Data Center, Construction Manager

KGO; Buffalo (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

KGO, LLC seeks an experienced Owner's Representative Construction Manager to support a large-scale data center project in Buffalo, NY. This is a field-based role; on-site five days per week is required and not remote or hybrid.

You will provide end-to-end project oversight—from active construction through commissioning, rack installation, and rack turn-up—while coordinating with general contractors, subcontractors, commissioning teams, vendors, and owner stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated data center or mission-critical construction experience.
• Experience as Construction Manager, Field Engineer, Project Manager, Owner's Representative, or similar field leadership role.
• Strong understanding of complex construction sequencing and coordination.
• Experience with union construction environments.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day field leadership and oversight as Owner's Representative Construction Manager.
• Monitor construction activities from construction through rack turn-up and operational readiness.
• Coordinate with general contractors, subcontractors, commissioning teams, vendors, equipment providers, and owner stakeholders.
• Monitor schedule, field progress, quality, safety, constraints, and construction readiness.
• Escalate critical issues rapidly with an hourly escalation mindset.

Skills

Data center construction

Field leadership

AI in PM

Communication skills

Problem solving

Organizational discipline

Tools

AI-enabled tools

Job description

Company: KGO, LLC

KGO is seeking an experienced Owner's Representative Construction Manager to support the delivery of a large-scale, mission-critical data center project in the Buffalo, New York area .

This is a highly visible, field-based role requiring an experienced construction professional who can operate independently in a fast-paced data center environment. The Construction Manager will represent the owner in the field and provide end-to-end project oversight—from active construction through commissioning, rack installation, and rack turn-up.

This is not a remote or hybrid position. Candidates must be available to work on-site five days per week at minimum.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as an Owner's Representative Construction Manager, providing day-to-day field leadership and oversight.
• Manage and monitor construction activities from construction through rack turn-up and operational readiness.
• Coordinate closely with general contractors, subcontractors, commissioning teams, vendors, equipment providers, and owner stakeholders.
• Monitor schedule, field progress, quality, safety, constraints, and construction readiness.
• Identify issues before they affect critical-path activities and drive them toward resolution.
• Work effectively within a large union-trade construction environment involving multiple contractors and concurrent workstreams.
• Conduct field walks and verify actual construction progress against project plans and schedules.
• Provide clear, concise twice-daily progress reporting to project leadership.
• Escalate critical issues rapidly. The project operates with an hourly escalation mindset when schedule, safety, quality, or delivery is at risk.
• Support commissioning, equipment installation, turnover, and rack deployment activities.
• Maintain strong communication between field teams and project leadership.
• Use modern technology and AI-enabled tools to improve reporting, issue tracking, information retrieval, analysis, and project execution.

Required Experience

• Demonstrated data center or mission-critical construction experience is required.
• Experience as a Construction Manager, Field Engineer, Project Manager, Owner's Representative, or similar field leadership role.
• Strong understanding of complex construction sequencing and coordination.
• Experience working with major general contractors, subcontractors, MEP trades, and preferably union construction environments.
• Ability to understand construction schedules and recognize activities or constraints that could impact critical milestones.
• Experience supporting projects through construction, commissioning, turnover, or operational readiness.
• Strong technology skills and willingness to incorporate AI tools into daily project management workflows.

What We're Looking For

Credentials matter, but how you operate in the field matters just as much.

Successful candidates will demonstrate:

• Exceptional communication skills
• Grit and a strong sense of ownership
• Resourcefulness and problem-solving ability
• Confidence working in demanding field environments
• Ability to communicate effectively with both trades and senior leadership
• A bias toward action and problem resolution
• Strong organizational and reporting discipline
• Comfort operating at an accelerated pace
• The ability to be self-directed and productive from day one

This project moves quickly. We are looking for people who see a problem, understand its potential impact, communicate it immediately, and work with the team to get it resolved—not individuals who wait to be told what to do next.

About KGO

KGO is a certified woman-owned project management and professional services firm with extensive experience supporting hyperscale and mission-critical data center construction programs . We provide Owner's Representative construction management, project management, scheduling, QA/QC, health & safety, commissioning, project engineering, MEP coordination, and other specialized field resources to some of the world’s largest technology and infrastructure organizations.