Senior Project Manager – Lighting & Electrical Projects

EL Design; Elk Grove Village (IL); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

EverLights in Elk Grove Village, IL, seeks a Senior Project Manager to own a portfolio of lighting and electrical projects. You will lead from handoff to closeout, acting as the primary contact for customers, vendors, and internal teams.

Strong leadership, organization, and commercial judgment are essential. The role requires 7+ years of experience in project management, with a focus on schedules, costs, and profitability.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of progressive project-management experience.
• Experience managing complex, deadline-driven projects.
• Experience in lighting or electrical/materials industries is a plus.
• Strong understanding of budgets, gross margin, billing, and cost control.
• Ability to read construction drawings, specs, schedules, and purchase orders.

Responsibilities

• Own an active portfolio of lighting and electrical projects.
• Lead projects from handoff through procurement, delivery, and closeout.
• Serve as primary contact for customers, vendors, and internal teams.
• Develop and maintain detailed project schedules and milestones.
• Monitor lead times, production status, and material availability.
• Identify risks early and establish resolution plans.
• Manage RFIs, submittals, change orders, and billing tasks.
• Ensure accurate reflection of scope and pricing on orders.
• Provide regular status and financial reports to leadership.
• Mentor junior project staff and improve PM procedures.

Skills

Project management

Client-facing communication

Negotiation

Problem solving

Organization

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Engineering, or Business

PMP certification (preferred)

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Outlook

Procore

Bluebeam

Job description

Senior Project Manager – Lighting & Electrical Projects

EverLights | Elk Grove Village, IL

About EverLights

EverLights is a nationwide provider of lighting, electrical materials, recycling, and sustainability solutions. Based in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, we support complex commercial, institutional, infrastructure, and public-sector projects throughout the country.

We are seeking an experienced Senior Project Manager to assume ownership of an active portfolio of lighting and electrical projects. This is a highly visible, client-facing role requiring strong leadership, urgency, organization, and commercial judgment.

The Senior Project Manager will take command of projects from handoff through completion, serving as the primary point of accountability for customers, vendors, contractors, and internal teams. The successful candidate will protect project schedules, customer relationships, billing milestones, and profitability while anticipating and resolving issues before they disrupt the project.

Key Responsibilities

• Assume immediate ownership of an active portfolio of lighting and electrical projects
• Lead projects from sales handoff and submittal approval through procurement, delivery, installation support, and closeout
• Serve as the primary point of contact for customers, contractors, manufacturers, vendors, and internal stakeholders
• Develop and maintain detailed project schedules, milestones, action-item lists, and delivery plans
• Review project specifications, drawings, quotations, purchase orders, submittals, and contract requirements
• Coordinate product selections, approvals, releases, procurement, and delivery schedules
• Proactively monitor manufacturer lead times, production status, shipping, and material availability
• Identify schedule, cost, scope, and supply-chain risks early and establish clear resolution plans
• Manage RFIs, submittals, change orders, substitutions, claims, shortages, damages, returns, and warranty issues
• Ensure customer orders and vendor purchase orders accurately reflect approved scope, pricing, quantities, and delivery requirements
• Coordinate closely with sales, purchasing, warehouse, logistics, accounting, and field teams
• Lead internal and external project meetings and communicate decisions, responsibilities, and deadlines
• Maintain accurate project documentation, correspondence, approvals, and status reporting
• Track project financial performance, including revenue, cost, gross margin, change orders, billing, and collections
• Review project costs and identify discrepancies, margin erosion, unapproved work, or missed billing opportunities
• Support accurate and timely progress billing, invoicing, and collection of outstanding receivables
• Provide leadership with regular reports on project status, financial performance, risks, and required decisions
• Manage project closeout documentation, warranties, attic stock, punch-list items, and final account reconciliation
• Build strong, long-term relationships with customers and project partners
• Mentor project coordinators and less-experienced project managers
• Improve project-management procedures, reporting tools, and communication standards

Qualifications

• At least 7 years of progressive project-management experience
• Demonstrated success managing complex, deadline-driven projects with multiple stakeholders
• Experience in lighting, electrical distribution, construction, building materials, engineering, or a related project-based industry
• Strong understanding of project financials, including budgets, gross margin, billing, change orders, and cost control
• Ability to read and interpret construction drawings, specifications, schedules, quotations, and purchase orders
• Strong procurement, vendor-management, and supply-chain coordination experience
• Excellent client-facing communication, negotiation, and problem-solving skills
• Proven ability to establish priorities, make decisions, and drive accountability
• Exceptional organization, attention to detail, and follow-through
• Ability to manage multiple projects and urgent issues without losing control of deadlines or documentation
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Outlook, and project-management or ERP systems
• Willingness to travel periodically for customer meetings, jobsite visits, and project requirements

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience managing commercial lighting or electrical-material projects
• Experience working for a lighting agency, electrical distributor, manufacturer, contractor, or construction-management firm
• Familiarity with lighting controls, fixture schedules, submittals, photometrics, and product specifications
• Experience with large commercial, institutional, infrastructure, or public-sector projects
• Experience using Bluebeam, Procore, or comparable construction and project- management software
• Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Business, or a related field
• PMP certification or comparable project-management training

What Success Looks Like

The successful Senior Project Manager will quickly establish control of the assigned project portfolio and give customers, vendors, and internal teams confidence that every project has clear ownership.

Within the first several months, this individual will have:

• Established an accurate status, schedule, financial position, and action plan for every assigned project
• Built strong working relationships with key customers, vendors, and internal team members
• Identified and addressed outstanding risks, change orders, billing issues, and delivery concerns
• Created consistent communication and reporting practices
• Improved project predictability, customer satisfaction, and financial performance
• Reduced the number of project issues requiring executive intervention

This is an opportunity for an experienced project leader to take meaningful ownership, manage high-profile work, and help strengthen Everlights' project-management organization as the company continues to grow.

EverLights is an equal opportunity employer. We consider qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

J ob Type: Full-time
Location: Elk Grove Village, Illinois
Reports to: Executive Leadership