Lead Substation Program Manager - kV EPC Delivery

Substation Project Manager

Group: IND

Employment Type:

Regular

Job Site

Location:

United States - Nationwide

Work Location Options:
Hybrid Work Options may be considered for successful candidate.

Pay Range Minimum: $120,973

Pay Range Maximum: $211,723

Additional Compensation:
All bonuses at CDM Smith are discretionary and may or may not apply to this position.

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 (engineer, procure, construct) 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 Utility, Data Center, Power, Oil & Gas, Chemicals, Food & Beverage, Metals & Mining, Manufacturing, and other industrial clients. 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—often with accelerated timelines, parallel work streams, and highly coordinated stakeholder expectations.

• 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 is required (within 12 months of hire or promotion onto the Approved Project Manager list).
• Domestic and/or international travel may be required. The frequency of travel is contingent on specific duties, responsibilities, and the essential functions of the position, which may vary depending on workload and project demands.
• 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 (e.g., multi‑site capital programs), including managing and coordinating substation engineering teams (physical, P&C, civil/structural) to deliver consistent, on‑time design packages.
• Data center / mission‑critical substation experience delivering under accelerated schedules (fast‑track design cycles, parallel engineering/procurement, multi‑vendor coordination) with a focus on energization readiness, turnover, and schedule certainty.
• Registered Professional Engineer (PE) preferred (discipline aligned to project needs, e.g., electrical or mechanical).
• Additional relevant credentials…