Design Manager; Mechanical​/Electrical Engineer Data Centres; MCF

Description

Zutari is a leading buildings, engineering and advisory firm with over 90 years of experience across Africa and the Middle East. Within our Buildings practice, we design resilient, sustainable, and high-performance spaces that shape how people live, work, and connect.

From structural and civil engineering to façade, fire, and building services, we bring together integrated expertise to deliver environments that are intelligent, future-ready, and built for lasting impact.

We are looking for individuals who are passionate about shaping spaces that go beyond function and create environments that inspire, enable, and endure.

We employ people with the right attitude and a positive mindset, who are motivated by doing the right thing, getting things done and share a sense of urgency. People who have an impact in our teams and broader community. People who think differently and connect with those around them to co-create new opportunities and leave a meaningful legacy.

We’re seeking a high-performing professional with a passion for excellence, innovation, and collaboration. You’re someone who thrives in fast-paced environments, leads with purpose, and brings deep technical expertise to complex challenges. You think differently, connect meaningfully, and leave a legacy through your work.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Design Manager to join our Data Centre team to be located in our Cape Town or Tshwane offices.

As part of our Data Centre team, you will be a key member of the delivery team virtually designing and constructing a wide range of projects. Your experience, ability to see the greater picture, accuracy, drive for standardisation and eye for detail will assist our team to co-create an engineered impact on our clients.

Your Design Management experience will see you heading leading dynamic project teams to co-create engineering solutions digitally. You will bridge the gap between the various design and execution teams, ensuring that our designs are:

• Holistically delivered at high quality
• Feasible
• Within budget
• Meet client requirements

• End-to-End Design Delivery Ownership:
• Own the full design lifecycle from concept to IFC, ensuring complete, coordinated, compliant, and construction-ready outputs.
• Maintain scope clarity, design intent continuity, decision tracking, and disciplined change control.
• Drive design progress, issue resolution, and information flow to protect delivery velocity and programme certainty.
• Ensure all design packages align with client performance requirements, commercial assumptions, and procurement strategy.
• Multi-Disciplinary Integration & Technical Assurance:
• Lead technical and design-side integration across Architectural, Structural, Mechanical, Electrical, CSA, OEM and specialist disciplines, ensuring system-level alignment and coherent engineering outcomes.
• Resolve technical interfaces, sequencing issues, and engineering dependencies early, ensuring functional alignment between cooling, power, structural, fire/life-safety, and architectural systems.
• Provide technical assurance by reviewing engineering assumptions, design narratives, basis of design inputs, and discipline deliverables for completeness, correctness, and alignment with project requirements.
• Collaborate with BIM Manager and BIM Coordinator on digital/model coordination activities, ensuring that BIM outputs support design intent while not performing BIM model QA, clash detection, or CDE administration.
• Programme, Cost, Scope & Risk Control:
• Own the design schedule, deliverable sequencing, and milestone readiness to maintain programme certainty under fast-track conditions.
• Control design scope, fee alignment, and change management, escalating…