We are seeking a highly technical Design Portfolio Manager to join our GDSCM team, focusing on the Basis of Design (BOD) and Programmatic Design Change Management (PDCM) programs. This role requires deep technical expertise across multiple engineering disciplines and the ability to evaluate complex design changes across 300+ in-flight projects.
As a Design portfolio Manager, you will serve as a technical expert evaluating design change requests across electrical, mechanical, civil, structural, architectural, controls, plumbing, fire protection, and thermal systems. You will conduct feasibility analyses, coordinate technical reviews with principal engineers across all disciplines, and manage the end-to-end lifecycle of design changes from initiation through implementation.
You will work closely with Design Engineering, Construction Management, Procurement, Finance, and Product teams to ensure design changes are properly vetted, funded, and executed.
Key job responsibilities
People Leadership & Team Building
• Hire, develop, and retain a high-performing team of Design Change Managers and senior technical professionals; build bench strength and succession depth.
• Set clear goals, performance expectations, and development plans; deliver regular coaching, feedback, and career growth for direct reports.
• Create an inclusive, high-ownership team culture that raises the technical and operational bar over time.
• Manage team capacity and workload allocation across 300+ in-flight projects to balance throughput, quality, and sustainable pace.
Program Ownership & Strategy
• Own the end-to-end strategy, roadmap, and outcomes for the BOD and PDCM programs within the global portfolio.
• Define and govern the operating mechanisms, SLAs, and quality standards for the design change lifecycle from initiation through implementation.
• Prioritize the design change portfolio against business priorities, capacity needs, and technical risk; make trade-off decisions on scope, schedule, and cost.
• Set the vision for process, tooling, and automation improvements that reduce execution timelines while maintaining technical rigor.
Technical & Operational Oversight
• Provide senior technical oversight (not hands-on execution) across electrical, mechanical, structural, civil, architectural, controls, plumbing, fire protection, and thermal disciplines, ensuring sound feasibility analyses and cross-discipline impact assessments.
• Review and approve high-risk, high-cost, or precedent-setting design change recommendations before they advance to leadership sign-off.
• Ensure the team properly validates technical calculations, constructability, maintainability, and operational implications of design modifications.
• Resolve escalations and remove cross-team blockers that impede design change throughput.
Senior Stakeholder & Cross-Org Leadership
• Represent the design change function in senior leadership and weekly business reviews, presenting program status, key decisions, risks, and technical recommendations.
• Build durable partnerships with Design Engineering, Construction Management, Procurement, Finance, Product, and Commissioning leadership to align on priorities, funding, and schedule.
• Influence design standards and release planning (BOD) to minimize redesign impacts and fragmentation across 1S, 2S, EHR, and global variants.
• Negotiate and drive alignment on contentious cross-discipline or cross-org trade-offs.
Program Execution & Continuous Improvement
• Own program metrics, approval timelines, cost avoidance, implementation status, and technical quality and drive measurable improvement year over year.
• Govern design change databases and dashboards to provide cross-functional visibility and data-driven decisions.
• Sponsor lessons-learned mechanisms, RACI definition, and standard operating procedures to prevent scope, timeline, and versioning issues on future publications.
• Champion cost validation frameworks, bulk funding mechanisms, and automation initiatives across the organization.
About the team
The Global Design Standards and Change Management (GDSCM) organization within Data Center Engineering is responsible for establishing and maintaining design standards across the global data center portfolio. Our team manages three mission-critical programs:
Basis of Design (BOD) Establishes and governs the foundational technical standards for all global data center designs, ensuring consistency and quality across the portfolio.
Programmatic Design Change Management (PDCM) Manages design change requests across 300+ in-flight projects.
360 Equipment Qualification Program (360 EQP) Qualifies equipment and technologies for deployment across the global portfolio, evaluating emerging solutions and driving standardization of critical systems.
Together, these programs deliver capacity across the AMER, APAC, and EMEA regions.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related technical field
- Experience in industrial or commercial engineering or project management in Mission Critical facilities including but not limited to: data centers, power generation, or oil/gas facilities
- Experience in design engineering or the construction industry, including fire suppression systems, fire alarm and detection systems, fire-resistive construction, and life safety
- Experience managing focused engineering teams conducting data center or carrier-class telecommunications design, engineering, and/or operations and maintenance (O&M) of data center critical environment infrastructure
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- 5+ years of professional experience
- Experience applying local codes, National Mechanical Association (NFPA) standards, International Code Council (ICC) requirements, and other mechanical industry standards, procedures, and methodologies
The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.
USA, VA, Herndon - 150,200.00 - 203,300.00 USD annually
