Design Director

About CloudHQ

Cloud

HQ is a global leader in hyperscale data centre solutions, delivering secure, high-performance, and resilient facilities for many of the world's largest technology companies. As we expand our global footprint, we are strengthening our Design & Engineering organisation to ensure Cloud

HQ’s technical standards, design quality, and lifecycle performance remain industry-leading.

Job Type: Full-time

The Design/Technical Director of Development, EMEA plays a pivotal leadership role within the Development team, acting as the owner of Cloud

HQ’s technical design vision across new developments, expansions, and global design standards.

• Defining and governing Cloud
  
  HQ’s Basis of Design (BoD)
• Managing and directing external design consultants
• Ensuring design consistency, quality, cost-efficiency, constructability, and scalability
• Providing cross-functional leadership from site due diligence and concept design through to construction
• Partnering closely with wider Development team, Site Selection, Construction, Operations, and commercial teams to deliver technically robust designs that meet client requirements and Cloud
  
  HQ standards.
• The Technical Director acts as Cloud
  
  HQ’s technical design authority, ensuring every facility is engineered to support reliability, performance, and operational excellence.

• Own and continuously evolve Cloud
  
  HQ’s global Basis of Design, engineering guidelines, standard details, and specifications in conjunction with global design leads.
• Lead multidisciplinary design teams (MEP, structural, civil, architectural, fire/life safety) across RIBA stage 1 to 4 design phases.
• Review all design packages to ensure compliance with Cloud
  
  HQ standards, local codes, sustainability requirements, and hyperscale customer specifications.
• Support Cloud
  
  HQ Construction teams to ensure alignment with the Basis of Design.
• Direct consultant teams and challenge design decisions to optimise cost, constructability, efficiency, and performance.
• Ensure standardisation across regions while allowing for local code adaptation and site-specific constraints.

• Work closely with Development teams during land acquisition, feasibility analysis, and site evaluation to identify design risks and technical constraints early.
• Partner with Construction teams to validate constructability, sequencing, engineering interfaces, and delivery risks.
• Collaborate with Operations to incorporate maintainability, resilience, and future scalability requirements into all designs.
• Engage with commercial teams during customer solutioning, supporting technical clarifications and design-related inputs.

• Implement design governance processes ensuring accuracy, coordination, and timely delivery of all consultant submissions.
• Identify and mitigate design risks during all project phases.
• Drive quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) across every design package.
• Validate MEP redundancy strategies, power distribution architecture, cooling topologies, and life-safety systems.
• Ensure designs adhere to relevant international standards, environmental requirements, and local permitting guidelines.

• Evaluate emerging technologies and integrate best-practice design innovations into Cloud
  
  HQ’s standards.
• Explore modularisation, prefabrication, and design-for-manufacture opportunities to improve schedule, quality, and cost.
• Develop scalable design templates for multi-phase campuses and high-density deployments.
• Benchmark industry trends to ensure Cloud
  
  HQ design remains competitive and future-proof.

• Select, manage, and direct external design consultancies, ensuring accountability and performance.
• Review and approve consultant proposals, scopes of work, and deliverables.
• Participate in design-related negotiations with contractors, equipment vendors, and partners.
• Act as the primary design escalation point for Cloud
  
  HQ leadership and project teams.

• Master’s (Preferred) / Bachelors (Acceptable) degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, Structural,…