Sports Infrastructure Design Lead

Sports Infrastructure Design Lead
Stadiums | Elite Sport | Field of Play
West Yorkshire

Ever wondered who actually engineers everything underneath the pitch at a major stadium? The drainage. Irrigation. Undersoil heating. Ventilation. Water infrastructure. Monitoring systems. All the engineering that has to come together perfectly to create a playing surface capable of performing at the highest level of sport - that's what this role is about.

I'm working with a specialist international consultancy looking for a Sports Infrastructure Design Lead to work on the design and delivery of stadiums, elite training facilities and Field of Play projects across the UK and internationally. And here's the interesting bit, you don't need to have worked in sport before.

If you're an experienced Civil, MEP, Building Services, water or infrastructure design professional who knows how to coordinate complex engineering designs, this is an opportunity to take those skills into a completely different world, Engineering for elite sport

A modern stadium pitch is far more technically complex than the grass you see on matchday. Below and around the playing surface sits an interconnected network of drainage, irrigation, heating, ventilation, monitoring, utilities and other infrastructure - all of which needs to integrate with the wider stadium architecture, structures, Civils, MEP and landscape design. You'll be the person helping bring all of that together.

Working alongside specialist sports consultants, designers and BIM professionals, you'll translate the performance requirements of elite sporting surfaces into coordinated, buildable engineering solutions. Projects will take you from early concept and design development through detailed design, IFC and construction support.

You'll lead the multidisciplinary engineering design and coordination of stadium, training facility and wider sports infrastructure projects. That will include:

Coordinating Field of Play drainage and irrigation systems
Water infrastructure and associated utilities
Undersoil heating and ventilation systems
Monitoring and specialist pitch technology
Coordinating interfaces with Civil, Structural, MEP, architectural and landscape designs
Developing and reviewing drawings, BIM models and engineering details
Producing performance specifications, technical schedules, BoQs and Basis of Design documentation
Reviewing calculations, contractor submissions, RFIs and shop drawings
Leading design reviews and identifying coordination and construction risks
Working within BIM-led environments and federated models
Taking ownership of design deliverables, programmes and technical priorities
Attending design team meetings and technical workshops
Working directly with clients, architects, Engineers and contractors
Supporting projects through design and into construction
You'll essentially become the engineering link between the specialist requirements of an elite playing surface and the wider design of the stadium or sporting facility around it.

They're not expecting to find somebody who already knows everything about elite sports pitches, instead, they're looking for someone with around 5+ years' experience in engineering design, potentially coming from Civil Engineering, MEP, Building Services , Drainage, Water, Infrastructure or Multidisciplinary Engineering

You'll need to understand how engineering designs come together and be comfortable working across areas such as drainage, levels, pipework, plant and utility interfaces so experience with AutoCAD and/or Revit would be useful, while Civil 3D or Navisworks would be an advantage.
You'll also need to be comfortable working with BIM, technical documentation and multidisciplinary project teams, and confident enough to sit in a room with architects, Engineers, contractors and clients and take ownership of the design conversation. A degree, HNC/HND or equivalent professional experience within an appropriate engineering discipline would be ideal. Chartered or Incorporated status would be welcomed but isn't essential.

Never designed a sports pitch? That's not a problem.
You'll be surrounded by people who understand the specialist technical and agronomic requirements of elite sports surfaces. They'll teach you that side.
Training will include areas such as:

Sports pitch drainage
Irrigation systems
Undersoil heating
Pitch ventilation
Monitoring systems
Hybrid turf systems
Technical requirements associated with organisations such as FIFA, UEFA and World Athletics
What they need you to bring is the engineering design, coordination and problem-solving experience to turn that specialist knowledge into a fully integrated design.

This isn't simply another Design Lead position with a different project sector attached to it, it's an opportunity to develop a genuinely unusual engineering specialism within international sport.
You'll work on major stadiums, elite training environments and sports infrastructure projects alongside specialist consultants and multidisciplinary design teams, with opportunities to travel within the UK and internationally as projects require.
And there's something quite different about eventually being able to watch a game or sporting event knowing that the infrastructure sitting underneath that playing surface is something you helped engineer, the role is connected to a West Yorkshire-based design team, with hybrid or remote working potentially considered depending on your experience.

The wider package includes pension, health cash plan, life insurance, health and wellbeing support, discounted gym membership, cycle-to-work scheme, enhanced maternity and paternity leave, sick pay, company events and continued professional development.

If you're an experienced Civil, MEP or infrastructure design professional and fancy taking your engineering career somewhere very different, get in touch.

Contact Sam at Calibre for a confidential conversation.

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