Senior Program Manager - Utilities

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At Parsons, you can imagine a career where you thrive, work with exceptional people, and be yourself. Guided by our leadership vision of valuing people, embracing agility, and fostering growth, we cultivate an innovative culture that empowers you to achieve your full potential. Unleash your talent and redefine what’s possible.

 

Job Description:

Parsons is seeking a Senior Program/Project Manager to support the delivery of Owner’s Engineer services for a major utility transmission and substation capital portfolio. This is a senior leadership role requiring deep experience in owner-side program/project delivery, EPC oversight, and utility infrastructure execution across large, complex capital programs.

The successful candidate will serve in an Owner’s Engineer capacity, operating as an extension of the client’s office to support project leadership, coordination, oversight, and decision-making across multiple concurrent projects. This role requires a leader who can bring structure, clarity, and momentum across engineering, project controls, procurement, construction, commissioning, and closeout activities while maintaining close alignment with client goals, standards, and governance processes.

This is not a conventional project management role. The position requires strong executive presence, sound judgment, proactive leadership, and the ability to identify risks and opportunities early, communicate clearly, drive alignment, and add value beyond baseline scope. The ideal candidate is collaborative, highly responsive, solutions-oriented, and comfortable leading in a fast-paced environment with multiple internal and external stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the senior owner-side program/project management lead supporting a portfolio of transmission and substation projects delivered under an EPC model
• Act as an extension of the client’s office, coordinating with internal stakeholders, EPC contractors, consultants, and support teams to align project objectives, priorities, and execution activities
• Lead project readiness, stage-gate coordination, action tracking, and decision-support activities to help ensure projects advance with complete, accurate, and timely information
• Provide owner-side technical oversight of Parsons’ multidiscipline team and independent oversight of EPC contractor engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning activities to ensure deliverables and execution are aligned with project requirements, Company standards, and quality expectations
• Oversee EPC contractor performance across scope, cost, schedule, quality, safety, and contract compliance, and work with project teams to identify risks, gaps, and corrective actions early
• Support review of cost, schedule, risk, change, and open-book pricing information to inform owner-side decisions and improve project execution outcomes
• Lead communication, coordination, and issue resolution across engineering, project controls, procurement, construction, and client leadership teams
• Support construction readiness, commissioning readiness, turnover, and closeout activities, including documentation, punch list, and handover coordination
• Provide leadership in client meetings, executive briefings, and working sessions, and mentor supporting team members across project management, technical, controls, and field functions

Required Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience in Owner’s Engineer, owner advisor, utility owner-side, or EPC oversight roles
• Demonstrated experience supporting large, complex transmission and substation projects
• Experience with mega projects or major capital programs involving multiple stakeholders, complex interfaces, and high levels of coordination
• Demonstrated ability to lead multidiscipline technical teams and provide effective owner-side oversight of EPC contractor engineering and technical deliverables for transmission and substation projects
• Strong experience overseeing or integrating:
  • project scope and execution planning
  • cost and schedule performance
  • project controls, risk, and change management
  • engineering and design coordination
  • procurement and construction interfaces
  • commissioning, turnover, and closeout
• Strong leadership, collaboration, communication, and stakeholder management skills
• Proven ability to work with initiative, operate independently, solve problems proactively, and bring forward recommendations that improve outcomes
• Ability to function effectively in a client-facing environment requiring diplomacy, responsiveness, accountability, and sound judgment

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in engineering preferred
• PMP and/or PE preferred
• 15+ years of relevant experience in utility infrastructure, major capital project delivery, or program management
• Experience with transmission and substation EPC delivery models
• Experience supporting multiple concurrent projects within a program or portfolio environment
• Experience with project controls, integrated scheduling, change management, and cost validation 
• Familiarity with Primavera P6, cost systems, dashboards, and project reporting tools
• Experience with extra-high-voltage transmission and substation projects
• Experience supporting executive governance, reporting, and decision-making processes

Leadership Profile

The ideal candidate will bring:

• a collaborative leadership style
• strong written and verbal communication
• the ability to build trust quickly with client and team stakeholders
• a forward-leaning, initiative-driven mindset
• sound judgment under pressure
• out-of-the-box thinking grounded in practical execution realities
• a commitment to delivering value-added solutions, not just meeting minimum requirements
• the presence and maturity to operate as a trusted extension of the client’s team

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management, or related field

Security Clearance Requirement:

None

This position is part of our Critical Infrastructure team.

For more than 80 years, our experts have designed and delivered the critical infrastructure that connects and protects communities around the world. We work in collaborative teams, both within the company and with our partners and customers, to plan, design, build, and modernize infrastructure. We take special pride in projects and solutions that improve communities as well as people’s quality of life by promoting economic growth, enhancing mobility, and increasing sustainability and resiliency. Powered by our people, we provide the imagination necessary to support our customers’ visions—and to help them see what's next!

Salary Range: $134,100.00 - $241,400.00

We value our employees and want our employees to take care of their overall wellbeing, which is why we offer best-in-class benefits such as medical, dental, vision, paid time off, Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), 401(k), life insurance, flexible work schedules, and holidays to fit your busy lifestyle!

Parsons is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other protected status.

We truly invest and care about our employee’s wellbeing and provide endless growth opportunities as the sky is the limit, so aim for the stars! Imagine next and join the Parsons quest—APPLY TODAY!

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