Design Services & Technical Oversight Lead

About the role

We are seeking a Design Services & Technical Oversight Lead to join our team in TX, AL, VA, PA, OH, IN, and WI. Our Pharmaceutical team is growing! The Design Services & Technical Oversight Lead serves as the Owner's Representative technical authority responsible for providing independent review and oversight across all engineering and design activities supporting major pharmaceutical capital programs.

Responsibilities

• Manage and lead owner-side technical oversight activities across multiple projects, facilities, and program workstreams.
• Serve as the independent technical authority responsible for design quality, technical governance, and engineering assurance across EPC design packages.
• Review engineering deliverables throughout all design phases to ensure compliance with GMP requirements, operational expectations, site standards, and regulatory commitments.
• Facilitate multidisciplinary design reviews involving engineering, operations, manufacturing, quality, validation, commissioning, maintenance, and construction stakeholders.
• Evaluate design maturity, technical completeness, and engineering readiness in support of project gates, funding approvals, procurement activities, and construction execution.
• Provide independent assessments of proposed technical solutions, identifying opportunities to improve operability, maintainability, reliability, safety, and schedule performance.
• Review facility layouts, process flows, utility systems, infrastructure designs, equipment arrangements, and integrated system interfaces.
• Ensure engineering decisions support commissioning, qualification, validation, startup, and long-term operational requirements.
• Lead GMP-focused design reviews to confirm alignment with regulatory expectations, quality objectives, contamination control strategies, and manufacturing requirements.
• Identify technical risks, design gaps, interface issues, and scope conflicts that could impact project cost, schedule, quality, safety, or startup milestones.
• Support technical evaluation of contractor proposals, engineering packages, value engineering recommendations, and scope change requests.
• Collaborate with project controls, procurement, commissioning, construction, validation, and operations teams to ensure technical decisions support overall program objectives.
• Mentor technical staff and assist in establishing engineering excellence, lessons learned programs, and best practices across the portfolio.
• Escalate significant technical concerns and provide executive-level recommendations to support timely decision-making.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related technical discipline; advanced degree preferred.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license preferred.
• 20+ years of experience in engineering, design management, technical program leadership, EPC project delivery, or owner-side engineering oversight.
• Experience supporting major capital projects exceeding $500 million in total installed cost; experience on multi-billion-dollar programs preferred.
• Pharmaceutical industry experience strongly preferred; experience in semiconductor, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, chemical, data center, or other highly regulated industrial facilities will also be considered.
• Strong understanding of GMP facility design principles, regulatory requirements, quality systems, and pharmaceutical manufacturing operations.
• Demonstrated expertise leading multidisciplinary engineering reviews across process, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation & controls, automation, architectural, structural, utility, and infrastructure disciplines.
• Experience working with EPC delivery models and large-scale engineering organizations.
• Experience evaluating design packages for constructability, operability, maintainability, reliability, and startup readiness.
• Experience leading technical governance forums, design review meetings, risk assessments, and executive-level decision reviews.
• Experience collaborating with executive leadership, engineering firms, contractors, vendors, regulators, and operational stakeholders.
• Experience with engineering management systems, document control platforms, project management systems, and Microsoft Office tools.
• Strong understanding of lifecycle project delivery, including conceptual design, detailed design, procurement, construction, commissioning, qualification, validation, and startup.
• Demonstrated ability to identify technical risks and provide practical, owner-focused recommendations.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to evaluate competing priorities and technical alternatives.
• Able to operate effectively in fast-paced environments with multiple stakeholders and evolving program requirements.

Qualifications

• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills with the ability to influence outcomes across large, complex organizations.
• Strong ability to challenge technical assumptions objectively and make independent recommendations without delivery bias.

Skills

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite.
• Experience with project management software and tools.

Benefits

We offer a full-time position with AtkinsRéalis that provides the opportunity to lead complex, high-profile programs, collaborate with world-class delivery teams, and receive a highly competitive compensation package with robust benefits. AtkinsRéalis is an equal opportunity, Drug-Free employer EOE/Veteran/Disability.