm and will not be responsible for any agency fees associated with unsolicited resumes. Unsolicited resumes received will be considered property of Gilbane and will be processed accordingly.
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