Director Infrastructure📣 Job Ad

About Buro Happold and the Opportunity

Buro Happold is seeking a Director Infrastructure to join our team in Riyadh. This contract position offers the opportunity to lead infrastructure design for a landmark luxury development in the region. The role requires over 10 years of experience in leading complex, high-profile infrastructure projects.

Role Purpose

The Director Infrastructure will lead the infrastructure design function for a major luxury development in Riyadh. This involves ensuring technical excellence, design integration, stakeholder alignment, and successful delivery throughout all stages of design. The role acts as the senior design authority for infrastructure packages, overseeing multidisciplinary coordination across utilities, roads, transport interfaces, external works, and enabling infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the full infrastructure design strategy and delivery across the project lifecycle, from concept and schematic design through detailed design, tender, and construction support.
• Direct and manage design consultants, specialist subconsultants, and internal teams to achieve programme, budget, and quality objectives.
• Provide senior technical leadership across roads, grading, wet and dry utilities, sitewide infrastructure corridors, and authority interfaces.
• Drive design integration across architecture, landscape, transport, utilities, structures, and MEP disciplines to ensure coordinated project outcomes.
• Oversee design governance, design reviews, gateway submissions, and technical approvals.
• Lead value engineering, buildability reviews, and cost validation exercises without compromising design intent or operational performance.
• Manage design risks, changes, constraints, and critical dependencies to support on-time delivery.
• Establish design management protocols, reporting structures, deliverable trackers, and consultant performance standards.
• Support procurement activities including scope definition, RFP preparation, technical bid reviews, and consultant appointments.
• Act as the key client-facing lead on infrastructure design matters and present recommendations to senior stakeholders.
• Work closely with project leadership, planning, commercial, and construction teams to align design outputs with delivery priorities.
• Mentor senior design managers and discipline leads and contribute to continuous improvement in design management practices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering or a related engineering discipline; Master’s degree preferred.
• Extensive experience leading infrastructure design on major mixed-use, hospitality, destination, or luxury developments.
• Strong understanding of multidisciplinary design management and complex interface coordination.

Required Skills and Experience

• Proven ability to lead consultant teams and manage client, authority, and executive-level stakeholders.
• Strong knowledge of design stages, technical assurance, authority approvals, and construction support processes.
• Demonstrated experience in value engineering, programme recovery, and design risk management.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to write and review high-level technical reports.
• Highly organised, commercially aware, and capable of managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced project environment.
• Experience operating within a BIM-led design environment is preferred.
• Middle East project experience, ideally in Saudi Arabia, is strongly preferred.

Application Information

This role offers an opportunity to contribute to a significant development in Riyadh. We encourage qualified candidates to submit their application.