Senior Program Manager

Freese and Nichols; Raleigh (NC); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid overtime for salaried employees

Annual bonus

Access to company cabins

Flexible work environment

Job summary

A leading engineering firm is seeking an experienced Senior Program Manager to oversee complex capital programs in Raleigh, Charlotte, or Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The ideal candidate will manage the entire project lifecycle, ensuring quality services while maintaining budgets and schedules. Candidates should have over 8 years of experience in program or project management and possess a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering. This position offers a flexible hybrid work environment, competitive compensation, and comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

• 8+ years’ experience in Program Management or project management.
• Ability to lead and motivate a project team.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage complex capital programs overseeing the full lifecycle.
• Ensure quality client services and delivery within budget.
• Coordinate assigned work ensuring consistency and quality.

Skills

Program Management

Municipal/County Engineering

Project Management

Leadership

Communication Skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering or equivalent

Professional Engineer (PE) license

Job description

Freese and Nichols is currently seeking a Senior Program Manager to join our team in Raleigh, Charlotte, or Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In this role, you will take the lead in managing complex capital programs on behalf of our clients — overseeing the full lifecycle from initial program setup and strategic planning through execution, performance tracking, and close-out. You will work directly with public‑sector clients to ensure effective coordination across disciplines and projects in order to maintain budgets and schedules, provide training, and/or augment our clients’ staffing to expand their capacity to effectively deliver projects. This position also involves leveraging your expertise to identify and pursue new program opportunities, potentially also serving as Senior Technical Advisor and/or Client Development Lead to drive long‑term partnerships and program success.

Primary Responsibilities

• Ensure quality client services, clarity on work products, and delivery of high‑quality services within budget and schedule constraints.
• Support business development with client relationship and management services.
• Coordinate assigned work to ensure continuity, consistency, and quality.
• Direct and supervise complex studies and investigations. Investigate new areas of technology or new applications of existing techniques. Define tasks to be conducted by others, and provide general supervision, review, and approval. Responsible for collecting, correlating, and preparing recommendations and conclusions for final reports.
• Determine and schedule required program/project resources. Evaluate and analyze program/project decisions to ensure objectivity, soundness of design or approach, and impact of those decisions on schedule, budget, and ultimate success.
• Maintain established schedule. Keep the Program Management Group Manager and/or Regional Lead abreast of all program/project activities, responding promptly to needs, problems, or requests associated with project design or client needs.
• Remain state‑of‑the‑art on existing and pending regulations and related technical advancements.
• Participate in the administration, interpretation, and implementation of contracts, solicitations, and other public‑sector procurement activities.

Qualifications

• 8+ years’ experience in Program Management, Municipal/County Engineering or Administration oversight, and engineering or project management.
• Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering (or equivalent).
• Professional Engineer (PE) license or the ability to become registered within 6 months.
• Ability to lead, motivate, and manage a project team and oversee excellent quality of work.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.

Preferred

• Certified Construction Manager (CCM) or Project Management Professional (PMP).
• Masters of Public Administration (MPA).

About Freese And Nichols

At the heart of our culture is our LEADS values (Learn continuously, Engage as family, Act with integrity, Deliver quality, and Serve always). Each year, our employee engagement survey confirms that our leaders and our employees live our values.

We strive to be the firm of choice for clients and employees through innovative approaches, practical results, and outstanding service. For more than 130 years, we have been planning and designing the infrastructure our communities need: developing water supplies, designing roadways and bridges, preparing for natural disasters, and much more.

Besides our comprehensive benefits package (see more at Benefits That Work for You), we offer paid overtime for salaried employees, an annual bonus, and access to company cabins in Red River, New Mexico and Banner Elk, North Carolina. We are proud of our flexible work environment which includes a hybrid schedule with up to 40% of remote work, and an alternative work schedule program which provides a day off every other Friday.

Join our team of 1,300+ employees as we grow from Virginia to Colorado. Learn more about working here at Working at Freese and Nichols.

Freese and Nichols is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and prohibits employment discrimination for employees and applicants based upon race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, genetic information, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected category under applicable federal, state, and local laws.