Senior Design Manager – Mixed-Use Development (Architecture and Interior Design)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Design Manager – Mixed-Use Development (Architecture and Interior Design)

Company: Mace

Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Job Type: Full-time, Regular

Category: Design Management / Architecture & Interior Design

Date Posted: 2026-07-27T07:15:41

Experience Level: 10+ years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead and manage all architectural and interior design activities for one of the UAE's most prestigious mixed-use developments, acting as the client's representative and design guardian.

• Drive design excellence and ensure seamless integration across diverse asset classes including Grade A+ office towers, luxury hotels, branded residences, retail, hospitality, and public realm.

• Oversee the entire design lifecycle from concept and schematic design through construction and handover, ensuring alignment with project vision, operational functionality, and commercial targets.

• Manage and guide international architectural and interior design consultants, ensuring adherence to project requirements, design programs, and compliance standards.

• Foster a collaborative environment to achieve world-class outcomes, focusing on design quality, user experience, and sustainability goals, including net-zero carbon transition.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior Design Manager" title, coupled with the scope of managing a large-scale, multi-asset mixed-use development and the requirement for 10+ years of experience, indicates a strategic leadership role focused on design governance and execution. The emphasis on client representation and consultant management suggests a significant responsibility for design quality assurance and project delivery alignment. The mention of operating in the Middle East and on "high-profile developments" points to a need for experience with regional regulations, market expectations, and complex stakeholder environments.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Serve as the client's primary representative, providing robust leadership, governance, and oversight for all architectural and interior design initiatives throughout the development lifecycle.

• Champion design excellence across all project phases, from initial concept development and schematic design to detailed design, construction, and final handover, ensuring adherence to the highest quality standards.

• Spearhead the successful integration of multiple distinct asset classes (office, hotel, residential, retail, public realm) into a cohesive and harmonious masterplan, maintaining a unified vision while respecting individual component identities.

• Lead comprehensive design reviews, offering strategic direction and critical feedback to design teams to ensure project outcomes align with the client's vision, commercial objectives, and user experience aspirations.

• Diligently review and critically challenge design proposals to guarantee alignment with overarching project objectives, stringent operational requirements, ambitious sustainability goals (including net-zero carbon), and robust commercial targets.

• Proactively oversee the performance of design consultants, manage design programs, track deliverables, secure necessary approvals, and ensure strict compliance with all project specifications and contractual requirements.

• Engage effectively with a broad spectrum of key stakeholders, including