Design Manager - (Owner's Representative) - Data Center Construction

About the role

KALCON is looking for a self-starting Design Manager who will lead multi-disciplinary design coordination on a hyperscale data center build from concept through construction administration as an Owner’s Representative. This individual will ensure accurate schedules, consistent documentation, and timely closure of submittals/RFIs. The Design Manager will serve as liaison between Project/Construction Management and the A/E team to maintain design clarity and support timely, cost-aware delivery.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in architecture, engineering, construction management, or related field.
• 7–10 years of design management experience in mission-critical, semiconductor, data center, or complex commercial projects.
• Proven success coordinating A/E partners and subcontractors, closing submittals/RFIs, and aligning base-build vs. tenant fit-out scopes.
• Proficiency in Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) or Procore, and MS Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Project; strong written and oral communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Platforms & Information Management: Review and help set up Autodesk Construction Cloud or Procore configuration and daily governance; establish/maintain clean, logical file structures and metadata conventions; ensure compliance and ongoing maintenance by architect/engineer (A/E) partners; standardize naming, versioning, and distribution workflows; develop a centralized meeting/action tracker covering A/E partners, GC, and subs to capture decisions, RFIs, submittal status, and assignments.
• Design Coordination & Alignment: After initial design, lead and manage cross-discipline design coordination; ensure alignment across multiple EORs and subcontractors; drive design clarity and closure of submittals and shop drawings; lead weekly coordination meetings and publish minutes/actions; track design packages, narratives, and scope splits (Base-Build vs. Tenant Fit-Out), capturing lessons learned and sharing information across buildings; coordinate customer/tenant fit-out design package integration (non-base-build) to maintain alignment with the core design.
• Schedule Management: Review and manage the design schedule; ensure weekly updates and accuracy, including phase gate readiness and milestone adherence; align design phase turnover with construction phasing and tenant fit-out to protect critical path.
• Construction Administration (CA): Manage CA processes: run weekly A/E partner meetings; escalate and resolve submittals/RFIs that are held up by the A&E or GC; coordinate site visits with A/E and QA/QC teams; oversee mock-ups/FOK (first-of-kind) reviews and acceptance criteria to de-risk fabrication/installation; provide CA reporting and documentation per project requirements.
• Owner Change Management & Cost Control: Lead change management workflows (PCOs, bulletins, RFIs with cost impact); train GC teams on contract expectations and entitlement standards; partner with Cost Management for pricing reviews; validate design-related cost changes and process VE options, documenting rationale; ensure QA/QC design issuance and narratives clearly categorize changes at the drawing sheet level.
• Permitting & Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ): Manage and communicate the overall permit strategy, submissions, and responses; coordinate AHJ inspections and certificate-of-occupancy milestones with the project team.
• Quality, Documentation & Risk: Log and document major decisions/events; maintain action registers, RFIs, submittal metrics, and issue logs through design and CA; support QA/QC activities tied to design intent and acceptance criteria; assist field teams with design clarifications and punch-list readiness; maintain a design risk register (interfaces, late vendor data, long-lead items) and drive mitigations.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Leadership: Serve as the liaison for Project/Construction Management to