Location: This is a national role based in any of our offices with flexible working encouraged

Contract: Full time, part-time applications will be considered

Salary: £68-75k

Who We Are

At Carnell, we’re passionate about keeping the UK’s road network safe and efficient. As a leader in specialist maintenance and support services, we’re dedicated to making a difference in the infrastructure that keeps the nation moving.

About the Role

We’re seeking a Design Manager to lead, coordinate and control design activities and technical services within our Engineering Solutions team, as we create a Design and Build capability for the company. You will provide a direct interface between design, technical specialists, construction delivery teams, and external consultants, ensuring design outputs meet programme, quality, safety, and commercial requirements. With an eye for innovation, you’ll identify opportunities to grow our design capabilities, expanding our work on the Specialist & Technical Services (SPaTS3) Framework as well as helping to access new revenue streams

What You’ll Do
As a Design Manager, you’ll:

• Ensure design solutions meet planning conditions, CDM regulations, DMRB & MCHW standards and client requirements.
• Oversee quality of drawings, specifications, and digital design information, including reviewing technical documents and reports.
• Manage design change control, ensuring variations are captured, costed and approved, including any departures from standards.
• Evaluate designs for buildability, value engineering, and sustainability to ensure efficiency and cost-effectiveness
• Ensure designs following the hierarchy of risk reduction and that evidence of such is recorded to support CDM compliance.
• Act as the technical liaison between pre-construction, commercial, procurement, and construction delivery teams.
• Facilitate technical clarification and coordinate responses with designers and supply chain partners.
• Support the commercial team with technical input for tender packages and subcontractor design responsibility matrices.
• Engage externally, leading Carnell’s interest at technical forums and workshops
• Provide on-site design leadership and technical advice during construction phase.
• Resolve design queries, ensuring minimal disruption to programme and cost without impacting safety or quality.
• Manage production of as-built information and technical handover documentation.
• To undertake other miscellaneous activities/project work deemed appropriate for the role of Design Manager to assist with the efficient operation of the business.
• Deal with sensitive information with discretion, maintaining confidentiality at all times.

What We’re Looking For
To succeed in this role, you’ll need to:

• Proven design experience in the highways construction sector (essential), ideally related to design of maintenance and renewals schemes on the Strategic Road Network (desirable)
• Strong understanding of construction methodologies, design processes, regulatory frameworks
• To demonstrate a commitment to quality and safety, with a proactive, solution‑focused mindset
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and problem-solving abilities
• Experience and understanding of discharging the Principal Designer role
• To be skilled in reading, interpreting, and checking technical drawings and specifications, including the identification and coordination of any departures from standards
• Familiarity with digital design tools (advantageous, not essential)
• Experience in line management and talent development (preferred), or to show evidence of your capability to develop into a line management role

Qualifications/Experience needed:

• Degree or equivalent experience in Civil Engineering, Construction Management, or related field.
• Chartership (ICE, CIHT) desirable but not essential.
• CSCS card (Professional/Manager level) preferred.

Carnell Benefits

• Family-friendly policies to enable healthy work-life balances
• Generous holiday allowance
• Pension scheme
• Referral scheme
• Death in service benefit
• Online rewards platform
• Group income protection
• Car / car allowance
• Private medical insurance

Ready to Make a Difference?
If you’re looking for a role that combines technical expertise, teamwork, and a chance to make an impact on the UK’s road network, we’d love to hear from you.

Carnell is committed to a diverse, inclusive workforce, offering equal opportunity to all. We create an environment where difference is embraced and individuals flourish.

We value passionate, responsive, innovative, trustworthy, and respectful people. These behaviours are embedded across the company, they guide us in all actions both on site and in the office.

We are committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of all our employees; not only ensuring that everybody goes home safely but also giving all a good work life balance