PreCon Project Director

Location: Greater Nashville Area

Position Title: Preconstruction Project Director

The Opportunity:
This is an exceptional opportunity for an experienced construction professional to play a pivotal role in the continued growth and expansion of a respected employee-owned mechanical construction organization. As a Preconstruction Project Director, you will serve as a strategic leader responsible for identifying opportunities, building client relationships, guiding complex pursuits, and helping expand the company's presence throughout the Nashville and Middle Tennessee markets.

This role is designed for a professional who enjoys working at the intersection of business development, technical problem solving, client engagement, and project strategy. You will become a trusted advisor to clients while leading multidisciplinary teams through the pursuit and development of complex projects. The individual selected for this position will have an immediate and measurable impact on the business by helping secure new work, fostering long-term partnerships, and driving market growth.

Success in this role means more than winning projects. It means helping clients solve critical challenges, developing innovative solutions, and creating value long before construction begins. You will work closely with engineering, estimating, operations, and executive leadership teams to create strategies that differentiate the organization from competitors while positioning clients for success.

The Nashville market continues to experience tremendous growth across manufacturing, healthcare, mission-critical, industrial, automotive, pharmaceutical, and commercial sectors. This position offers the opportunity to become a key contributor within a dynamic and entrepreneurial organization while helping shape the future growth of the region.

The Company:
Our client is a rapidly growing employee-owned mechanical construction and industrial services organization serving clients throughout the United States. The company specializes in complex mechanical systems including piping, HVAC, process systems, fabrication, and industrial construction solutions.

The organization combines technical expertise, entrepreneurial thinking, and a collaborative culture to deliver value to clients and create meaningful career opportunities for employees. Team members benefit from strong leadership support, access to industry expertise, and significant opportunities for advancement as the business continues to expand.

The company has established itself as a leader on complex projects across advanced manufacturing, industrial, healthcare, pharmaceutical, and mission-critical environments while maintaining a strong commitment to employee development and long-term success.

The Boss:
This position reports through a highly experienced preconstruction leadership team dedicated to supporting employee growth and development.

Leadership promotes a collaborative culture where individuals are encouraged to contribute ideas, solve problems creatively, and pursue continuous improvement. Team members receive mentorship, support, and exposure to complex projects that accelerate professional development.

The leadership team values innovation, accountability, teamwork, and client service, creating an environment where ambitious professionals can thrive.

The Position:
The Preconstruction Project Director serves as the primary client-facing leader responsible for developing new business opportunities, managing strategic pursuits, building long-term client relationships, and coordinating cross-functional resources throughout the preconstruction process.

This role requires a unique combination of technical expertise, commercial awareness, leadership ability, and relationship-building skills. The successful candidate will work closely with owners, developers, engineers, contractors, and internal partners to develop solutions that align with client objectives while positioning projects for successful execution.

As the quarterback of the pursuit process, this individual will coordinate engineering, estimating, operations, procurement, and executive leadership resources while maintaining responsibility for client communication and overall pursuit strategy. Success will be measured by the ability to secure profitable projects, strengthen market presence, and build relationships that result in long-term growth opportunities.

Essential Functions (Other duties may be assigned):

• Identify, pursue, and secure new construction opportunities throughout Tennessee and surrounding markets.
• Develop and maintain long-term relationships with owners, developers, engineers, and general contractors.
• Lead preconstruction efforts for negotiated, design-build, and competitive bid projects.
• Coordinate estimating, engineering, procurement, and operations resources during project pursuits.
• Manage proposal development, presentations, interviews, and client communications.
• Lead discussions regarding mechanical systems, constructability, project costs, schedules, and value engineering opportunities.
• Negotiate contract terms, project scope, and commercial agreements.
• Collaborate with operations teams to ensure successful transition from project pursuit to execution.
• Support regional growth initiatives through networking, market development, and client engagement activities.
• Travel as necessary to support pursuits, projects, client meetings, and team initiatives.

Qualifications:

• Demonstrated success within mechanical construction, industrial construction, project management, operations, engineering, estimating, or preconstruction leadership.
• Strong understanding of mechanical systems, HVAC systems, piping systems, construction methods, and project delivery approaches.
• Proven ability to establish and maintain strong client relationships.
• Excellent communication, presentation, leadership, and negotiation skills.
• Ability to manage multiple stakeholders while leading cross-functional teams.
• Strong commercial awareness and understanding of project costs, schedules, and risk management.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a passion for growth, innovation, and client service.
• Ability to balance strategic thinking with tactical execution.

Education and Experience:

• Ten or more years of experience within mechanical construction, HVAC, piping, industrial construction, project management, operations, estimating, engineering, or preconstruction.
• Experience supporting design-build projects and negotiated work environments.
• Strong technical understanding of mechanical systems and construction execution.
• Experience within manufacturing, automotive, healthcare, pharmaceutical, industrial, mission-critical, semiconductor, or data center construction environments is preferred.
• Previous experience as a Project Manager, Senior Project Manager, Operations Manager, Construction Manager, or Preconstruction Leader is highly desirable.
• Engineering or estimating background is considered beneficial.

Work Environment:
This position operates within a highly collaborative and team-oriented environment where professionals work closely with engineering, estimating, operations, procurement, and executive leadership teams to develop solutions for clients.

The role combines office-based work, client interactions, project site visits, and travel throughout the region. Team collaboration is a fundamental component of the culture, and employees are encouraged to share ideas, support one another, and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives.

The organization places significant emphasis on training, professional development, leadership growth, and creating an engaging workplace where individuals can build long-term careers while working on complex and innovative construction projects.