Senior Design Manager - Mechanical
Design the Future of Life Sciences with Laing O'Rourke
Senior Design Manager – Mechanical - Oxford (Ellison Institute of Technology)
Are you a passionate design professional with end-to-end contractor-side experience?
Looking to lead a landmark project at the forefront of science and innovation?
Join us at Laing O'Rourke as we deliver the Ellison Institute of Technology – a transformative Life Sciences development in Oxford. We're seeking a Senior Design Manager to drive technical excellence, champion collaboration, and lead with innovation from pre-construction through to project delivery.
🚀 The Opportunity:
As a Senior Design Manager, you'll lead either a large, complex project or a portfolio of schemes, ensuring outstanding design delivery from concept through to site. You'll coordinate clients, consultants, commercial and construction teams—ensuring technical compliance, buildability, and innovative thinking at every stage.
This role sits within our Design Job Family and Engineering Enterprise, ensuring your influence shapes not just a single project—but the future of how we design and build.
🛠 What You'll Do:
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Lead design briefing and coordination during the pre-construction phase
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Manage internal and external design processes, ensuring clarity, quality, and compliance
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Facilitate collaborative design reviews to reduce risk and improve outcomes
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Ensure effective information and change control
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Champion DfMA, digital integration, and sustainability through design
📐 Core Capabilities:
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Developing and owning design briefs
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Design optimisation and compliance
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Managing consultancy input and integration
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Applying DfMA and modern construction methods
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Delivering to programme with robust governance
🎓 What You'll Bring:
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A degree in Mechanical Engineering (or related construction field)
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Circa 10 years of experience managing design in infrastructure or complex building services environments
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Experience across the project lifecycle, ideally including international exposure
We value transferable skills and a growth mindset—so even if you don't tick every box, we'd love to hear from you.
🌍 About Laing O'Rourke:
We're a global engineering and construction group delivering world-class infrastructure across the UK, Middle East, and Australia. With over 150 years of heritage, we pair deep technical capability with innovation to deliver certainty for our clients.
As a Disability Confident employer, we welcome candidates with long-term health conditions or disabilities. If you meet the essential criteria, we guarantee an interview—just let us know your requirements.
Need the application form in another format? Questions about accessibility?
📩 Email: resourcingteam@laingorourke.com
Apply today and shape a legacy in Life Sciences.
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