Project Director

Smart4 Energy; United States; On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Smart4 Energy seeks an experienced Project Director to lead large-scale energy and industrial EPC projects from planning through handover. The role requires coordinating multidisciplinary teams, engineering partners, and contractors while maintaining accountability for safety, scope, schedule, cost, quality, and contractual performance.

With 10+ years in EPC delivery and strong leadership, you will drive project execution, manage major EPC contractors, and ensure commissioning readiness across

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience delivering EPC projects.
• Experience managing projects across full lifecycle: development, engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, handover.
• Strong construction management for complex industrial/energy projects.
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary teams and external engineering contractors.
• Proven commissioning, startup, testing, and project completion experience.

Responsibilities

• Take overall responsibility for successful delivery of assigned projects.
• Lead projects through planning, permitting, engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and handover.
• Coordinate activities across development, engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning teams.
• Establish project priorities, milestones, reporting structures, and delivery plans.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary engineering activities across civil, mechanical, electrical, process, and controls disciplines.
• Monitor progress against schedules, budgets, milestones, and quality requirements.
• Ensure compliance with HSE, regulatory, contractual, and quality standards.

Skills

Project leadership

Stakeholder management

Construction planning

EPC project delivery

English fluency

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Engineering

Tools

Contract management

Job description

We are seeking an experienced Project Director to take senior responsibility for the delivery of large-scale energy and industrial projects. The successful candidate will have a strong EPC background and experience managing projects through the full delivery lifecycle, from early-stage preparation and engineering through procurement, construction, commissioning, and final handover.

The role will involve coordinating multidisciplinary teams, engineering partners, contractors, and other project stakeholders while maintaining accountability for project performance across safety, schedule, cost, quality, and contractual requirements.

The successful individual will be comfortable operating in complex project environments and taking ownership of delivery from initial planning through to successful completion.

Key Responsibilities

• Take overall responsibility for the successful delivery of assigned projects.
• Lead projects through planning, permitting, engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and handover.
• Coordinate activities across development, engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning teams.
• Establish project priorities, milestones, reporting structures, and delivery plans.
• Serve as a senior point of escalation for significant project matters.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary engineering activities across civil, mechanical, electrical, process, and controls disciplines.
• Ensure effective integration between engineering, procurement, and construction activities.
• Oversee technical reviews, project risks, design development, and value-engineering opportunities.
• Ensure designs are practical to construct and support efficient commissioning and startup.
• Identify and resolve technical issues that could affect project delivery.
• Provide senior oversight of construction activities and site execution.
• Manage EPC contractors, subcontractors, and other delivery partners.
• Monitor progress against agreed schedules, budgets, milestones, and quality requirements.
• Address construction issues, delays, changes, and potential claims.
• Ensure work is undertaken in accordance with applicable HSE, regulatory, contractual, and quality requirements.
• Maintain alignment between site activities and overall project objectives.
• Develop and oversee commissioning and startup plans.
• Coordinate testing, system validation, and performance verification.
• Work closely with construction and technical teams to ensure commissioning readiness.
• Manage completion activities, outstanding works, documentation, and final handover.
• Ensure project deliverables and contractual performance requirements are achieved.
• Oversee EPC agreements and significant subcontractor relationships.
• Support contract negotiations, change management, claims, and variations.
• Maintain effective relationships with clients, contractors, consultants, authorities, lenders, and other project stakeholders.
• Coordinate communication between internal and external project teams.
• Ensure commercial and contractual considerations are incorporated into project decisions.
• Maintain oversight of project budgets, forecasts, expenditure, and cost performance.
• Identify and manage project risks, dependencies, and mitigation measures.
• Monitor potential impacts to cost, schedule, quality, and delivery.
• Ensure appropriate project reporting and governance processes are maintained.
• Provide senior management with clear visibility of project status and emerging issues.

Required Experience

• 10+ years of experience delivering EPC projects within energy, power generation, industrial, infrastructure, or related sectors.
• Demonstrated experience managing projects across the full lifecycle, from early development and engineering through construction, commissioning, and handover.
• Strong construction management experience on complex industrial or energy projects.
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary engineering teams and external engineering contractors.
• Practical experience with commissioning, startup, testing, and project completion.
• Experience managing major EPC contractors, subcontractors, and site teams.
• Strong understanding of EPC, EPCM, and multi-contract delivery models.
• Experience working across international and multicultural project environments.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering, preferably Mechanical, Electrical, Civil, or a related discipline.
• Fluent or native-level English.
• Willingness to travel within the US and internationally as required.

Key Skills & Attributes

• Strong project leadership and ownership.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Strong understanding of construction planning, sequencing, and site coordination.
• Commercially aware with strong cost and contract management capabilities.
• Structured approach to risk identification and mitigation.
• Highly organised and comfortable managing multiple priorities.
• Strong focus on execution, delivery, and project outcomes.
• Background in energy storage, renewable energy, power generation, or related technologies.
• Experience working on projects involving teams or stakeholders across the US and Europe.
• Familiarity with permitting, regulatory, and compliance requirements across multiple jurisdictions.
• Experience delivering technically complex energy or industrial facilities