Luxury Villas Design Manager

Job Purpose

The Luxury Villas Design Manager is a full-time, hands-on design role not a supervisory-only position. The primary focus of the role is the design of luxury villas: developing concepts, producing drawings, and personally designing to a luxury standard from brief through to execution handover. As a secondary part of the role, the manager follows up with the landscape design team, contributing new ideas and design input to their work rather than simply overseeing it. The person in this role is expected to design as much as, or more than, they manage.

Key Responsibilities

1. Luxury Villa Design — Core Focus

•    Personally design luxury villas end-to-end: concepts, layouts, material and finish selection, and detailing this is the primary, hands-on part of the role.

•    Develop mood boards, 3D visualizations, and design presentations for villa projects to a luxury market standard.

•    Translate client briefs, site conditions, and budgets into design solutions that balance high-end aesthetics with functionality and buildability.

•    Take ownership of the villa design from concept through to technical drawings and execution handover.

2. Technical Drawings & Documentation

•    Produce and review technical drawings for villa projects, including layout plans, hardscape/softscape details, and construction documentation.

•    Ensure all drawings are technically accurate, coordinated across disciplines, and compliant with Dubai Municipality and other relevant authority requirements.

•    Review and formally approve designs and drawings before client submission or handover to the execution/project teams.

•    Maintain drawing standards, templates, and documentation control for villa design output.

3. Landscape Team Follow-Up & Creative Input — Secondary

•    Follow up regularly with the landscape design team on progress, bringing new ideas and design input rather than acting purely as a reviewer or supervisor.

•    Contribute design concepts and suggestions the landscape team can apply to their own projects.

•    Check in on the team's design output to keep it aligned with the company's design standards and the quality expected of luxury projects.

•    Step in with hands-on design support on landscape projects when a stronger creative direction is needed.

4. Cross-Functional Coordination

•    Work closely with the sales team to prepare design concepts and visuals for client proposals and presentations.

•    Coordinate with project/operations managers to ensure designs are practical, on-budget, and deliverable within agreed timelines.

•    Liaise with procurement on specification of materials, finishes, and luxury elements sourced for projects.

•    Support business development and tender submissions with design concepts and supporting visuals.

5. Quality & Standards

•    Establish and maintain design standards, style guides, and best practices across all villa projects.

•    Stay current with luxury landscape and villa design trends, materials, and design technology.

•    Ensure design consistency and brand identity across the company's portfolio of projects.

Requirements & Qualifications

•    Bachelor's degree in, Architecture, Interior Design, or a related field.

•    8+ years of experience in villa design, including at least 3 years in a design leadership or managerial role.

•    Proven portfolio of luxury villa and/ landscape design projects, ideally within the UAE/GCC market.

•    Proficiency in AutoCAD and SketchUp; working knowledge of Photoshop and a rendering tool such as Lumion, V-Ray, or 3ds Max. Revit knowledge is required.

•    Strong understanding of luxury villas materials, systems.

•    Familiarity with Dubai Authority

•    Fluent in English; Arabic is an advantage.

Skills & Competencies

•    Strong creative design sense balanced with practical, execution-focused thinking.

•    High attention to detail and commitment to quality control.

•    Ability to manage multiple projects and design deadlines simultaneously.

•    Proven people management and team leadership skills.

•    Confident client-facing communication and presentation skills.