Senior Project Manager

Ayres Associates; Saint Paul (MN); On-site; USD 115,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision insurance

ESOP and 401K with company match

PTO and floating holidays

Job summary

Ayres Associates in Saint Paul, MN seeks an experienced Senior Project Manager to lead and manage engineering projects across municipal, state, and private clients. You will guide project teams, manage budgets, and ensure on-time delivery while maintaining high quality and client satisfaction.

The role involves working with Eau Claire WI and St. Paul MN offices, supporting proposals, fee estimates, and marketing efforts, and mentoring junior project managers.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field or PM.
• Experience leading engineering projects and multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong communication, negotiation and client management skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead engineering projects from concept to completion with client satisfaction.
• Build trusted relationships and uncover opportunities to add value.
• Manage project delivery phases: initiating, planning, execution, monitoring, controlling and closing.

Skills

Project management

Client relationship management

Budget management

Team leadership

Communication

Negotiation

Technical writing

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field

PMP or other PM certification

Tools

Project management software

Job description

We are seeking a confident and motivatedSenior Project Managerto lead and manage projects of varying scope and complexity within our Engineering Services Group. This role will be responsible for managing client relationships, directing project teams, and ensuring successful delivery of projects on time and within budget.The ideal candidate will be both a strategic leader and a hands-on problem solver with proven experience working in engineering consulting and successfully delivering projects.

As an Ayres Project Manager, you will work closely with our highly experienced municipal and site engineering staff in our Eau Claire, Wisconsin and St. Paul, Minnesota office to deliver technically sound, sustainable solutions to municipal, state, federal, and private-sector clients.

Join Ayres - a USA TODAY Top Workplace recognized in both 2025 and 2026 - where people-first leadership, collaboration, and professional growth create an environment where great teams do their best work.

On any given day, you'll:

• Lead engineering projects from concept to completion, ensuring technical excellence and client satisfaction.
• Act as a strategic partner to clients, building trusted relationships and uncovering opportunities to add value.
• Manage the phases of project delivery: initiating, planning, execution, monitoring & control, and closing.
• Oversee project execution, ensuring compliance with contracts and quality standards, and delivering projects within defined financial performance metrics.
• Partner closely with technical leads to develop a project plan that identifies the resources and time needed to successfully deliver the scope of work.
• Identify and mitigate project risks, proactively addressing challenges and developing mitigation strategies.
• Drive project delivery innovation through new technologies, ways of working, sustainable practices, and creative solutions.
• Serve as primary client contact and coordinate with internal experts and external stakeholders.
• Support business development, including proposals, fee estimates, presentations, and marketing materials.
• Negotiate contracts and change orders within established limits.
• Identify and pursue new project opportunities with existing and prospective clients.
• Provide supervision or mentoring for less experienced project managers.
• Champion accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement across teams.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in a related field (i.e., engineering or closely related discipline) or project management.
• 10+ years of experience in engineering consulting, with at least 5 years in project management role.
• Proven ability to independently monitor project budgets to a successful outcome and manage multiple projects and lead multidisciplinary teams.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and client management skills, including experience developing and maintaining clients and obtaining new and repeat work.
• Strong technical writing and verbal communication skills.
• Proficiency in project management tools and software.
• Valid driver's license and good driving record.

Desired skills and experiences:

• Professional registration in related discipline (i.e., PE, PG, PLA, CFM, CEM) or project management (i.e., PMP, PgMP).
• Progressive experience managing engineering projects, with the ability to create and maintain working relationships with clients, funding partners and permitting agencies.

Benefits of being part of the Ayres team:

• Health, dental, and vision Insurance.
• Short and long-term disability and life insurance.
• Employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) and 401K with company match.
• PTO, paid holidays including two floating holidays, and a flexible work schedule.

Our good-faith compensation approach is fair and equitable, and takes into consideration only permissible factors including, but not limited to, market data, education, training, skills, and experience, and geographic location where the work is performed. A salary range for this posting is $115000 - $160000. The foregoing salary range represents what the company believes, in good-faith, it will pay for the posted opportunity. The individual selected for this role will be evaluated with the compensation factors in mind and placed appropriately.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.