Design Manager | Brisbane | Defence, Health, Education & Retail Projects

Salary: circa $160K - $200K

Lead design on a genuinely varied project pipeline — with real influence from tender through to handover.

• Brisbane-based (Fortitude Valley), sites across South East Queensland
• Permanent, full-time
• Design-driven Tier 2 commercial builder working with top-tier national architects
• Open to candidates around 4–5 years into their career — this is not a 10-years-plus appointment

About the Company

Our client is a well-established Queensland commercial builder turning over $100M+ a year, with around 80 people across Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Townsville. They've delivered 800+ projects across Defence, Health, Childcare, Education, Retail, Hospitality and more, and hold ISO, ISO 27001 and DISP accreditations underpinning a growing Defence workbook.

The culture is built on humility, hard work and integrity — no egos, a preference for face-to-face over email, and autonomous people trusted to make decisions and own them.

The Opportunity

This business treats design as a genuine differentiator, working closely with leading national architects. You'll manage the consultant team, drive documentation to a buildable and compliant standard, and protect programme and margin — involved from tender through to IFC documentation and design close-out, across an unusually broad sector mix.

This isn't reserved for a decade-plus veteran. The business wants someone with around 4–5 years' experience ready to step up. Commercial and government exposure matters most — high-rise experience is not required.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage the design programme from tender/award through to IFC documentation
• Engage, brief and coordinate the consultant team (architectural, structural, civil, services, fire, hydraulic, acoustic)
• Run design coordination workshops and resolve clashes before they reach site
• Review documentation for buildability, cost and programme impact
• Manage compliance against the NCC, Australian Standards and sector-specific requirements (Qld Health, Defence, childcare/education)
• Coordinate authority approvals and certification
• Support estimating and tendering with design input and value management
• Manage design-stage RFIs and design change control
• Work with the Contract Administrator and PM so design intent carries through to subbie scopes
• Coordinate as-built documentation and design close-out at handover

What You'll Bring

• ~4–5 years in design management, design coordination or documentation-led roles with a builder, consultancy or developer
• Exposure to commercial and government projects (high-rise not required)
• Background in architecture, building design, construction management or engineering
• Working knowledge of the NCC, Australian Standards and Queensland approvals process
• Comfort with Revit/BIM coordination, Bluebeam, and Procore or similar
• Ability to hold consultants to a programme without burning the relationship
• A genuine interest in buildability, not just how it reads on a drawing
• D&C delivery experience an advantage; Defence or health documentation exposure well regarded

Why This Role

• Design management across Defence, health, childcare, education, retail and hospitality — often in the same year
• Genuine scope to grow into the role
• Autonomy as a lived value — real decisions, real ownership
• Structured mentoring through a One-on-One development system

If you are a Design Manager or Senior Design Coordinator with experience working with a commercial builder then we want to hear from you!

Please apply via SEEK with your CV and cover letter or for a confidential conversation to share more details about yourself and the role, please contact: Steve Brewer via email: ••••@wtalent.com.au mobile: 04•• ••• 172