5 Onsite Architect jobs in Saudi Arabia

Setec is one of the world’s leaders in multidisciplinary engineering; an independent group owned by its engineers who rely on their talent, passion, & know-how. Over the last 60 years, Setec has gained an international reputation for services excellence, with a workforce of 4,000 multidisciplinary specialists throughout the world.

Setec has prestigious references for a wide range of fields that cover infrastructure, transport, water engineering, energy efficient buildings, industrial installations, and project management consultancy services. Playing a role on some of the largest current design & construction projects worldwide, the group’s engineers take on challenges in real estate development by bringing value to the projects they engage.

About the Design Studios project:

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s 2030 Vision is an ambitious quality-of-life program dedicated to the improvement of the urban fabric, elevating the built environment, fostering a booming economy, and developing vital communities. Key goals are to recover the architectural and urban identity of all the Kingdom’s regions, genuinely enhance the urban character & pattern, and facilitate comprehensive urban transformation of cities into architecturally and urbanely advanced communities.

One of the most important tools to realize this urban transformation is the Kingdom’s urban identity projects initiative which focuses on defining the Kingdom’s architectural and urban identities by dividing the Kingdom into nineteen realms - each with unique regional & urban identities. This division has led to nineteen design directives for all the KSA regions. These directives provide architectural and urban guidelines to restore and provide architectural and urban identity in a manner that motivates consultancy offices, developers, and citizens to realize the urban identity initiative objectives and, in turn, deliver remarkable benefits to the built environment and urban fabric of the Kingdom’s cities.

The guidelines are prefaced by the general description of architectural and urban patterns. Based on historical studies that highlight major genuine architectural & urban landmarks. The guidelines address architectural design, urban formation & public realm spaces, the organization of architectural elements on building facades and align with directives to foster consistency of these elements together. Guidelines & directives include but are not limited to the design and forms of different elements, materiality & preferred colors, & components that identify the character & pattern of buildings to ensure consistency with the urban pattern requirements.

To advance the region’s development projects consistent with its urban and architectural identity objectives, qualified Design Studios are required to be established. The objective of each Design Studio is to provide consultancy services & directives for new development projects in support of implementing urban & architectural guidelines, detailed codes, design directives & processes.

Key accountabilities

• You're responsible for reviewing third-party real estate project design submissions for compliance against KSA regional directives & guidelines, uploading review comments into the Design Studios web portal for Design Studio’s Technical Delivery PM’s review & compliance certificate disposition, and, reviewing its comments with the third-party submitter (&Client, as required) to foster understanding & render compliance advice.
• Submittal review & compliance certification process, design review, reports, QA/QC (design evaluation & aesthetics of individual buildings/structures in a development project assessing proposed designs based on criteria such as visual appeal, compatibility with surrounding context & adherence to architectural guidelines).
• Review with compliance with regional architectural heritage, historic districts & conservation areas and includes elements (building materials, facade design, rooflines, fenestration (windows & doors), landscaping & overall architectural character).
• Coordinate Architectural Design Reviewer work.

Skills & experience

• Bachelor or Master of Architecture +8 years in GCC (especially KSA).
• AIA or RIBA membership and active participation.
• Saudi Council of Engineers accredited Professional Architect or higher accreditation (i.e. Consultant Architect).
• Proficient in AutoCAD, Revit, Bluebeam and similar design documents and review software.
• Microsoft Office, MS Project, MS Visio, Adobe Acrobat, MS Teams.
• Doc management systems.
• Fluent in Arabic & English both oral and written.

Salary: SAR 50,000 – 60,000 per month

Location: Riyadh, KSA

Benefits: + medical insurance & annual paid leave

Company: Leading international consultancy.

Our client is seeking a highly skilled and experienced Senior Design Manager who comes from an architectural background with at least 15+ years of experience within large complex design/architecture projects, preferably on heritage/cultural programmes.

Key Responsibilities:

• Must come from an Architectural background, working across multiple disciplines to ensure all designs are delivered on time and within budget.
• Experience working with the client to understand their design brief while coordinating with external consultants.
• Must have worked for client-side or international PM/CM consultants.
• Experience engaging with stakeholders and have full project lifecycle experience.
• Will be reporting to the Design Director & Project Director of the programme.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in architecture is mandatory.
• Cultural/Heritage experience is mandatory.
• At least 15 years of experience in design or architecture.
• Previous experience of leading complex design projects.
• Strong leadership and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure.