Substation Project Manager

Job Description

CDM Smith (Industrial Division) is seeking to fill an exciting Substation Project Manager (Substation PM) position in our established and growing business supporting electric utility and substation clients across the United States.

The Substation PM will lead multi-discipline engineering teams delivering critical substation programs and projects across the utility and mission‑critical markets, including consulting, engineering, design‑build, and EPC delivery. Experience should include physical substation design and protection and control for brownfield and greenfield substations up to 345 kV, as well as the ability to execute safely, compliantly, and with a strong focus on constructability and operational readiness.

CDM Smith’s Industrial Division serves industrial clients such as Utility, Data Center, Power, Oil & Gas, and more. In this role, the Substation PM will support portfolio‑style substation capital programs for investor‑owned utilities (IOUs) as well as fast‑paced, schedule‑driven substation and interconnection projects for data center clients.

• Managing small to large complex substation engineering projects from early concept development through detailed design and construction support, including breaker and transformer replacements, new bay additions, and protection relay upgrades.
• Leading proposal development by defining scope, schedule, staffing, and cost, partnering with the Sales Leader and marketing team to produce compliant, competitive submissions.
• Directing multi‑discipline substation engineering teams (e.g., physical, P&C, civil/structural) and coordinating compliance deliverables to meet quality, schedule, and budget objectives.
• Managing quality, risk, schedule, and change management.
• Serving as a mentor and leader of multi‑discipline project teams.
• Performing guidance and review at the project level while assuring discipline and quality standards are adhered to.
• Serving as the main client contact and liaison during project execution to deliver a legendary client experience to grow the account.
• Applying experience and innovation to solve problems of high complexity in area of expertise with support from the engineering team.

• Bachelor's Degree.
• 10 years of related experience.
• PMP (PMI), CCM or DBIA certification required (within 12 months of hire or promotion onto the Approved Project Manager list).
• Domestic and/or international travel may be required.
• Equivalent additional directly related experience will be considered in lieu of a degree.

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, construction management, or a related field.
• Design‑build and/or EPC project delivery experience, including procurement coordination, construction oversight, and commissioning/turnover support.
• Experience with portfolio‑level substation program planning and execution, managing and coordinating substation engineering teams to deliver consistent, on‑time design packages.
• Data center / mission‑critical substation experience delivering under accelerated schedules with focus on energization readiness, turnover, and schedule certainty.
• Registered Professional Engineer (PE) preferred.
• Additional relevant credentials (e.g., CCM, DBIA) and/or mission‑critical commissioning training/certifications are a plus.

15%

Minimum: $138,258

Maximum: $241,966

We attract the best people in the industry, supporting their efforts to learn and grow. We strive to create a challenging and progressive work environment. We provide career opportunities that span a variety of disciplines and geographic locations, with projects that our employees plan, design, build and operate as diverse as the needs of our clients. CDM Smith is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, pregnancy related conditions, childbirth and related medical conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression), national origin, age, marital status, disability, veteran status, citizenship status, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.