Principal, Design Lead

Design Lead, North America

This role is an excellent opportunity to join a deeply experienced and high-performing team with the ability to directly impact and contribute to Ada's development program. Our team combines industry-wide experience and in-country expertise across all our regions.

The Design Lead, North America is responsible for leading the design execution function across Ada's North American development portfolio. This role ensures global design standards are effectively adapted into buildable, code-compliant, customer-aligned, and site-specific solutions that support delivery excellence across the region.

Working closely with the Global Design & Innovation team, this leader serves as the primary bridge between global standards and regional execution, ensuring designs are scalable, constructable, cost-effective, and aligned with business objectives.

The role is also responsible for building, leading, and developing a high-performing multidisciplinary design organization that supports Ada's continued growth throughout North America.

Responsibilities include:

• Leading design execution across Ada's North American development portfolio, ensuring alignment with safety, quality, schedule, cost, constructability, and customer requirements
• Building, leading, and developing a high-performing multidisciplinary design organization fostering accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Directing the regional and site level adaptation and implementation of global standards, specifications, and requirements to meet codes, permitting requirements, customer needs, and site-specific conditions
• Partnering closely with Development and Delivery teams to ensure designs are constructable, cost-effective, scalable, and aligned with project objectives
• Serving as the regional design authority throughout project planning, design, procurement, construction, commissioning, and turnover
• Establishing and monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure regional design performance, quality, schedule performance of AOR/EORs, budget alignment, change management, and risk mitigation
• Collaborating with the Global Design & Innovation team to support continuous improvement of design standards, engineering specifications, and delivery processes through regional feedback and lessons learned
• Supporting the evaluation and implementation of new technologies, engineering approaches, and design innovations that improve performance, efficiency, reliability, and scalability
• Partnering with Supply Chain to align designs with procurement strategies, equipment standardization initiatives, and vendor capabilities
• Collaborating with Operations and Commissioning teams to ensure designs support long-term operational reliability, maintainability, and lifecycle performance
• Championing digital engineering, BIM, automation, and data-driven design practices to improve design efficiency and project outcomes
• Fostering relationships with design consultants, engineering partners, equipment manufacturers, and industry stakeholders to maintain awareness of emerging trends and best practices
• Partnering with Development & Delivery teams to provide regular executive-level reporting on project performance, resource planning, design risks, and project level opportunities
• Supporting customer engagements and strategic initiatives as required, communicating Ada's design capabilities and technical solutions

Minimum requirements include:

• Bachelor's degree in Design or Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Civil, Architectural, or related discipline)
• 12+ years of experience in engineering, design, design management, or technical leadership within data centers, mission-critical infrastructure
• Demonstrated success building high-performing team, developing technical talent, and scaling teams through periods of growth
• Strong understanding of data center systems, including mechanical, electrical, controls, commissioning, and operational considerations
• Experience leading design execution across multiple projects while balancing quality, schedule, budget, constructability, and customer requirements
• Experience implementing standardized design approaches while adapting solutions to local codes, permitting requirements, and site-specific conditions
• Strong commercial and operational acumen, including understanding of cost drivers, procurement considerations, project delivery risks, and decision-making tradeoffs
• Excellent communication, leadership, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence technical and executive audiences across a matrixed organization
• Willingness to travel as required to support project sites, regional teams, customers, and business objectives

Compensation:

$ - $

The firm also offers robust benefits including comprehensive medical/Rx, dental and vision plans; 401(k) program with company match; flexible savings accounts (FSA); healthcare savings accounts (HSA) with company contribution; basic and voluntary life insurance; long-term disability (LTD)…