The Director of Naval Construction (DNC) was a senior British civil servant post in the Admiralty, that part of the British Civil Service that oversaw the Royal Navy. The post existed from 1860 to 1966. The postholder was the senior member of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors. Members of the Corps were responsible for the designing and building warships, whether they were built in the Royal Dockyards (such as Chatham) or contracted out to private industry (such as Armstrong Whitworth). The Director was a naval architect as well as a manager.