Traveling Project Manager (Automotive)

Barton Malow; Southfield (MI); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Barton Malow is seeking a Traveling Project Manager to lead automotive manufacturing projects across Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee. You will own the project from contract to close, including budget, schedule, team, and client relationship.

You will be accountable for delivering it safely, on time, and on budget, with travel between active project sites and the ability to relocate as projects start and finish.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in construction management, civil engineering, or related field or equivalent experience.
• Seven or more years of construction project management experience with full accountability for cost and schedule.
• Willingness to travel and to move between project sites in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee.

Responsibilities

• Lead the project team as the single point of accountability for delivery.
• Partner with the superintendent to align safety, schedule, and execution strategy.
• Set clear expectations and coach engineers and APMs toward the next career steps.

Education

Bachelor's degree in construction management or related field

Job description

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Barton Malow is hiring a Traveling Project Manager to lead automotive manufacturing projects across Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee. You will own the project - contract, budget, schedule, team, and client relationship - and you will be accountable for delivering it safely, on time, and on budget.

Barton Malow has built for the automotive industry for a century. That relationship with the nation's automakers shows up in the precision, speed, and cleanroom expertise these projects demand, and it puts our teams on some of the largest manufacturing investments in the country. Automotive schedules do not move, and this role exists to protect them.

Because our automotive clients build across the region, this position travels. You will be considered for assignment at active project sites in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee, and you should be open to travel and to moving between sites as projects start and complete.

A note on the location you will see when you apply: Barton Malow is headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, so our job application system lists that as the posting location. This is not a Southfield-based role. It is a traveling position, and the assignment will be at one of our active automotive project sites in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, or Tennessee.

Key Job Responsibilities

• Lead the project team and serve as the single point of accountability for project delivery.
• Partner with the superintendent to align the office and the field on safety, schedule, and execution strategy.
• Set clear expectations for the team, and coach project engineers and assistant project managers toward the next step in their careers.
• Support and reinforce Barton Malow safety policies and site‑specific requirements in every planning decision.
• Own the project budget, cost forecasting, and monthly cost reporting, including variance analysis and corrective plans.
• Manage the prime contract and all subcontracts and purchase orders, including scope development, buyout, and compliance.
• Prepare, negotiate, and resolve change orders with the owner and trade partners.
• Manage billings, cash flow, lien waivers, and collections in coordination with project accounting.
• Identify commercial and contractual risk early, and drive it to resolution before it becomes a claim.

Schedule + Planning

• Develop, maintain, and communicate the overall project schedule, and hold the team and trade partners to it.
• Lead procurement and long lead item planning, including owner‑furnished equipment coordination.
• Drive preconstruction planning, phasing, and logistics strategy with the superintendent and the owner’s team.
• Apply Lean planning practices to remove constraints, reduce rework, and protect the critical path.

Client + Trade Partner Relationships

• Serve as the primary point of contact for the owner, and keep communication current, candid, and documented.
• Run owner and coordination meetings, and follow through on commitments made in them.
• Coordinate with the design team on RFIs, submittals, and design changes, and keep decisions moving.
• Build relationships with trade partners that hold up under schedule pressure.

Quality, Closeout + Turnover

• Establish and enforce the project quality plan with the field team.
• Manage commissioning, punch list closeout, warranties, and as-built and closeout documentation.
• Support equipment installation and turnover activities to meet the owner’s production start date.

What You Bring

• Bachelor’s degree in construction management, civil engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Seven or more years of construction project management experience, including full accountability for project cost and schedule.
• Experience on industrial or manufacturing projects. Automotive experience is a strong plus.
• Willingness to travel and to move between project sites in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee.
• Working knowledge of construction contracts, buyout, change management, and cost forecasting.
• Ability to read and interpret drawings, specifications, and equipment installation documents.
• Proficiency in construction management and scheduling software platforms and Microsoft Office Suite.
• Direct, credible communication with owners, designers, trade partners, and field teams.
• OSHA 30 and other relevant certifications are preferred.

Why Barton Malow

Barton Malow has been in business since 1924 - one of fewer than half a percent of companies to reach a century. We are privately held, roughly $5 billion in annual revenue, 3,000+ team members across North America, and consistently ranked among the ENR Top 40 contractors. Our safety performance runs at roughly half the industry EMR benchmark.

For a project manager, that means the backing of a century‑old balance sheet, repeat clients who return because the work gets delivered, and a company that treats owners as partners rather than transactions.

"Building Today for a Better Tomorrow: People, Projects, and Communities."

- Barton Malow Core Purpose

Barton Malow is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law