Scheduler - Life Sciences​/Pharma

About the Role

Arcadis is seeking an experienced Project Scheduler to support complex life sciences, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and laboratory facility capital projects. This role operates in an Owner’s Representative capacity, providing independent oversight of scheduling across the full project lifecycle—from early planning through construction, commissioning, qualification/validation (CQV), and closeout. The Project Scheduler will serve as a subject matter expert in integrated scheduling, ensuring alignment between design, construction, system turnover, commissioning, and validation activities within highly regulated, cGMP‑compliant environments.

This position will be located in Foster City, California and will require five days on‑site.

• Integrated Schedule Ownership
  • Develop and manage integrated master schedules encompassing design, procurement, construction, commissioning, and validation.
  • Define and control critical path, dependencies, and milestone sequencing across multi‑disciplinary teams.
  • Perform schedule impact analysis, risk identification, and mitigation planning.
  • Provide proactive advisory support to project leadership on schedule performance and risks.
• Lifecycle Scheduling (Life Sciences Focus)
  • Planning & Design
    • Develop preliminary schedules, WBS structures, and milestone frameworks.
    • Integrate regulatory approvals, permitting, and long‑lead equipment procurement.
    • Coordinate design deliverables with early CQV planning requirements.
  • Construction
    • Review and approve contractor schedules (baseline, interim, GMP).
    • Perform schedule health checks and monitor performance against baseline.
    • Facilitate pull planning sessions and coordination meetings.
    • Evaluate time impact analyses (TIAs) and contractor recovery plans.
  • Commissioning, Qualification & Validation (CQV)
    • Integrate system turnover, commissioning, and validation milestones into the master schedule.
    • Track CQV‑critical milestones (e.g., system start‑up, turnover packages, readiness for release).
    • Support MEP/system‑based sequencing and pull planning.
    • Ensure alignment between construction completion and validation readiness.
  • Closeout
    • Validate and approve as‑built schedules.
    • Confirm completion of regulatory and contractual milestones.
    • Support lessons‑learned and benchmarking activities.
• Schedule Controls & Reporting
  • Develop and maintain schedule dashboards and reporting tools (e.g., PowerBI or equivalent).
  • Monitor and report on schedule performance (SPI), milestone adherence, critical path movement, risk and recovery actions.
  • Deliver weekly and monthly reporting packages, including narrative and variance analysis.
• Stakeholder Coordination
  • Interface with owners, designers, general contractors, commissioning teams, and CQV stakeholders.
  • Lead schedule workshops, pull planning sessions, and coordination meetings.
  • Ensure compliance with Good Engineering Practices (GEP), SOPs, and regulatory requirements.
  • Maintain clear, concise communication with cross‑functional teams.

• 5–10+ years of project scheduling experience supporting capital projects.
• Demonstrated experience in life sciences / pharma / biotech / laboratory facility projects.
• Proven experience across design, construction, and commissioning/CQV phases.

• Expertise in developing and managing integrated schedules across construction and CQV activities.
• Advanced proficiency in PrimaveraP6, Microsoft Project, and enterprise scheduling systems (e.g., Oracle‑based platforms).

• Experience supporting cGMP‑regulated environments (pharmaceutical manufacturing, biotech, or laboratory facilities).
• Strong understanding of system turnover and commissioning sequencing, qualification and validation processes (CQV), and regulatory milestone integration into project schedules.
• Experience coordinating construction‑to‑CQV transition and facility/area release readiness.

• Advanced knowledge of Critical Path Method (CPM) scheduling.
• Experience performing schedule health assessments, time impact analysis (TIA), and schedule risk analysis and mitigation planning.
• Ability to integrate construction schedules, commissioning…