Sr. Project Manager- USA

Nordex North America; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 160,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid Time Off

Medical & Pharmacy Insurance

Health Savings Account (HSA)

Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

Job summary

Nordex North America is seeking a Senior Project Manager to lead end-to-end execution of large wind projects in the United States and Canada. You will coordinate governance, schedules, budgets, and safety while interfacing with customers and internal teams to maximize value and ensure project success.

The role requires extensive wind-project experience, strong commercial discipline, and leadership maturity to influence executives across multiple organizations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Business, Project Management, or related discipline required.
• 10+ years of relevant experience managing complex energy, infrastructure, or large-scale construction projects.
• Minimum 8+ years in wind project management, wind construction, project operations, installation, logistics, commissioning, or comparable renewable-energy project execution leadership.
• Proven track record managing multiple large-scale projects or a portfolio of major project workstreams, including customer governance, contractor management, contract administration, financial forecasting, claims/change management, and execution recovery.
• Prior experience interacting successfully with customer executives, developers, owners’ engineers, construction management teams, senior internal leadership, and global functional stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead project governance across the full lifecycle, from sales-to-PM handover through handover to service.
• Own integrated project performance balancing HSE, quality, schedule, cost, and cash collection.
• Serve as the primary customer interface with executives, engineers, contractors, and Nordex leadership.
• Establish and maintain project controls: baseline schedule, milestones, risk registers, and documentation governance.
• Coordinate contract changes, invoicing, and claims strategy with cross-functional teams.
• Support execution readiness by aligning project team structure, site readiness, and logistics planning.
• Mentor project managers and cross-functional teams on governance, risk, and Nordex processes.
• Represent Nordex with customers and industry stakeholders, upholding values and service mindset.
• Travel to project sites and customer offices as required to support delivery and milestones.

Skills

Project management

Leadership

Mentoring

Risk management

Customer interface

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Construction Management/Business/Project Management

Job description

Do you want to be part of an agile team where colleagueship truly matters?

As a global company, we interact with a variety of people and cultures. Integrity, Respect, Colleagueship and Ownership are the unifying force for all departments and regions around the world. It’s the individual that defines the team. And it’s the team that makes the difference. Join the #TEAMNORDEX and shape the future of energy with us.

Position Summary

The role of Senior Project Manager, PM directly supports the company’s mission to develop and deliver clean power plants that make 100% renewable energy a reality for the world. The Senior Project Manager is accountable for leading the end-to-end execution of large, complex, and strategically important wind projects in the United States and Canada, from Sales-to-PM handover and execution readiness through installation, commissioning, customer handover, and transition to Service. This role is the primary customer-facing project/projects leader and internal integrator across Commercial Project Management, Site Management, Engineering, Logistics, Construction, Quality, HSE, Sourcing, Legal/Contracts, Finance, and Service. The successful candidate brings deep North American wind-projects execution experience, strong commercial and contractual discipline, disciplined schedule and risk management, and the leadership maturity to influence senior customer executives, contractors, and global Nordex stakeholders while protecting safety, quality, margin, cash, and customer satisfaction.

What You’ll Do

• Lead projects execution governance across the full project lifecycle, including Sales-to-PM handover, contract review, execution readiness, project team launch, weekly project meetings, operational plan reviews, customer reporting, commissioning, punch-list closure, customer handover, and PM-to-Service handover.
• Own integrated project performance for assigned projects, balancing HSE, quality, schedule, cost, margin, cash collection, contract compliance, customer satisfaction, and risk mitigation; ensure HSE has priority over quality, cost, and schedule when decisions are required.
• Serve as the primary customer interface for assigned projects, building trusted relationships with customer executives, construction leadership, owners engineers, contractors, and internal Nordex leadership; communicate status, risks, decisions, and escalations clearly and proactively.
• Establish and maintain project controls, including baseline schedule, critical path, milestone tracking, action logs, risk and opportunity registers, project forecast reviews, change control, claims strategy, cash collection plan, and documentation governance.
• Lead project forecast reviews focused on commercial management changes, risks and opportunities, liquidated damages exposure, contingencies, cash collection, tax/VAT considerations where applicable, and project cost-category assignment.
• Partner with Commercial Project Management, Legal/Contracts, Sourcing, and Finance to manage contractual obligations, change orders, claims and counterclaims, extensions of time, invoicing, additional payments, back-to-back subcontractor positions, and dispute avoidance/resolution.
• Support execution readiness by coordinating the PM Ops reporting to the project/project, by confirming project team structure, resource needs, site and construction readiness, logistics/material availability, contractor readiness, crane and installation planning, quality plan readiness, and required Nordex systems/tools setup.
• Coordinate the definition and implementation of technical solutions with Engineering and relevant global functions; elevate design, grid, commissioning, SCADA, quality, or technical issues with fact-based options and clear recommendations.
• Ensure robust schedule management, including weekly operational plan updates, monthly operational plan release, critical-path analysis, delay reporting, recovery planning, and early identification of threats to BoP, logistics, installation, commissioning, COD, TOC, and project handover milestones.
• Ensure all managed activities comply with Nordex QHSE policies, project-specific health and safety plans, local statutory requirements, quality control plans, ServiceNow/NCR processes, customer requirements, and applicable regulatory or contractual obligations.
• Exercise authority to intervene, stop, or prohibit work when an immediate HSE risk or improper handling of wind turbine components is identified; ensure timely reporting and closure of hazards, near misses, incidents, and corrective actions.
• Lead internal and external escalation of small, medium, and large project deviations using structured problem-solving, factual impact analysis, mitigation options, accountability assignment, and management communication.
• Coordinate project document management and digital project environments, including Teams/folder structure, PM tools, schedule files, Upvise/database inputs, contract summaries, lessons learned, handover documentation, punch lists, commissioning documentation, and evidence for contractual milestones.
• Support negotiation strategy with subcontractors, contractors, engineering, construction, transportation, cranes, and logistics providers to protect project deliverables, improve competitiveness, and enhance margins.
• Mentor Project Managers, Site Managers, PQM, PMOps, LPM, TPMs, and project team members; coach teams on project governance, customer communication, risk management, commercial discipline, and Nordex processes.
• Represent Nordex professionally with customers, contractors, industry stakeholders, and global counterparts; reinforce Nordex values, ethical conduct, and a collaborative customer-service mindset.
• Travel to project sites, customer offices, contractor locations, and Nordex offices as required to support project delivery, escalations, safety leadership, customer engagement, and major milestones.
• Perform other responsibilities as assigned, including temporary coverage of Project Manager responsibilities for critical projects or absences when business needs are required.

Decision Authority & Escalation

• Authority to lead project-level governance, assign actions within the project team, request functional support, and elevate resource gaps or cross-functional blockers.
• Authority to stop work or elevate immediate HSE or quality risks in accordance with Nordex QHSE policy and project/site requirements.
• Responsible for recommending mitigation, recovery plans, change-order strategy, claims positioning, contingency usage, and customer communication approaches for management approval as required.
• Expected to identify and escalation deviations affecting critical path, major cost impact, contractual exposure, site team availability, quality standstill, or HSE severity using Nordex escalation protocols.

What You Have

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Business, Project Management, or related discipline required; equivalent extensive industry experience may be considered.
• 10+ years of relevant experience managing complex energy, infrastructure, industrial, or large-scale construction projects, with preference for candidates having 15-20 years and substantial utility-scale wind execution experience in the United States and/or Canada.
• Minimum 8+ years in wind project management, wind construction, project operations, installation, logistics, commissioning, or comparable renewable-energy project execution leadership.
• Proven track record managing multiple large-scale projects or a portfolio of major project workstreams, including customer governance, contractor management, contract administration, financial forecasting, claims/change management, and execution recovery.
• Prior experience interacting successfully with customer executives, developers, owners’ engineers, construction management teams, senior internal leadership, and global functional stakeholders.
• Experience in mentoring or leading project managers and cross-functional project teams is strongly preferred.
• Driving is an essential function of the job. Must possess a full valid driver’s license and be insurable under our auto insurance policy. This position will be subject to periodic driver’s abstract checks to confirm continued insurability.

Nordex Places The Highest Priority On The Safe Operations Of Its Business. As Such, We Are Seeking a Candidate Who Is Committed To Maintaining And Promoting Safety Standards At All Times. The Ideal Candidate Must

• Demonstrate a strong understanding of and commitment to safety protocols and procedures.
• Ensure compliance with all safety regulations and company policies.
• Proactively identify and mitigate potential safety hazards.
• Properly use applicable safety equipment, including but not limited to eye protection, hearing protectors, steel-toe boots, and hard hats. Loose-fitting clothes and jewelry are not permitted.
• Communicate effectively with team members and management to ensure a safe working environment.
• Speak and understand English fluently to effectively communicate safety and job-related information, follow safety instructions, and collaborate with English-speaking supervisors and team members.

The pay for this role is exempt at $160k - $180k USD salary with up to a 15% bonus. Individual compensation packages are based on various factors unique to each candidate, including skill set, experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors.

We believe our employees are our greatest assets at Nordex. In addition to the opportunity to make our world a little more sustainable we offer you a total rewards program* designed to recognize and reward the dedication, hard work, and commitment of our team members. We are proud to offer a comprehensive package that aligns with our core values of Respect, Integrity, Colleagueship, and Ownership.

Financial Benefits

• Paid Time Off - Three (3) weeks accrued (120 hours)
• Medical & Pharmacy Insuran ce with multiple options to best meet your needs
• Health Savings Account (HSA) with Employer Contribution
• Flex Spending Account (FSA)