Electrical Project Manager

Prevail Recruiting; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Prevail Recruiting supports a long-established Chicago-area construction contractor seeking an experienced Electrical Project Manager to lead complex electrical projects across the Greater Chicago area, from preconstruction through closeout.

The role requires hands-on management of substations, traction-power systems, and power distribution, along with budgets, schedules, procurement, and client relations; travel to project sites will be required.

Qualifications

• Five or more years of electrical construction project-management experience.
• Contractor-side experience with electrical substations and traction-power systems.
• Ability to manage budgets, schedules, procurement, and profitability from preconstruction through closeout.
• Experience coordinating field teams, subcontractors, and suppliers.

Responsibilities

• Oversee projects from preconstruction through energization and closeout.
• Lead electrical scopes including substations and traction-power systems.
• Review drawings, specs, equipment schedules, and contracts.
• Develop budgets, forecasts, billing schedules, and profitability analyses.
• Maintain real-time cost vs budget tracking and recoveries.
• Coordinate procurement and long-lead equipment delivery.
• Manage RFIs, submittals, shop drawings, change orders, and turnover.
• Lead meetings and report on cost, schedule, safety, quality, risks.

Skills

Electrical project management

Substations experience

Traction-power systems

Budgeting & forecasting

Client relationships

Education

Bachelor's or higher in Electrical Engineering or Construction Management

Tools

Procore

Microsoft Project

HeavyBid

HCSS

Job description

Schedule: Full-time | Approximately 80% office-based and 20% field-based

The Opportunity

A long-established and growing construction contractor is seeking an experienced Electrical Project Manager to manage complex electrical construction projects throughout the Greater Chicago area.

This is a hands-on, contractor-side position requiring direct experience with electrical substations, traction-power electrical systems, inside electrical construction, and power-distribution equipment.

The Electrical Project Manager will take ownership of project financials, schedules, procurement, documentation, field coordination, testing, commissioning, and client relationships from preconstruction through closeout.

This is not an electrical-design-only, facilities-maintenance, or general MEP-coordination position. The successful candidate must have directly managed electrical construction projects, field personnel, subcontractors, equipment procurement, and project profitability.

What You'll Do

• Manage electrical construction projects from preconstruction and planning through execution, energization, commissioning, and closeout
• Lead electrical scopes involving substations, traction-power systems, inside electrical construction, and power distribution
• Review electrical drawings, specifications, one-line diagrams, equipment schedules, contracts, and project requirements
• Develop project budgets, cost reports, forecasts, billing schedules, pay applications, and profitability projections
• Maintain accurate real-time cost-versus-budget information
• Identify financial risks and implement corrective actions to protect project profitability
• Develop and update baseline, look-ahead, procurement, installation, testing, and commissioning schedules
• Track project schedules against actual progress and implement recovery plans when necessary
• Manage electrical RFIs, submittals, shop drawings, material logs, change orders, and closeout documentation
• Coordinate long-lead electrical equipment and material procurement
• Manage equipment and systems that may include transformers, switchgear, breakers, MCCs, panels, protective relays, controls, SCADA, grounding systems, conduit, cabling, and terminations
• Coordinate electrical subcontractors, union electricians, foremen, suppliers, equipment manufacturers, engineers, and internal project teams
• Track estimated labor units, field hours, production rates, equipment requirements, and installation progress
• Review subcontractor proposals, scopes, exclusions, change requests, and invoices
• Lead change-order pricing, negotiations, documentation, and schedule-impact analysis
• Coordinate equipment installation, startup, testing, energization, commissioning, turnover, and operational readiness
• Resolve design conflicts, equipment issues, procurement delays, field conditions, and installation challenges
• Conduct project meetings and provide clear reporting on cost, schedule, safety, quality, procurement, and project risks
• Maintain strong relationships with clients, engineers, field leadership, subcontractors, suppliers, and internal teams
• Ensure all electrical work complies with contract documents, applicable codes, quality requirements, and safety standards
• Support electrical safety planning, Job Hazard Analyses, lockout/tagout procedures, energized-work requirements, and commissioning plans
• Mentor Project Engineers and Assistant Project Managers assigned to electrical projects

Required Qualifications

• Five or more years of electrical construction project-management experience
• Contractor-side experience managing electrical construction projects
• Experience managing electrical substations, traction-power electrical systems, inside electrical construction, or complex power-distribution projects
• Experience managing electrical projects from preconstruction through testing, commissioning, and closeout
• Strong knowledge of electrical equipment and systems, including several of the following:
• Transformers
• Switchgear
• Motor-control centers
• Protective relays
• Electrical panels
• Grounding systems
• Conduit and cabling
• Controls and SCADA
• Experience managing project budgets, forecasting, billing, pay applications, change orders, procurement, and profitability
• Experience managing electrical subcontractors, field leadership, electricians, suppliers, and equipment manufacturers
• Ability to read electrical drawings, one-line diagrams, plans, specifications, equipment schedules, and contract documents
• Experience coordinating long-lead electrical equipment and material deliveries
• Experience managing electrical testing, energization, commissioning, turnover, and closeout
• Strong client communication, leadership, organization, and problem-solving skills
• Ability to work from a Greater Chicago-area office and visit project sites as required

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience managing both substations and inside electrical construction
• Experience with AC/DC traction-power or conversion substations
• Experience managing medium- or high-voltage systems
• Experience working with union electrical labor
• Experience with self-perform electrical construction
• Knowledge of electrical labor units, productivity tracking, and field-production reporting
• Experience with design-build, progressive design-build, CM/GC, or EPC project delivery
• Experience preparing or reviewing electrical estimates, takeoffs, buyout packages, and change-order pricing
• Familiarity with electrical testing procedures, commissioning plans, relay testing, equipment startup, and system turnover
• OSHA training and experience working around energized electrical systems
• Degree in Construction Management, Electrical Engineering, or a related field

Preferred Technology Experience

• HCSS, HeavyJob, or HeavyBid
• Procore
• e-Builder
• Microsoft Project
• Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint

Candidates with strong electrical construction experience who have not used every listed platform are still encouraged to apply.

What We're Looking For

The ideal candidate is a hands-on electrical construction professional who enjoys being actively involved with clients, internal project teams, field personnel, subcontractors, and suppliers.

This person should be capable of independently managing the financial, operational, contractual, and technical components of an electrical construction project. The successful candidate will understand how electrical projects are installed in the field—not simply how they are designed.

Why Consider This Opportunity?

• Lead complex electrical construction projects
• Work directly with experienced project and field leadership
• Remain hands-on with clients, internal teams, subcontractors, and project execution
• Join a collaborative and team-oriented construction organization
• Receive professional-development and long-term advancement opportunities
• Build a career across multiple electrical-construction specialties
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, retirement, disability, and additional employee benefits

If you have contractor-side electrical project-management experience involving substations, traction-power electrical systems, inside electrical construction, or complex power distribution, we would like to speak with you.