Associate Director – Crowd Specialist

Role overview

Buro Happold is looking for an experienced Crowd Specialist to join its Jeddah team in a senior technical and leadership capacity. The role focuses on crowd behaviour, pedestrian flow, and people-movement engineering for major masterplanning assignments and high-profile projects in Jeddah. You will help create safe, resilient, and people-focused design outcomes by guiding crowd modelling and movement strategies alongside multidisciplinary teams.

The organisation describes itself as a place where exceptional projects, strong client relationships, inclusion, and meaningful impact are central to the work. It emphasises sustainability, equity, social outcomes, and performance, along with a culture that supports learning and entrepreneurial thinking.

Key responsibilities

You will lead crowd movement and pedestrian dynamics workstreams for assigned projects in Jeddah, while ensuring that modelling, strategy, and design advice align with project goals across the full lifecycle.

• Direct all crowd movement and pedestrian dynamics activities for the nominated Jeddah projects.
• Build, calibrate, and test advanced crowd simulation models for everyday use, event scenarios, and emergency situations.
• Advise on pedestrian circulation, access and exit planning, space organisation, and operational design.
• Incorporate crowd analysis into engineering masterplans, mobility frameworks, building connections, and public realm design.
• Coordinate closely with masterplanning, engineering, transport, and architectural teams in Jeddah and across regional and global studios.
• Explain modelling findings, risk considerations, and design recommendations to clients, authorities, and senior stakeholders.
• Support project leadership with scoping, programme planning, and quality control for crowd-related deliverables.
• Guide and mentor team members while helping develop best-practice methods and standards for the regional people-movement discipline.
• Contribute technical input to bid submissions and proposals when needed.

Requirements

The ideal candidate should bring strong technical expertise in crowd simulation and pedestrian movement, along with the ability to lead teams and communicate clearly with senior stakeholders.

• A bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Urban Planning, Transport, Architecture, or a closely related discipline.
• Hands-on experience with advanced crowd modelling software such as MassMotion, Legion, Pathfinder, or STEPS.
• Solid grounding in pedestrian movement behaviour, crowd psychology, and human-centred design.
• Proven ability to use crowd modelling outputs to influence layouts, operational planning, and masterplanning decisions.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary workstreams and working with complex project teams.
• Strong presentation and communication skills, with the ability to turn technical analysis into practical design direction.
• Track record of engaging effectively with clients, authorities, and senior stakeholders.
• Understanding of large-scale, high-density, or high-risk settings such as event venues, mega or giga projects, transit hubs, cultural districts, or mixed-use developments.
• Awareness of regional Middle East codes, regulations, and operating practices, or the ability to adapt to them quickly.
• Postgraduate study or professional memberships would be helpful, though they are not mandatory.

Perks and benefits

The role offers the chance to work with a respected international consultancy and access a package that supports growth, flexibility, and professional development.

• Hybrid working arrangements.
• A competitive salary and benefits package.
• Ongoing learning and development support at every career stage.
• Entitlement to two professional body memberships or subscriptions.
• An international work culture with broad exposure to exceptional projects and teams.

Additional information

Buro Happold states that it values flexible working patterns and welcomes candidates seeking more balance in their careers. The company also highlights its commitment to diversity, inclusion, and improving representation of marginalised groups in the built environment. Applicants may request adjustments to the recruitment process, and support is available by contacting the recruitment team at the email address provided in the source.

What the company values

The employer places importance on sustainability, equity, social value, performance outcomes, and doing the right thing even when it is difficult. It presents this role as an opportunity to make a lasting contribution and leave a meaningful legacy.