Technical Director

What is the Opportunity?

Aecon is seeking a Technical Director to join the Urban Transportations Solutions group to support dynamic, transit projects in Canada. We are proud to support projects that are committed to faster and more convenient travel, ultimately improving transportation experiences. This starts with bringing aboard the best possible team!

Reporting to the Project Director, the Technical Director will lead the technical discipline to ensure successful management and integration of design, delivering design outputs to required standards while enabling construction readiness and operational outcomes.

This opportunity is part of Aecon UTS’ proactive talent pipelining as the business continues to expand across major transit projects. We are engaging passive, high-calibre leaders in the market to build relationships ahead of upcoming project awards.

What You Will Do Here:

• Lead the technical and design function for collaborative contracting models such as Alliance, Progressive Design-Build, CMGC, and other integrated or open-book delivery environments, ensuring design strategy supports best-for-project outcomes, target cost objectives, and delivery commitments.
• Provide overall technical leadership across the full project lifecycle, from development and concept design through preliminary design, detailed design, construction support, testing, commissioning, handover, and as-built closeout.
• Develop, implement, and maintain the Design Management Plan, establishing how design will be planned, governed, progressed, reviewed, approved, coordinated, and controlled across all disciplines and phases.
• Direct and manage the design consultant team through the Design Service Agreement, setting clear expectations for scope, schedule, staffing, technical quality, deliverables, and responsiveness while holding designers accountable in a collaborative, productive manner.
• Own and enforce a gated design progression model from concept through preliminary, detailed, issued-for-construction, and as-built stages, including design maturity criteria, technical review checkpoints, readiness assessments, and approval gates.
• Lead the project’s requirements management process, ensuring contractual, regulatory, operational, safety, and technical requirements are captured in a structured system, allocated to design packages, and traced through to compliance verification and evidence.
• Establish and maintain technical governance, standards, and controls for design development, technical reviews, decision-making, change impacts, and design quality across the project lifecycle.
• Lead multi-disciplinary design coordination across civil, structural, architectural, geotechnical, utilities, track, guideway, stations, systems, mechanical, electrical, communications, signaling, traction power, overhead catenary, tunnel systems, and related disciplines.
• Manage interfaces between design disciplines, construction teams, systems integration teams, vendors, operations and maintenance stakeholders, and third parties to ensure technical alignment, constructability, integration, and compliance are achieved before issues reach the field.
• Lead Integrated Digital Delivery and design information management, including Common Data Environment governance, revision control, status coding, model coordination, deliverables planning, and alignment of MIDP, TIDP, BIM execution, and digital design workflows.
• Ensure design deliverables are coordinated, constructable, compliant, and optimized for delivery efficiency, long-term performance, and total project cost without compromising safety, quality, or contractual obligations.
• Lead design reviews at key milestones, ensuring reviews are structured, technically rigorous, well documented, and resolved in a timely manner so issues do not accumulate and compromise downstream delivery.
• Monitor and control design scope, schedule, resource loading, and progress, identifying design creep, quantity growth, incomplete scope definition, and schedule slippage early and ensuring impacts are assessed and managed through the appropriate governance processes.
• Manage the master design deliverables schedule and ensure design outputs are aligned with procurement milestones, construction sequencing, third-party interfaces, regulatory approvals, assurance activities, testing, commissioning, and handover needs.
• Provide technical leadership into project planning, procurement, construction, and commissioning strategies so design decisions support delivery sequencing, constructability, packaging, installation logic, and field execution.
• Lead technical and constructability reviews, incorporating input from construction, project controls, procurement, systems, and operations stakeholders to improve buildability, reduce rework, and strengthen value-for-money outcomes.
• Embed assurance and certification requirements into design development, including RAMS, hazard management, safety assurance, verification and validation, engineering safety obligations, and readiness for required submissions, approvals, and certification milestones.
• Lead technical input into the project risk management process, ensuring technical, design, interface, constructability, stakeholder, and regulatory risks are identified early, assessed properly, and mitigated through proactive design decisions and delivery planning.
• Oversee technical specifications, design criteria, interface requirements, and key technical decisions to ensure consistency, completeness, and alignment with project agreement obligations and operational requirements.
• Coordinate with owner technical representatives, independent reviewers, certifiers, transit authorities, utilities, municipalities, regulators, and joint venture partners to ensure design submissions, reviews, comments, and approvals are effectively managed and do not become critical path constraints.
• Provide timely technical support during construction, including response to RFIs, design clarifications, field-fit solutions, issue resolution, and changes arising from site conditions while protecting design intent and project objectives.
• Support testing, commissioning, and handover readiness by ensuring technical deliverables, as-built documentation, verification records, and assurance submissions are complete, coordinated, and aligned to contractual and operational requirements.
• Work closely with commercial, procurement, project controls, construction, and systems teams to ensure technical decisions, design changes, and scope development are properly understood and reflected in cost, schedule, risk, and procurement planning.
• Build and lead a high-performing technical organization, including internal technical staff, consultant teams, and specialist advisors, while setting clear expectations for accountability, coordination, technical excellence, and collaborative delivery.
• Coach, mentor, and develop technical team members and foster an inclusive culture that values diverse perspectives, open communication, continuous learning, and a shared commitment to project success.

What You Bring to The Team:

• 15+ years of progressive experience in technical leadership and design management on major transit, rail, or complex infrastructure programs, with at least 5 years in a Technical Director, Chief Engineer, Design Director, or equivalent senior leadership role.
• Demonstrated experience leading technical and design delivery on projects exceeding $500M within collaborative contracting or contractor-led delivery environments such as Alliance, Progressive Design-Build, CMGC, or similar models.
• Proven success managing multi-disciplinary design teams across major infrastructure programs, including civil, structural, architectural, geotechnical, utilities, stations, guideway, track, traction power, overhead catenary, signaling, train control, communications, SCADA, MEP, and tunnel systems.
• Significant experience across the full design lifecycle, including concept development, preliminary engineering, detailed design, issued-for-construction deliverables, construction support, design validation, commissioning support, and as-built closeout.
• Strong understanding of how technical and design decisions influence target cost development, commercial strategy, change management, risk exposure, constructability, procurement timing, and overall project performance in collaborative delivery models.
• Demonstrated experience managing design consultants and Design Service Agreements, including scope management, fee management, schedule management, commercial administration, staffing oversight, performance management, and deliverable accountability.
• Strong knowledge of gated design progression, design maturity management, technical review processes, approval workflows, and design quality control within major infrastructure programs.
• Experience leading requirements management and compliance traceability, ensuring project agreement requirements, regulatory obligations, technical criteria, and operational needs flow through into design packages and verification documentation.
• Strong systems integration and interface management capability, including coordination between civil and systems design, vendor interfaces, package boundaries, interface control documentation, and integration readiness across project phases.
• Experience with Integrated Digital Delivery, BIM governance, Common Data Environment management, information delivery planning, model coordination, clash management, and digital engineering workflows on large infrastructure projects.
• Strong knowledge of design management practices that support constructability, value engineering, work structuring, and efficient delivery sequencing in close partnership with construction teams.
• Demonstrated experience identifying and managing design creep, quantity growth, technical risk, and scope development before they negatively impact project cost, schedule, procurement, or constructability.
• Strong understanding of system assurance, safety, hazard management, certification, verification and validation, and technical compliance requirements applicable to major transit and rail programs.
• Experience managing technical interfaces with contracting authorities, transit agencies, independent reviewers, regulators, utilities, municipal stakeholders, third-party asset owners, and joint venture partners.
• Ability to lead technical teams through complex, high-pressure delivery environments while maintaining structured governance, strong relationships, and clear decision-making.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen, including understanding the cost implications of design decisions, design budget management, consultant fee control, value engineering, and the relationship between design maturity and target price development.
• Proven ability to work effectively in joint venture and multi-party delivery environments where technical leadership requires alignment across partner organizations, shared teams, and integrated governance structures.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to present complex technical issues clearly to executives, client representatives, project teams, regulators, and non-technical stakeholders.
• Excellent organizational, planning, analytical, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, resolve technical ambiguity, and keep the project moving under tight timelines.
• Post-secondary degree in Engineering, Architecture, Construction Management, or a related discipline.
• Professional Engineer designation or equivalent professional registration strongly preferred.
• PMP or equivalent project management certification considered an asset.
• Experience acting as Design Authority or in a comparable senior technical accountability role considered an asset.
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office and familiarity with digital design, document management, and engineering coordination tools used on large infrastructure programs.
• Commitment to technical excellence, inclusion, mentorship, and continuous professional development.

Reason for vacancy: Proactive/Evergreen