Planning Manager - Major Capital Projects

KBR Careers; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

KBR Sustainable Technology Solutions (STS) in Houston is seeking a Planning Manager for Major Capital Projects to own the integrated schedule from FEED through handover. You will set planning standards, defend baselines, and provide leadership across engineering, procurement, fabrication, construction, and commissioning to enable informed decisions.

This leadership role emphasizes the quality of planning decisions, credible forecasts, and proactive change management to minimize slippage and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Quantity Surveying, or a related technical discipline. Equivalent experience with strong technical grounding will be considered.

Responsibilities

• Develop the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), activity coding structures, and schedule architecture aligned to the Cost Breakdown Structure and contract deliverables.
• Build, integrate, and baseline the Level 1-4 project schedules in Primavera P6, incorporating engineering deliverables, long-lead procurement, vendor data, fabrication, construction sequencing, systems completion, and commissioning turnover.
• Establish the planning basis document, schedule narrative, and basis of schedule assumptions; secure formal stakeholder sign-off on the baseline.
• Maintain baseline integrity through formal change control; ensure every revision is traceable to an approved change.
• Integrate contractor, subcontractor, and vendor schedules into a single project master schedule; resolve logic conflicts, date constraints, and interface milestones between packages.
• Coordinate schedule interfaces with operations, shutdown/turnaround windows, tie-in points, regulatory approvals, and third parties (utilities, permitting authorities, rail/port logistics).
• Drive interactive planning sessions (pull planning, path-of-construction workshops) with engineering, construction, and commissioning leads.
• Define progress measurement rules of credit and earned value methodology for each phase and discipline; validate contractor-reported physical progress against objective evidence.
• Produce weekly and monthly reporting: S-curves, milestone status, critical path and near-critical path analysis, float erosion, manpower histograms, SPI/CPI trending, and look-ahead schedules.
• Deliver credible forecast completion dates supported by trend analysis and productivity data - not optimism.
• Escalate schedule threats early, with quantified impact and recovery or mitigation options.
• Run quantitative schedule risk analysis (Monte Carlo) to establish P50/P80 completion confidence; maintain the link between the schedule risk model and the project risk register.
• Perform schedule health checks against DCMA 14-point and internal quality criteria; drive corrective action on logic, constraints, lags, and open-ended activities.
• Support stage-gate and independent project reviews, peer assists, and audits; prepare and defend schedule submissions to governance body/joint venture partners/lenders.
• Review contractor schedule submissions for compliance with contractual requirements; issue formal comments and track resolution.
• Prepare and assess time impact analyses, extension of time claims, delay narratives, and concurrent delay assessments in support of the commercial and legal teams.
• Provide planning input to tender evaluations, contract schedule exhibits, milestone payment structures, and liquidated damages provisions.
• Lead, mentor, and resource the planning team; allocate planners across packages and manage workload against project phase demands.
• Own and continuously improve planning procedures, templates, coding standards, and reporting deliverables; drive consistency across the capital portfolio.
• Build planning capability in non-specialist stakeholders so the schedule becomes a shared management tool rather than a project controls artifact.

Skills

Leadership

Schedule management

Communication

Problem solving

Education

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

Tools

Primavera P6

Earned Value Management

CPM

Power BI

Acumen Fuse

Acumen Risk

Deltek Acumen

EcoSys

Job description

Planning Manager - Major Capital Projects

KBR Sustainable Technology Solutions (STS) provides holistic and value-added solutions across the entire asset life cycle. These include world-class licensed process technologies, differentiated advisory services, deep technical domain expertise, energy transition solutions, high-end design capabilities, and smart solutions to optimize planned and operating assets.

KBR is seeking a Planning Manager for Major Capital Projects.

The Planning Manager owns the integrated schedule for major capital projects in the [$500M-$10B+] range, spanning FEL/FEED through engineering, procurement, fabrication, construction, commissioning, and handover. This role sets the planning standards, builds and defends the baseline, exposes the true critical path, and gives project leadership an unvarnished view of where the project is against where it said it would be.

This is a leadership position, not a scheduling seat. Success is measured less by tool proficiency than by the quality of decisions the schedule enables - early identification of slippage, credible forecasts, and defensible positions in change and claims discussions.

Schedule Development & Baseline Control

• Develop the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), activity coding structures, and schedule architecture aligned to the Cost Breakdown Structure and contract deliverables.
• Build, integrate, and baseline the Level 1-4 project schedules in Primavera P6, incorporating engineering deliverables, long-lead procurement, vendor data, fabrication, construction sequencing, systems completion, and commissioning turnover.
• Establish the planning basis document, schedule narrative, and basis of schedule assumptions; secure formal stakeholder sign-off on the baseline.
• Maintain baseline integrity through formal change control; ensure every revision is traceable to an approved change.

Integration & Interface Management

• Integrate contractor, subcontractor, and vendor schedules into a single project master schedule; resolve logic conflicts, date constraints, and interface milestones between packages.
• Coordinate schedule interfaces with operations, shutdown/turnaround windows, tie-in points, regulatory approvals, and third parties (utilities, permitting authorities, rail/port logistics).
• Drive interactive planning sessions (pull planning, path-of-construction workshops) with engineering, construction, and commissioning leads.

Progress Measurement, Reporting & Forecasting

• Define progress measurement rules of credit and earned value methodology for each phase and discipline; validate contractor-reported physical progress against objective evidence.
• Produce weekly and monthly reporting: S-curves, milestone status, critical path and near-critical path analysis, float erosion, manpower histograms, SPI/CPI trending, and look-ahead schedules.
• Deliver credible forecast completion dates supported by trend analysis and productivity data - not optimism.
• Escalate schedule threats early, with quantified impact and recovery or mitigation options.

Schedule Risk & Assurance

• Run quantitative schedule risk analysis (Monte Carlo) to establish P50/P80 completion confidence; maintain the link between the schedule risk model and the project risk register.
• Perform schedule health checks against DCMA 14-point and internal quality criteria; drive corrective action on logic, constraints, lags, and open-ended activities.
• Support stage-gate and independent project reviews, peer assists, and audits; prepare and defend schedule submissions to governance body/joint venture partners/lenders.

Contract, Change & Claims Support

• Review contractor schedule submissions for compliance with contractual requirements; issue formal comments and track resolution.
• Prepare and assess time impact analyses, extension of time claims, delay narratives, and concurrent delay assessments in support of the commercial and legal teams.
• Provide planning input to tender evaluations, contract schedule exhibits, milestone payment structures, and liquidated damages provisions.

Team Leadership & Standards

• Lead, mentor, and resource the planning team; allocate planners across packages and manage workload against project phase demands.
• Own and continuously improve planning procedures, templates, coding standards, and reporting deliverables; drive consistency across the capital portfolio.
• Build planning capability in non-specialist stakeholders so the schedule becomes a shared management tool rather than a project controls artifact.

Required Education, Experience, & Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Quantity Surveying, or a related technical discipline. Equivalent experience with strong technical grounding will be considered.
• 12+ years of planning/scheduling experience on EPC or EPCM capital projects, including 5+ years at lead or manager level on projects exceeding [$500M].
• Demonstrated ownership of a full project lifecycle schedule from FEED through commissioning and handover.
• Expert-level Primavera P6 (multi-project, resource-loaded, cost-loaded environments).
• Working command of earned value management, critical path method, and progress measurement in a contractual EPC setting.
• Experience managing planning teams and coordinating multiple contractor schedules.

Preferred Education, Experience, & Skills

• Sector experience in oil & gas / LNG / mining & minerals / power & renewables / pharmaceutical / semiconductor / data centre / water infrastructure.
• Professional credentials: AACE PSP or CCP, PMI-SP, RICS, or equivalent.
• Deltek Acumen Fuse and Acumen Risk, Primavera Risk Analysis, or Safran Risk.
• Reporting and data tools: Power BI, EcoSys, SAP PS, or comparable ERP/PPM platforms.
• Familiarity with advanced work packaging (AWP), systems completion/CTP methodologies, and 4D planning.
• Experience with FIDIC / NEC / LSTK / reimbursable contract forms and associated delay analysis protocols (e.g. SCL Delay and Disruption Protocol).

Placement within the position's career framework will be determined based on an evaluation of the selected candidate's education, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, and other job-related factors consistent with applicable law and business needs. Accordingly, this position may be filled at a different level than the one identified in this posting.

KBR Benefits

• 401K plan with company match
• medical
• dental
• vision
• life insurance
• AD&D
• flexible spending account
• disability
• paid time off
• flexible work schedule

We support career advancement through professional training and development.

Belong, Connect and Grow at KBR

At KBR, we are passionate about our people and our Zero Harm culture. These inform all that we do and are at the heart of our commitment to, and ongoing journey toward being a People First company. That commitment is central to our team’s philosophy and fosters an environment where everyone can Belong, Connect and Grow. We Deliver – Together.

KBR is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, union status and/or beliefs, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.