Manager of Lab Strategy & Technical Operations

Location:

Overland Park, KS, US

Position:
Lab Manager – Full‑Time Staff (Project Only Hire: No, Visa Sponsorship:
No)

Opportunity Type:
Staff

The Lab Manager is responsible for technical support, strategy, governance, coordination, and long‑term effectiveness of a multi‑disciplinary Smart Utility / Advanced Technology Lab. This role serves as a single point of coordination and technical support across Black & Veatch participating technical disciplines while enabling those teams to independently define and execute their technical objectives.

• Establish and maintain the overall governance model for the lab, including roles, responsibilities, and cross‑discipline coordination.
• Maintain schedules for both project‑driven lab activities and ongoing lab infrastructure upgrades and maintenance, usage prioritization, and milestone tracking as part of formal lab governance.
• Define and manage process and artifact documentation such as lab layout, milestone plans, and future expansion roadmaps, treating the lab as a program‑level initiative.

• Act as a single point of coordination for lab activities across participating teams, including Power / Distribution SCADA, Networks & Cybersecurity, Wireless / Telecommunications, Infrastructure Advisory, Digital Substation, Water Automation, and additional solution teams as onboarded.
• Ensure disciplines retain ownership of their technical requirements while the Lab Manager enables integration, scheduling, and shared resource usage.
• Facilitate alignment across teams during lab planning, testing windows, stakeholder reviews, and client facing activities.
• Manage the coordination and relationship between stakeholders and BV Facilities.

• Maintain visibility into lab assets, including shared equipment spanning grid, network, wireless, and automation platforms, as documented in lab inventory.
• Coordinate transitions and consolidation of lab equipment as part of long‑term facility planning and lab evolution initiatives.
• Support broader strategic initiatives such as Grid Modernization and Private Networks by improving lab utilization and alignment with enterprise priorities.
• Own strategic vendor and ecosystem relationships related to lab‑based services, including identification of target technology partners, joint solution concepts, and co‑development opportunities.
• Coordinate with discipline SMEs and the Strategic Lab Manager to enable vendor participation in lab pilots, demos, and evaluations.
• Support joint client demonstrations and proof points; ensure vendor engagement supports differentiation and service maturity.

• Coordinate budget inputs and sponsorship commitments from participating organizations and solution teams.
• Work with Engineering Managers and Resource Leaders to align staffing contributions supporting lab operations, testing, and planned initiatives.
• Provide visibility into labor and usage patterns to support management decision‑making (e.g., hours tracking, utilization planning).

• Oversee day‑to‑day lab operations at a program level and manage the Lab Technical Lead to ensure the lab is available, organized, and usable by participating disciplines.
• Ensure appropriate documentation, inventory tracking, and configuration records exist to support repeatable testing and stakeholder transparency.
• Coordinate vendor interactions supporting lab equipment, services, or demonstrations when required by participating teams.

• Serve as the coordination point for lab stakeholder meetings, status updates, and leadership briefings.
• Provide structured updates on current state of the lab, active initiatives and testing gaps, future investment needs, and planned expansions or enhancements.
• Support client‑facing engagements where the lab is positioned as a differentiator or demonstration environment.

• Perform hands‑on lab activities including equipment racking, stacking, cabling, labeling, power management, and physical layout…