Senior Project Manager, Data Centers

JLL; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

JLL in Boyers, PA is seeking a Senior Project Manager for a confidential data-center program onsite 4-5 days a week. You will lead end-to-end delivery, coordinate PMs and engineers, and drive risk management in a high-stakes environment.

The role requires 8+ years in data-center or mission-critical PM, strong client-facing communication, and a track record of delivering multimillion-dollar projects under aggressive schedules. Travel up to 40% is expected.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in construction management, engineering, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Lead the delivery of the program's most complex, high-value data-center projects.
• Direct PMs, APMs, and project coordinators to ensure on-time, on-budget outcomes.
• Oversee procurement, vendor negotiations, and contract administration for GMP/NTE-based scopes.
• Provide executive reporting, risk mitigation strategies, and client-facing updates.
• Ensure compliance with NFPA/ASHRAE and other industry standards for critical power and cooling systems.

Skills

Project management

Scheduling

Budgeting

Team leadership

Vendor management

CAD software

MS Project

Education

Bachelor's degree in construction management or related field

Tools

CAD software

MS Project

Job description

Senior Project Manager - Specific to Confidential Project in Boyers, PA - Onsite 4-5 Days/Week

What this job involves:

Lead the end-to-end delivery of the program’s most complex, highest-value, and highest-profile mission-critical and data-center infrastructure projects. This is a project-level leadership role for the largest and most technically demanding engagements - projects where the technical scope, financial exposure, schedule risk, and client profile demand the deepest level of experience and commercial command. The Senior Project Manager owns performance across cost, schedule, scope, procurement, and client outcomes for their assigned projects, directs PMs, APMs and Project Coordinators supporting those projects, and operates as the primary point of accountability to the client and internal leadership on every engagement they carry.

Your day-to-day tasks will include:

• Lead full project delivery on the program’s most complex and highest-value engagements, owning all performance outcomes across cost, schedule, scope, weekly OAC meetings, quality, and client satisfaction.
• Coordinate and direct the work of APMs and Project Coordinators assigned to support their projects, maintaining delivery standards, documentation integrity, and workstream alignment.
• Lead pre-design and feasibility efforts alongside engineering, including due diligence, constructability review, capacity validation, and value engineering, to establish viable design paths and ROM estimates with the highest confidence possible given compressed timelines.
• Drive the compressed, parallelized delivery methodology required for speed-to-market commitments, adapting conventional pre-planning sequencing and contractor coordination norms for projects of the greatest scale and technical complexity.
• Developing and reviewing Method of Procedures (MOPs) for critical infrastructure, providing detailed status reports and maintaining comprehensive project documentation.
• Own strategic procurement and commercial execution, including RFP development, vendor qualification, negotiation, and direct contracting of vendors and suppliers under NTE/GMP arrangements.
• Administer prime and trade contracts (electrical, mechanical, controls, fire protection, structural, and general trades) through complex, phased, and overlapping delivery.
• Own full-cycle financial management at the project level, including GMP/NTE budgets, ROM development, change orders, forecasts, pay applications, and variance analysis, exercising the greatest degree of commercial discipline on projects where cost risk is highest.
• Serve as the primary client and executive-level stakeholder interface on assigned projects, translating complex technical requirements into actionable plans and delivering rigorous, data-driven reporting to demanding clients.
• Drive risk identification, mitigation, and recovery planning on projects with the greatest technical, schedule, and commercial risk exposure, exercising independent judgment on high-stakes decisions where ambiguity is high and consequences are significant.
• Ensure quality assurance and commissioning of critical power, cooling, life-safety, and control systems within active, energized environment.
• Perform comprehensive field assessments including onsite electrical equipment evaluations, operational testing, and commissioning activities. Conduct regular inspections of buildings and equipment to identify maintenance and repair needs, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and industry best practices. Supervise electrical equipment maintenance, testing activities, and contractor work to ensure quality standards are met.
• Collaborate on designing project plans, specifications, and engineering drawings using CAD software. Ensure all designs comply with applicable codes, regulations, and industry standards. Provide technical expertise in building systems including HVAC, electrical, plumbing, fire safety systems, and reliable power systems (UPS, batteries, emergency generators, transfer switches, switchgear, and distributed generation).
• Enforce site safety protocols, including lockout-tagout (LOTO) and safe work practices; lead safety stand-downs and corrective actions when incidents occur on assigned projects.
• Oversee contract administration, compliance, insurance documentation, and governance on all assigned engagements.

Desired experience and technical skills:

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in construction management, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 8+ years of construction project management experience in data center, industrial, or other mission-critical environments, with demonstrated ownership of full project delivery on large, complex, high-value projects.
• Proven track record delivering projects at scale: $50M+ total project cost, high schedule intensity, and technically complex MEP scopes.
• Direct oversight of trade contractors (electrical, mechanical, generator, controls, structural) in active, energized construction settings.
• Proven commercial and contract leadership, including RFP development, negotiation, and administration of GMP, NTE, or similar contract structures on large, consequential project scopes.
• Advanced proficiency with project management, scheduling, and financial management software.
• Deep working knowledge of MEP systems, critical power/cooling infrastructure, and commissioning standards (NFPA, ASHRAE) across the full range of data center system types.
• Exceptional communication, negotiation, and executive-level presentation and reporting skills; comfortable as the primary face of the project to the most demanding clients.
• Demonstrated ability to operate with high autonomy and decisive judgment in ambiguous, high-pressure, fast-track environments where conventional sequencing does not apply.
• Availability to travel up to 40% overall (approximately 20-25% per active project across up to two concurrent projects).