Vice President Engineering Services

Sequence Systems; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 250,000 - 450,000; Full time

Job summary

Sequence Systems in Chicago seeks an entrepreneurial engineering leader to build and lead a new engineering-services platform serving the electric utility sector, leveraging an established network and growing client base.

You will define strategy, shape initial service offerings, recruit and develop the team, and establish the operational, financial, and technical disciplines needed for scalable growth across multiple states.

Qualifications

• Experience leading engineering or technical-services practice.
• Strong commercial and operations insight.
• Ability to recruit and build teams.

Responsibilities

• Identify opportunities within established utility base.
• Outline practical, capital-light services.
• Originate work and translate needs into offerings.
• Build relationships with utility leaders and contractors.
• Recruit, organize, and lead technical professionals.
• Establish disciplines for a credible eng-services org.
• Leverage existing customer relationships and market access.
• Drive performance and profitable growth.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Entrepreneurial drive

Commercial judgment

Strategic thinking

People leadership

Job description

Vice President – Utility Engineering & Technical Services

Build and Lead a New Engineering Services Platform Supporting the Electric Utility Industry

Sequence has been retained and is currently seeking an entrepreneurial engineering leader to build and lead a new engineering and technical-services platform for our client, industry leader and rapidly growing national organization serving the electric utility industry.

The company supports mid and large sized electric utilities through a growing portfolio of specialized logistics, material management, recycling, transportation, utility-yard development, structured storage, and disaster-response services. The organization has established deep and recurring relationships within the electric utility industry and has consistently expanded by identifying additional customer needs and developing practical solutions around them.

They are now preparing for the next phase of that evolution: building a complementary engineering and technical-services group.

This is a rare practice-building leadership opportunity to take a fledgling engineering-services group and develop it into a robust, scalable practice with the resources and market access of a larger, established organization behind it. This in mind, we are being tasked to recruit a key vice president and business unit leader within the organization. This individual would ideally have access to an existing national operating platform, deep utility relationships, experienced commercial and operational teams, strong financial backing, and an executive leadership group committed to expanding the company’s technical capabilities.

Our client is seeking someone who understands the utility marketplace, recognizes where customers need additional engineering and technical support, and can translate those opportunities into a focused and profitable business. The mandate will encompass shaping the strategy, expanding the service offering, developing new business, recruiting and leading the team, and building the systems and technical infrastructure required to support continued growth.

The Opportunity

Working directly with organizational President and senior leadership team, the selected individual will help define, expand, and lead the organization’s engineering-services strategy.

The initial focus is expected to be on capital-light services closely aligned with our existing utility relationships and operating capabilities. Potential areas could include engineering and technical support surrounding utility-pole programs, material and inventory yards, utility site and facility development, project oversight, construction and contractor oversight, utility logistics infrastructure, and related services supporting the planning and execution of utility projects.

The opportunity is intentionally not confined to one predetermined technical discipline. Our client is interested in bringing onboard a leader who, in addition to growing a practice organically internally, can evaluate the market, identify where meaningful customer demand exists, establish the right initial service offerings, and build the people and capabilities required to deliver them.

The successful individual will be expected to:

• Identify engineering and technical-service opportunities within an established utility customer base.
• Develop a practical business plan around services that can be launched and scaled without significant capital investment.
• Originate work and translate customer needs into executable service offerings.
• Build relationships with utility leaders, project stakeholders, engineering partners, contractors, and other industry participants.
• Recruit, organize, and lead the technical professionals required to support the practice.
• Establish the operational, financial, quality, and technical disciplines necessary to create a credible engineering-services organization.
• Work with established commercial and operating teams to leverage existing customer relationships and market access.
• Evaluate strategic partnerships, specialized teams, key hires, and selective capital-light bolt-on opportunities that could accelerate growth.
• Assume increasing responsibility for the performance, profitability, and continued expansion of the group.

The Individual

Sequence is seeking an experienced engineering, consulting, construction-services, or utility-infrastructure leader who combines technical credibility with entrepreneurial drive, commercial judgment, and the ability to execute.

The strongest candidates will bring meaningful experience within the electric utility or related infrastructure marketplace and understand how technical services are developed, sold, staffed, managed, and delivered.

This opportunity is particularly well suited for someone who has built or substantially expanded an engineering practice, service line, technical group, or regional operation. The individual must be capable of generating business and assembling a team; not simply managing projects after the work has been secured.

Potentially relevant experience could include:

• Electric utility engineering and technical consulting
• Transmission and distribution infrastructure
• Utility facilities, storage yards, and operational sites
• Site development and civil infrastructure
• Construction or program management
• Owner’s representation
• Project and contractor oversight
• Field engineering and inspection services
• Utility asset, material, or infrastructure planning
• Related technical services supporting utility operations

Professional engineering licensure may be valuable, but the broader emphasis is on the individual’s ability to recognize opportunity, establish customer confidence, build technical capabilities, and develop a successful services organization.

The Differentiator

Our client has developed a differentiated position within the electric utility marketplace and maintains long-standing relationships with major utility customers. The organization is already involved in multiple portions of the utility-material and infrastructure lifecycle and has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to create new services around the needs of its customers.

The selected leader will not be starting with an idea and no access to the market. Our client provides an established national operating platform, experienced executive leadership, strong financial backing, existing utility relationships, and a demonstrated appetite for developing new capabilities.

For the right individual, this is an opportunity to do considerably more than accept another executive position. It is a chance to build and lead a meaningful new engineering and technical-services division and participate directly in determining what that business ultimately becomes.

About the Culture

Our client has retained an entrepreneurial, solutions-oriented culture even as the organization has grown and developed a more sophisticated national operating platform. Its commitment to leadership, integrity, safety, service, and delivering on commitments carries directly into the expectations for this position.

Success will require earning customer trust, understanding the underlying challenges behind a request, communicating honestly, and working closely with colleagues to develop solutions the organization can execute with confidence. The Vice President will represent both the company’s expanding technical capabilities and the standards of professionalism its utility customers expect from an established service partner.

The company is seeking someone who takes ownership, listens carefully, thinks creatively, and follows through. Clear communication and an engaging, approachable leadership style will be particularly important when working across technical disciplines, field operations, utility organizations, executive leadership, and potential strategic partners.

Internal relationships will be equally important. Building a successful engineering-services practice will require close coordination among business development, estimating, finance, operations, safety, project leadership, and the field teams responsible for performing the work. This individual must respect those partnerships, communicate expectations accurate, and develop service commitments the organization can deliver safely, professionally, and profitably.

The strongest cultural fit will be a leader who combines energy and ambition with sound commercial judgment and a genuine commitment to people. Someone who enjoys building teams, solving customer problems, earning business through expertise and responsiveness, and creating lasting relationships will find a meaningful opportunity to contribute.

For an engineering or technical-services leader who understands the utility marketplace and has the entrepreneurial drive to build a practice, this represents a compelling opportunity to create something substantial within an organization whose reputation rests on customer trust, operational execution, and practical problem-solving.

Our client is prepared to offer a competitive executive-level compensation package commensurate with the experience, capabilities, and business-building record of the selected individual. The overall package is expected to include a competitive base salary, performance-based incentive opportunity, and a comprehensive employee benefits program. Potential equity incentive upside could also be considered for the right individual.

The final structure will reflect the scope of the position and the individual’s ability to develop and lead a meaningful engineering and technical-services business.

Location & Travel

Slated to be based in the greater Chicago area, this is expected to be a remote-based or hybrid leadership position with regular travel to customer facilities, project and field locations, company operations, industry activities, and meetings with organizational leadership.

Travel will be an important component of the role and may include commercial air travel, extended driving periods, and occasional overnight stays. Work may also periodically involve active utility, construction, industrial, yard, or field environments.

The selected leader must be comfortable maintaining an active presence at operation as well as with customers, employees, operating teams, and industry partners as the practice is developed and expanded.