Heavy Civil Project Assistant Manager

Sterling St James LLC; Charlottesville (VA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid holidays

PTO

Job summary

Sterling St James LLC in the Richmond, VA area seeks an Assistant Project Manager to support heavy civil and highway projects with real responsibility from day one.

You’ll handle submittals, RFIs, procurement, cost tracking, and subcontractor coordination, advancing toward running projects on a team where PMs grew up on this path. Local travel and relocation assistance are available.

Qualifications

• 3–10 years on heavy civil, highway, or utility projects (field engineer, project engineer, or current APM)
• Knowledge of construction scheduling and cost tracking; HeavyJob, Bluebeam, or P6 exposure is a plus
• B.S. in Civil Engineering or Construction Management, and/or equivalent field experience
• Valid driver’s license with a good driving record; travel is primarily local
• Based in or willing to relocate to the Richmond area; relocation assistance available for the right candidate

Responsibilities

• Drive submittals, RFIs, and procurement schedules to keep field crews ahead of the work
• Coordinate subcontractors and supplier POs to protect schedule commitments
• Track quantities, production, and costs against budget and flag variances early
• Support monthly payment requisitions, cost projections, and project documentation
• Attend weekly project team meetings covering schedule and cost
• Support a safety culture across the project team

Skills

Heavy civil project experience

Scheduling

Cost tracking

Travel willingness

Education

B.S. in Civil Engineering or Construction Management

Tools

HeavyJob

Bluebeam

P6

Job description

Assistant Project Manager

Heavy Civil / Highway Construction | Richmond, VA Area | $110,000–$145,000

Build your career with a contractor that’s been building Virginia’s infrastructure for over 50 years.

We are a family-owned, veteran-founded heavy civil construction company with 200+ employees, $60M+ in annual revenue, and active work across Virginia and North Carolina. We’re a Certified Class A Contractor with pre-qualified status, $50M bonding capacity, and a management team stacked with licensed professionals — PEs, PMPs, and DBIA-certified leaders. We self-perform heavy civil, heavy highway, site development, and utility work for federal, state, municipal, and private customers, backed by more than $10M in company-owned equipment.

Our founding philosophy has held for five decades: it’s all about management — good people and well-thought-out direction. That’s why this seat exists. Our Richmond-area backlog is growing, and we develop project managers rather than rent them.

About the Role

You’ll be paired with a Senior Project Manager on active heavy civil and highway projects and handed real responsibility from day one — this is not a “watch and learn” seat. You’ll run the daily engine of the project: submittals, RFIs, procurement and material tracking, subcontractor coordination, quantity and cost tracking, and monthly payment requisitions. As you prove out, you’ll take on owner and inspector interface, schedule updates, and change management — with a defined runway to running your own projects on a team where the PMs came up the same path.

What You’ll Do

• Drive submittals, RFIs, and procurement schedules so field crews stay ahead of the work
• Coordinate subcontractors and supplier purchase orders to protect schedule commitments
• Track quantities, production, and costs against budget — and flag variances early
• Support monthly payment requisitions, cost projections, and project documentation
• Sit in weekly project team meetings covering schedule and cost review — and learn how profitable projects are actually run
• Support a safety culture that’s instilled at every level of the project, not laminated on a wall

What You Bring

• 3–10 years on heavy civil, highway, or utility projects (field engineer, project engineer, or current APM)
• Working knowledge of construction scheduling and cost tracking; HeavyJob, Bluebeam, or P6 exposure is a plus
• B.S. in Civil Engineering or Construction Management, and/or equivalent field experience
• Valid driver’s license with a good driving record; travel is primarily local
• Based in or willing to relocate to the Richmond area (relocation assistance available for the right candidate)

Why Join Us

Fifty-plus years in business and still family-owned — no private equity, no revolving-door leadership. Leadership that knows your name and invests in developing the next generation. Projects you can drive past and point at for the rest of your career. And Richmond living: a real city with a lower cost of living than the D.C. corridor, an hour from the Blue Ridge and two from the beach.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base salary $110,000–$145,000, depending on skills and experience
• Comprehensive health, vision, and dental insurance + FSA program
• 401(k) with 4% company match
• 8 paid holidays plus a personal floating holiday
• 120 hours of PTO accrued in your first year

All inquiries handled confidentially. Employment is conditional on satisfactorily completing all pre-employment requirements.