About the Role
Role Title: Junior Design Manager
Company: CTS Group
Location: Porto/Lisbon, Portugal
Reports To: Design Director
Type: Full-Time, On-Site
About CTS Group
CTS Group is a fast-growing international design and build company specialising in data centre development across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). We combine engineering excellence, innovation, and digital transformation to deliver high-performance, sustainable, and future-ready data centre solutions.
With over 40 nationalities represented across our teams, CTS fosters a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performance culture where innovation and technical precision drive every project. Beyond construction, CTS develops digital systems and standardised modular data centre units to meet the evolving needs of hyperscalers, colocation providers, and enterprise clients.
Our proven track record and strong partnerships have established CTS as a trusted industry leader delivering large-scale, complex data centre facilities with speed, efficiency, and excellence.
Role Overview
The Junior Design Manager supports the delivery of the design process on data centre and mission-critical construction projects, working under the close supervision of a Design Manager. The role assists in coordinating architectural, structural, civil and MEP design inputs, maintaining design trackers and the document-control system, and helping keep the design programme on schedule.
This is a development role focused on learning the end-to-end design management process, from concept and planning through detailed design and construction support, while taking ownership of discrete, clearly-defined tasks that are reviewed by a senior colleague, across CTS's EMEA project portfolio.
Key Responsibilities
- Maintain design deliverable trackers, drawing registers, and the document-control system / common data environment (e.g., BIM 360 / Autodesk Construction Cloud, Aconex).
- Support coordination meetings across architecture, structural/civil, and MEP disciplines; take minutes, log actions, and follow up on outstanding items.
- Assist in reviewing incoming consultant drawings and models for completeness against the design programme and information-release schedule.
- Help run BIM/design clash-detection reviews in Navisworks and flag coordination issues to the Design Manager.
- Track requests for information (RFIs), technical queries, and design change logs, escalating issues as needed.
- Assist in compiling design packages for procurement and issue-for-construction.
- Support quality checks to confirm designs meet CTS's technical standards and applicable codes.
- Help prepare presentation materials and progress reports for internal and client design reviews.
Required Skills and Experience
- Degree in Architecture, Civil/Structural Engineering, Mechanical/Electrical (MEP) Engineering, or Construction/Building Engineering.
- Proven engineering background (Mechanical or Electrical).
- 3–5 years of experience in a design, engineering, or design-coordination role, ideally within construction or the built environment.
- Proven data centre experience, even if limited to the last three years.
- Some exposure to large-scale construction, industrial, or data centre / mission-critical projects is desirable.
- Ideally has worked for a Tier 1 or Tier 2 Design & Build Contractor, or a Design & Engineering Consultancy, in the data centre industry.
- Working knowledge of AutoCAD and Revit; familiarity with Navisworks and a common data environment (BIM 360 / ACC or Aconex).
- Basic programme/scheduling awareness (MS Project or Primavera P6).
- Understanding of the design process and multidisciplinary coordination.
- Awareness of Portuguese/EU construction regulations, the RJUE permitting regime, and Eurocodes is desirable.
- Fluent Portuguese and good English.
- Strong organisation, attention to detail, and communication skills.
- Must be available to travel.
- Must be available to be potentially assigned to project sites.
- Must be available to be based, ideally at the CTS Design & Engineering HQ, or in the country with a justified project need.
How to Apply
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If you're ready to be part of this journey, share your updated CV at jobs@dc-forte.com
Required Skills
Desired Skills
Minimum experience 3 Years
Location
Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal +1 more
Work Type
Onsite
Employment Type
Full-time Employee
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