Design Manager (Roads & Highways)

Job Description

WSP is seeking an experienced Design Manager to join our Roads & Highways team in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This role will lead the design and coordination of major roads, highways, and infrastructure projects, supporting the delivery of large-scale land development and transportation schemes across the Kingdom.

This is a highly client-facing position, requiring strong stakeholder management skills and the ability to build trusted relationships with clients, government entities, and other stakeholders. The successful candidate will bring extensive experience managing multidisciplinary design teams and driving the successful delivery of complex infrastructure projects from concept and preliminary design through to detailed design and construction support.

The role is ideally suited to a technically strong and commercially aware professional with experience working for leading international engineering consultancies and a proven track record delivering large-scale roads and highways projects within the Middle East.

Responsibilities

Design Leadership & Project Delivery

• Lead the planning, management, and delivery of roads and highways design projects across various stages of development.
• Oversee multidisciplinary design teams to ensure coordinated and efficient project execution.
• Provide technical leadership across highways, transportation, utilities, structures, drainage, and related infrastructure disciplines.
• Ensure designs comply with client requirements, local authority regulations, and international best practices.
• Drive design excellence through innovation, value engineering, and continuous improvement initiatives.
  
  
  

Client & Stakeholder Management

• Act as a primary point of contact for clients, maintaining strong and effective working relationships.
• Lead client meetings, design workshops, technical presentations, and review sessions.
• Coordinate with government authorities, developers, contractors, and key project stakeholders.
• Support the resolution of technical and project-related issues through proactive stakeholder engagement.
  
  
  

Project Management & Coordination

• Manage project programmes, resources, budgets, and deliverables to achieve successful project outcomes.
• Monitor project progress and implement corrective actions where required.
• Lead multidisciplinary coordination activities to ensure seamless integration between design disciplines,
• Identify and manage project risks, opportunities, and interface challenges.
  
  
  

Quality & Governance

• Ensure adherence to company quality management systems and project governance procedures.
• Conduct design reviews and technical assurance checks to maintain the highest standards of quality.
• Promote compliance with health, safety, and environmental requirements.
  
  
  

Business Development & Support

• Contribute to bid preparation, technical proposals, and client presentations.
• Support the development of new business opportunities and strengthen existing client relationships.
• Collaborate with regional leadership teams to support business growth objectives.
  
  
  

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering or a related discipline.
• Minimum 15+ years of relevant experience in roads and highways design and project delivery within an engineering consultancy environment.
• Proven client-facing experience managing key stakeholders.
• Proven experience working with leading international engineering consultancies.
• Demonstrated experience delivering large-scale roads, highways, infrastructure, and land development projects.
• Strong experience across all project stages, from feasibility and concept design through detailed design and construction support.
• Experience delivering projects within Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC is highly desirable.
  
  
  

What if we can have work-life balance? What if we can be rewarded in ways that support our individual needs? What if we can be accepted for who we are? Here at WSP – we can!

WSP recognizes that work is only one part of our lives and making time for the other things in our life is important – be that our families, our friends or ourselves. So, if working from home, working part-time or having flexible start and finish time will help with this let us know as part of your application.

As well as rewarding you with competitive pay, WSP offers standard benefits including first class medical cover, generous days annual leave, and paid professional subscriptions.

Imagine a better future for you and a better future for us all.

Join our close-knit community of talented individuals who share your passion for making a positive impact. Our global team includes more than 69,000 employees, working together to make a difference in communities both close to home and around the world.

With us, you can. Apply today.