Design Manager, India Portfolio, Workplace Design & Construction; WD&C

The Global Design team is looking for a creative, innovative, results-oriented Design Manager based in Hyderabad, India or Bangalore, India who will be responsible for the design of new build and significant/major retrofit tenant improvement projects in the India portfolio. This role will join the Global Design team, reporting to the Senior Manager, Global Design, and will work closely with the Design & Construction (D&C) team, the Workplace Guidelines & Standards team and the Global Transformation & Insights team.

This role will be responsible for overseeing the design of tenant improvement projects, both for buildings where Amazon is the tenant for the first time, or a major retrofit of an existing Amazon space. The project scope ranges from the design of one to several floors of a building, and the Design Manager oversees Amazon’s design partners, Lead designers and Architects of Record to ensure that the design will reflect our latest Basis of Design (BoD) and better suit the needs and behaviors of our customers.

This role will work closely with the India D&C team and sub-consultants/vendors on project delivery.

Day-to-day, this role will mainly collaborate with the India Preconstruction and Construction Managers who are responsible for construction and delivery of the workplace projects in the India portfolio, as well as the Global Design Team. Once projects are delivered, this role will work with the Workplace Guidelines & Standards team to indicate what design elements need to be integrated into the Guidelines & Standards, including producing visuals and narratives that can be translated and published as Guidelines.

The successful candidate is an experienced and engaging professional who can communicate clearly at all levels, and yet is not afraid to dive deep into details. This role works autonomously and creatively in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment, and will be working on multiple projects, most of which have very tight delivery timelines. Attention to detail and ability to inspect issues and processes bringing simplified solutions to complex problems is paramount.

They should also understand the nuance of being approachable, while at the same time consultative. The candidate must be able to balance frugality with creativity in offering solutions and approach problem-solving with an emphasis on root cause.

This is a Regional role focused on India, so requires regional travel approximately 10-20% of the time.

Key job responsibilities

• Oversee and manage the design of tenant improvement projects, to include (1) leading the design of the space based on customer needs and technical requirements; (2) collaborating with an external/vendor design team (the Architect of Record); (3) aligning the design of each project to the overall concept for Corporate Workplace, as developed by the Global Design team; and (4) informing Guidelines and Standards team on design elements needed to translate into global functional Guidelines.

• Identify and implement continuous design refinement, leveraging operational data, customer insights, and success metrics to drive change.

• Work cross functionally with regional peers to ensure a consistent experience for customers, whilst respecting local/cultural nuance.

• Collaborate with GREF partner teams, including Regional Portfolio Management, Sustainability and Environmental Health and Safety, and Travel and Events, to elevate program deliverables and improve the quality of Amazon workspace with a focus on resiliency, efficiency, health, and safety.

• Routinely connect to external industry, professional bodies and communities, ensuring new industry standards, best practices, technology, and innovations are adopted into the program.

About the team
The Global Real Estate and Facilities (GREF) team provides real estate transaction expertise, business partnering, space and occupancy planning, capital investment program management, facility maintenance, and operations in more than 60 countries. GREF is organized into three pillars:
Regional Portfolio Management, Global Centers of Enablement, and Global Centers of Expertise. Workplace Design and Construction sits…