Senior Utilities Project Manager

Mott MacDonald

Houston (TX)

Hybrid

USD 120,000 - 180,000

Full time

3 days ago

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Benefits offered by this job

401k plan

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Paid holidays & PTO

Job summary

Mott MacDonald in Houston, TX is seeking a Senior Project Manager to lead multidisciplinary teams delivering transmission, substation, and grid projects for North American utilities. The role interfaces with clients and delivery teams to ensure on-time, on-budget outcomes while expanding the firm’s presence in energy infrastructure and grid modernization initiatives.

You will mentor engineers and planners, drive safe, profitable project execution, and contribute to winning new work through

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field.
10+ years delivering multidisciplinary energy infrastructure projects.
Strong communication, leadership, and client relationship skills.
Experience managing budgets, schedules, contracts, and project performance.

Responsibilities

Lead complex transmission, substation, and utility projects with cross-disciplinary teams.
Develop and maintain project execution plans, budgets, schedules, and staffing.
Ensure scope, risk, quality, and contract obligations are managed.
Build trusted client relationships and drive commercial outcomes.
Support growth through proposals and market engagement.

Skills

Project leadership

Client relationship management

Budget & scheduling

Stakeholder engagement

Communication

Multidisciplinary delivery

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Tools

Primavera P6

Microsoft Project

GIS platforms

Project controls systems

Digital delivery technologies

Job description

At Mott MacDonald, we trust our brilliant people to do brilliant things in engineering, management, and development services, supporting multisector project work in over 150 countries. As one of the largest employee-owned companies in the world, we pride ourselves on our ability to deliver exceptional outcomes through our network of 20,000+ talented consultants. With sustainability and innovation at the heart of all our sectors in North America, including, Buildings, Energy, Transportation, and Water.

We believe in empowering our people to excel, learn, and grow, offering diverse opportunities to contribute to career-defining work. Join us and be part of a collaborative environment where your ambitions are united with ours, and you can truly shape your story.

If you share that vision, even if you don’t meet every requirement listed, we’d still love to hear from you. We value potential and diverse perspectives as much as experience. Let’s explore how we can support your growth and help you take the next step in your career, while contributing to an exciting new chapter for Mott MacDonald in North America.

Mott MacDonald is a leading provider of engineering, advisory, program management, and technical consulting services supporting electrical utility infrastructure throughout North America.

We are seeking an experienced Senior Project Manager to lead the delivery of multidisciplinary consulting and engineering services for major electrical transmission, substation, and grid infrastructure projects. This role will serve as the primary interface between clients and our technical delivery teams, ensuring successful execution of complex programs while expanding trusted client relationships and Mott MacDonald’s presence across the energy sector.

The successful candidate will be responsible for coordinating and managing teams delivering services that span the entire transmission line and substation project lifecycle, including integrated system studies, route selection, survey, permitting, GIS, geotechnical investigations, design and engineering, protection and controls, and construction monitoring.

This role is ideally suited for a project delivery professional who combines strong commercial and client leadership capabilities with extensive experience with how major substation and transmission line projects are developed, permitted, engineered, and constructed.

Your Impact

As a Senior Project Manager, you will lead multidisciplinary teams supporting some of North America’s most significant transmission, substation, and grid modernization programs.
You will be responsible for delivering high-quality services, maintaining strong client relationships, ensuring commercial success, and integrating Mott MacDonald’s technical capabilities into seamless client solutions.
Success in this role will be measured by client satisfaction, project delivery performance, repeat business, account growth, and the successful development of multidisciplinary project teams.

Key Responsibilities

Project Delivery Leadership

Serve as Project Manager for complex transmission, substation, and utility infrastructure projects, coordinating multiple technical disciplines and workstreams across project development and execution.
Lead the successful delivery of consulting, planning, environmental, engineering, advisory, and construction support services from project initiation through closeout.
Develop and maintain project execution plans, resource plans, budgets, schedules, forecasts, and staffing strategies.
Manage project scope, fee, commercial performance, risk, quality, and contractual obligations.
Establish project governance, reporting, and decision-making frameworks that support successful project outcomes.
Serve as the primary point of accountability for project delivery performance and client satisfaction.

Client Relationship Leadership

Build and maintain trusted advisor relationships with utilities, municipalities, cooperatives, developers, industrial clients, and energy infrastructure owners.
Serve as a strategic partner to clients delivering grid modernization, reliability, resiliency, load growth, renewable integration, and system expansion programs.
Understand client capital programs, regulatory drivers, operational challenges, and long-term infrastructure plans.
Identify opportunities to expand Mott MacDonald’s service offerings across planning, engineering, environmental, advisory, and program management disciplines.
Lead executive-level project reviews and key client meetings.

Commercial & Financial Management

Maintain accountability for project profitability, resource utilization, forecasting accuracy, invoicing, and financial performance.
Develop fee proposals, budget forecasts, staffing plans, and delivery strategies.
Lead scope negotiations, change management efforts, and contract amendments.
Monitor project performance metrics and proactively identify and mitigate emerging risks.
Ensure projects are delivered safely, profitably, and in accordance with client and contractual requirements.

Business Development & Growth

Support strategic pursuits, proposals, interviews, and capture planning activities.
Collaborate with account leaders and market leaders to strengthen client relationships and expand account penetration.
Identify opportunities to position Mott MacDonald’s capabilities across transmission, substation, distribution, renewables interconnection, grid modernization, and utility program delivery.
Contribute to the continued growth of Mott MacDonald’s North American Power and Utilities business.

Leadership & Team Development

Lead multidisciplinary teams consisting of engineers, planners, environmental specialists, permitting professionals, project controls personnel, construction support staff, and technical specialists.
Mentor developing project managers, discipline leads, and early-career professionals.
Promote a culture of safety, collaboration, innovation, accountability, and technical excellence.

Required Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Project Management, or a related discipline.
10+ years of experience delivering multidisciplinary services supporting electrical utility, power systems, transmission, distribution, substation, and/or energy infrastructure projects.
Strong understanding of utility capital project development, including planning, routing, permitting, engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning processes.
Experience managing project budgets, schedules, contracts, and commercial performance.
Exceptional communication, leadership, client relationship, and stakeholder engagement skills.
Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary project teams and manage complex project portfolios.

Preferred Qualifications

Professional Engineer (PE) license and/or PMP certification.
Experience supporting major transmission and substation programs, including infrastructure at 138kV, 230kV, 345kV, or higher voltage classes.
Experience working for or supporting investor-owned utilities, public power entities, cooperatives, municipal utilities, renewable developers, or large industrial clients.
Established relationships within the utility sector.
Familiarity with Primavera P6, Microsoft Project, GIS platforms, project controls systems, and digital delivery technologies.

Benefits & Reward

At Mott MacDonald, our employees have a stake and a voice in our business, providing them with a direct connection to our success through our personal and group performance bonuses. We provide a comprehensive benefit package that includes 401k, medical, dental and vision insurance, short-term/long-term disability, paid holidays, PTO, parental leave, and company paid life insurance.

Individual pay is determined based on several factors such as work location, education, experience, and unique skills.

Collaboration at Our Core

At Mott MacDonald, we believe great ideas happen when we’re together. Our hybrid approach centers on an in-office culture, with most of your time spent collaborating face-to-face and a minimum of three days per week in the office. We balance flexibility with connection, so you and your manager can choose how to meet client, team, and personal commitments.

Equal opportunity is the law.

We seek to promote fair employment procedures and practices to ensure equal opportunities for all. We encourage individual expression in our workplace and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels they have the opportunity to contribute.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, protected veteran status, creed, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship status or disability status.