Design Leadership Jobs in Australia
Find your next Design Leadership role at companies that value creative talent
Showing 59 jobs
Design Manager
🇦🇺 Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Acciona 🇦🇺 Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Lead transmission line and substation design across high- and medium-voltage infrastructure, coordinating design from concept through detailed delivery. Manage interfaces, technical governance, constructability, cost, schedule, change, and risk while leading reviews, consultants, and team capability development.
Design Manager
🇦🇺 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Cbre Asia Pacific 🇦🇺 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Provide client-side oversight of design delivery for major high-rise residential projects, reviewing design outcomes, risks, and programme impacts. Support governance, approvals, reporting, stakeholder coordination, and commercial and strategic advice across concurrent project workstreams.
Design Manager Southbank / Full Time
🇦🇺 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Signature Hospitality Group 🇦🇺 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Lead venue design from concept through construction documentation, producing drawings, 3D models, renders and presentations that express each brand and create memorable guest experiences. Specify materials, finishes, lighting and FF&E; review documentation and site work; coordinate with internal teams and external partners; and develop branding, graphics and signage while mentoring junior designers.
Design Manager
🇦🇺 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Core Talent 🇦🇺 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Lead and coordinate design development for utility-scale Solar PV, BESS, and hybrid projects from concept through construction, including managing consultants and coordinating engineering disciplines and project interfaces. Optimise designs for site constraints, cost, reliability, and performance; review technical and contractor designs, manage network interfaces and risks, and develop standardised approaches to improve efficiency.
Design Manager - Ports & Maritime
🇦🇺 Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Aecom 🇦🇺 Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Lead multidisciplinary design delivery for complex port, maritime, and coastal projects from feasibility through detailed design and construction support. Oversee technical quality, interfaces, budgets, schedules, risks, client relationships, proposals, and team development.
Design Manager
🇦🇺 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Hickory 🇦🇺 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Lead and coordinate design activities through early contractor involvement and construction, aligning design outcomes with client requirements, project objectives, compliance obligations, and buildability needs. Manage consultants, stakeholders, design risks, changes, and documentation while supporting tenders, resolving construction design issues, and identifying opportunities for value, innovation, and efficiency.
Design Manager - Ports & Maritime
🇦🇺 Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Aecom 🇦🇺 Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Lead multidisciplinary design activities for complex maritime infrastructure projects, managing the full project lifecycle from feasibility to construction support. Coordinate technical interfaces across various engineering disciplines while ensuring alignment with client requirements and international standards.
Design Manager
🇦🇺 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Cgc Recruitment 🇦🇺 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Lead design management across multiple projects, progressing designs from planning approval through detailed design and construction documentation while coordinating consultants and stakeholders. Ensure design quality, regulatory compliance, budget and programme alignment, and effective collaboration with project, commercial, and construction teams.
Design Manager / Technical Director - Maritime
🇦🇺 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Ghd 🇦🇺 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Lead the planning, assessment, design, and delivery of maritime infrastructure projects, managing multidisciplinary teams and project scope, quality, schedule, budget, risk, and interfaces. Build client relationships and business opportunities, provide technical leadership, review design documentation, and mentor developing engineers.
Design Manager / Technical Director - Maritime
🇦🇺 Gold Coast City, Queensland, Australia
Ghd 🇦🇺 Gold Coast City, Queensland, Australia
Lead the planning, assessment, design, and delivery of maritime infrastructure projects, managing multidisciplinary teams and project scope, quality, schedule, budget, risk, and design interfaces. Build client relationships, support business growth through proposals and opportunity development, provide technical leadership, and mentor developing engineers.
Design Manager / Technical Director - Maritime
🇦🇺 Maroochydore QLD 4572, Australia
Ghd 🇦🇺 Maroochydore QLD 4572, Australia
Lead the planning, assessment, design, and delivery of maritime infrastructure projects, managing multidisciplinary teams, project scope, quality, schedule, budget, risk, and design interfaces. Build client relationships, support business growth through proposals and opportunity development, review technical documentation, and mentor developing engineers.
Design Manager, Transmission
🇦🇺 Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Acciona 🇦🇺 Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Lead transmission line and substation design from concept through detailed design, coordinating design interfaces across high- and medium-voltage infrastructure. Manage technical governance, constructability, integration, cost, schedule, design changes and risks, while leading reviews, consultants and team capability development.
Design Manager / Technical Director - Maritime
🇦🇺 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Ghd Group Pty Ltd 🇦🇺 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
The Design Manager / Technical Director will lead the planning, design, and delivery of complex maritime infrastructure projects while managing multidisciplinary teams. They are also responsible for building client relationships, pursuing new business opportunities, and mentoring junior engineering staff.
Design Manager – Wind
🇦🇺 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Arcadis 🇦🇺 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Lead and coordinate onshore wind farm Balance of Plant design across civil, electrical, and environmental disciplines, including tender, early contractor involvement, and detailed design phases. Provide technical leadership, client and contractor engagement, design optimisation, delivery planning, and mentoring while establishing best-practice wind design methods and workflows.
Design Manager - Water Infrastructure
🇦🇺 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Aecom 🇦🇺 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Lead multidisciplinary design delivery for water infrastructure projects, managing scope, schedules, budgets, risks, governance, safety, and technical quality. Chair design reviews and technical forums, advance digital and sustainable delivery, coordinate resources, support bids, and mentor emerging technical leaders.
About Design Leadership careers
Design leaders in 2026 set the strategic vision for design organizations navigating an AI-saturated market. This role requires a balance of craft expertise and high-level business acumen to advocate for design's value at the executive level.
Effective leaders foster a culture of technical agency, establishing systems that allow human creativity and machine efficiency to coexist.
Companies like Stripe and Airbnb seek VPs and Directors of Design who can scale teams and align design strategy with long-term business objectives.
We feature senior leadership positions including Design Directors, Heads of Design, VP of Design, Chief Design Officers, and design team leads at companies like Meta, Google, Airbnb, Stripe, and fast-growing AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. These roles span product design, brand, and cross-functional design organizations.
Many companies offer remote design leadership roles, including distributed-first companies like Notion, Linear, GitLab, and Vercel. AI companies like Midjourney and Anthropic also hire remote design leaders. Some companies prefer hybrid arrangements for VP+ positions.
Most positions require 8–15+ years of design experience with 3–5+ years managing teams. Strong candidates demonstrate strategic thinking, team building, stakeholder management, and a track record of shipping successful products at companies like Figma, Spotify, Netflix, or emerging AI startups. Browse leadership portfolios to see how experienced designers showcase their impact.
Design leadership salaries are highly competitive: Design Directors earn $160k–$240k, VPs of Design $220k–$350k+, and CDOs at major companies can exceed $400k with significant equity packages. AI companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Databricks often offer premium total compensation. Consult our salary guide for detailed breakdowns.