Mission Critical - Senior Quality Manager

Suffolk Construction; Cedar Rapids (IA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Suffolk Construction in Cedar Rapids, IA is seeking a Senior Quality Manager to lead the Mission Critical quality program on large, multi-building assignments. You will oversee planning, implementation, verification, and reporting to ensure conformance with current MC standards, contract documents, codes, and client expectations across complex projects.

You will mentor Quality Managers and other quality staff, engage senior stakeholders, identify systemic risks, drive recovery actions, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, or related technical discipline.
• Minimum eight years of construction quality experience with leadership of quality programs on large or complex projects.
• Strong knowledge of interfaces among MC architectural, structural, civil, electrical, mechanical, and controls systems.
• OSHA 30 certification, or ability to obtain within 90 days.
• Excellent communication, organization, leadership, documentation, and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain MC Quality Plans, inspection and testing controls, and reporting requirements across the assignment.
• Translate contract documents, submittals, design requirements, codes, and manufacturer requirements into clear quality expectations.
• Coordinate quality activities, inspections, testing, and turnover milestones with project teams and master schedules.
• Identify quality scope gaps and systemic issues, and lead recovery actions to meet program expectations.
• Direct and mentor Quality Managers and staff, and engage senior stakeholders in quality governance.

Skills

Quality leadership

Project management

Communication

Risk assessment

OSHA 30

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, or related technical discipline

Tools

ISO 9001

Job description

Mission Critical - Senior Quality Manager

• ID: 2026-11980
• Job Location: US-IA-Cedar Rapids
• Type: Regular Full-Time
• Category/Department: Mission Critical

Overview

The Senior Quality Manager is responsible for project-level planning, implementation, independent verification, and reporting of the Mission Critical (MC) Quality Program on large, complex, multi-building, or elevated-risk assignments, in accordance with current Quality Program standards, contractual requirements, approved project documents, applicable codes, and client expectations.

The Senior Quality Manager typically serves as the Lead Quality Manager for a project, campus, or region, and may direct one or more Quality Managers and supporting quality personnel within the assignment. Assignment is based on project requirements, individual capability, and organizational needs. This role reports to the MC Quality Program Manager.

The role preserves the independence and integrity of quality verification while supporting project delivery objectives and carries expanded responsibility for personnel development, senior stakeholder engagement, systemic risk identification, and recovery of challenged quality efforts. Between assignments, the Senior Quality Manager may support Preconstruction, pursuits, audits, quality planning, or other program priorities.

Responsibilities

Quality Planning and Implementation

• Develop and maintain Quality Plans, inspection and testing controls, responsibility assignments, reporting requirements, and supporting execution tools across the assignment in accordance with current MC Quality Program standards and client requirements
• Translate contract documents, approved submittals, design requirements, applicable codes, and manufacturer requirements into clear quality expectations across multiple projects, phases, trades, and system scopes, and verify that all responsible parties understand their obligations
• Coordinate quality activities, inspections, testing, and turnover milestones with procurement, construction sequencing, commissioning readiness, and project master schedules
• Identify, prioritize, and upscale quality scope gaps, recurring deficiencies, systemic quality trends, and technical concerns across the assignment before they affect project performance, client confidence, or turnover
• Lead recovery and stabilization of quality scopes or projects that are inadequately controlled, materially deficient, behind schedule, or not meeting program expectations

Inspection, Verification, Nonconformance

• Oversee preparatory activities, benchmarks, mockups, first-work and in-process inspections, testing, third-party and special inspections, supplier-quality activities, and completion verification across the assignment
• Verify that materials, equipment, installations, testing, documentation, and corrective work demonstrate conformance with approved requirements before affected work progresses, becomes concealed, or is presented as complete, and ensure inspection, measurement, and test equipment remains appropriately controlled and calibrated
• Oversee management of quality issues and nonconformances through containment, root-cause evaluation, corrective action, reinspection or retesting, documentation, and closure
• Lead evaluation and escalation of repeated, disputed, systemic, or high-risk quality conditions requiring senior project, design-team, client, or MC Quality Program engagement

Documentation, Readiness, and Turnover

• Ensure consistent application of established MC Quality Program standards, documentation, and artifact-control requirements across assigned personnel and scopes, and ensure complete, accurate, traceable, and audit-ready quality records are maintained; support MC Quality Program audits, including ISO 9001 internal audit activities, with assignment-level preparation, evidence gathering, corrective action, and follow-through as assigned
• Provide objective quality-readiness status supporting construction progression, commissioning activities, energization planning, turnover, and closeout across all assigned scopes
• Partner with Commissioning leadership to align installation verification, deficiency resolution, and system completion with commissioning readiness without assuming commissioning testing or functional-performance authority
• Verify completion of quality documentation, inspection records, test reports, certifications, nonconformance closure, punch completion, and required turnover deliverables across the assignment
• Provide clear and timely reporting of assignment quality performance, trends, constraints, disputed conditions, unresolved risks, and residual exposure to project executive and MC Quality Program leadership

Stakeholder, Team, and Program Leadership

• Direct, coordinate, develop, and mentor assigned Quality Managers, Assistant Quality Managers, and supporting quality personnel, including work assignment, technical direction, performance observations, and development feedback, with assignment recommendations to the MC Quality Program Manager; coordinate consultants, inspectors, testing agencies, and other third-party quality resources supporting the assignment
• Serve as the senior quality interface with client leadership, design professionals, project executive leadership, trade partners, and authorities having jurisdiction; represent Quality in executive-level reviews, client engagements, disputed-condition resolution, and recovery planning
• Support Preconstruction and pursuit activities as assigned, including quality strategy, staffing approaches, risk evaluation, and proposal content
• Provide field-based input, lessons learned, trend analysis, and implementation feedback supporting continuous improvement of MC Quality Program standards, training, and execution tools

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Quality Management, or a related technical discipline, or an equivalent combination of industry, trade, military, and technical experience
• Minimum eight years of progressively responsible construction quality, inspection, testing, MEP construction, or comparable Mission Critical experience, including sustained successful leadership of project quality programs on large or complex projects and demonstrated experience directing, mentoring, or developing quality personnel
• Strong technical competence in at least one construction discipline, with working knowledge of the interfaces among Mission Critical architectural, structural, civil, electrical, mechanical, and controls systems
• Experience reviewing drawings, specifications, submittals, inspection and test plans, test reports, manufacturer requirements, and technical documentation; familiarity with applicable industry standards and codes (IBC, NEC, NFPA, ASHRAE)
• Demonstrated ability to identify systemic quality risk, lead recovery of challenged quality efforts, manage senior client and design-team relationships, and communicate unfavorable findings at executive project levels
• OSHA 30 certification, or ability to obtain within 90 days, and working knowledge of applicable construction-safety and hazardous-energy-control requirements
• Strong communication, organization, leadership, documentation, conflict-resolution, and problem-solving skills; ability to work extended or off-shift hours and deploy to project locations for extended durations
• Demonstrated commitment to Suffolk's Core Values of Passion, Integrity, Hard Work, Professionalism, and Caring

Preferred Qualifications

• Hyperscale data center campus, multi-building program, or similarly complex Mission Critical construction experience
• Relevant quality, inspection, testing, engineering, or project-management certification (ASQ CQE, CMQ/OE, CQI, CQM-C, ICC, AWS CWI, NICET, PMP, EIT, PE, or equivalent)
• Experience with ISO 9001-based quality-management systems, internal audits, structured root-cause analysis, and supplier quality
• Familiarity with NETA testing, electrical acceptance documentation, and building information modeling (BIM) used in MEP systems coordination

Working Conditions

While performing the duties of this job,