Program Delivery & Project Controls Lead?

Job Description

Job Description

At  McFarland Johnson (MJ), you’ll own your future. We're a 100% employee-owned firm with 80 years of experience delivering innovative engineering, planning, environmental, technology, and construction solutions that make a lasting impact on the clients and communities we serve.

Certified as a  Great Place to Work , our employee-owners describe MJ's culture as collaborative, people-focused, and supportive. Join us, and help shape the future of infrastructure, together.

We’re looking for a  Program Delivery & Project Controls Lead to join our growing Aviation division.

About the Role:
MJ seeks a Program Delivery & Project Controls Lead to help oversee the resourcing, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of Capital Improvement Programs for a variety of MJ Aviation and other clients under MJ’s National Program Management Practice. 

The Program Delivery & Project Controls Lead serves as a strategic bridge among field execution, executive governance, and business expansion across our aviation and infrastructure practices. By combining hands-on construction oversight with advanced project controls expertise, this leader helps MJ’s program management teams to drive complex, multidisciplinary capital projects with full schedule and financial predictability. The ideal candidate brings a proven record of leading technical teams, optimizing processes and workflows, managing complex program controls, and cultivating trusted client partnerships that fuel long-term regional growth.

Based primarily in a local MJ office, with travel to project sites or short-term secondment to clients as needed, this professional’s central responsibility will be to design, implement, and continuously improve analytical systems that integrate operational, financial, and schedule KPIs to measure project and program portfolio performance, identify emerging trends and risks, forecast outcomes, and provide an objective, timely assessment of overall program health. This hands-on role requires disciplined project controls, strong field awareness, proactive communication, and the ability to translate performance data into actionable recommendations that support executive decision-making and timely resolution of issues affecting scope, cost, schedule, quality, and operational readiness. The successful candidate will be able to support and manage assigned task responsibilities for multiple programs at any given time.

Key Responsibilities:

• Program & Construction Management Delivery
  • Provide executive-level program oversight and project or construction management leadership across complex aviation, municipal, and multi-site infrastructure capital improvement programs.  
  • Direct and when necessary, perform full-lifecycle project activities from initial scope definition, estimating, and procurement through site development, field execution, commissioning, and final closeout.  
  • Serve as a senior, client-facing executive responsible for maintaining key stakeholder relationships, managing project alignment, and ensuring operational compliance.  
  • Oversee site-level construction management, subcontractor performance, quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC), and safety culture across horizontal and vertical construction assets.  
• Program Controls & Risk Governance
  • Establish, standardize, and maintain robust project controls governance, incorporating Critical Path Method (CPM) scheduling, cost engineering, baseline tracking, and Earned Value Management (EVM) frameworks.  
  • Implement predictive forecasting and trend analysis methodologies to proactively identify schedule slippages, scope creep, or budget variances prior to milestone impacts.  
  • Lead project change management and risk mitigation processes, ensuring rigorous financial management, SOX compliance support where required, and transparent cost reporting.  
  • Oversee detailed cost estimating, quantity takeoffs, productivity modeling, and bid package evaluations across complex public and private infrastructure projects. 
• Technology & Process Innovation
  • Lead the deployment and integration of NextGen Project/Program Management and business intelligence tools (business analytics and cloud-based performance dashboards) to establish a single source of truth for executive decision-making.  
  • Collaborate with MJ’s InfraSolutions technology practice to align project controls frameworks with proprietary platforms such as AVIAS®, enhancing client deliverables and operational visibility.  
  • Apply Lean Six Sigma principles and leverage AI to streamline engineering and construction workflows, eliminate operational inefficiencies, and enhance project predictability.  
• Strategic Growth & Business Development
  • Partner with division and practice leadership to pursue major regional/national aviation and infrastructure capital improvement projects
  • Support division and practice leadership in identifying regional aviation and infrastructure capital opportunities, client capture plans, and proposal preparations.  
  • Serve as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) during client presentations, showcasing MJ’s program analytics expertise, project delivery systems, controls rigor, and digital technology integration. 
• Team Leadership
  • Build, mentor, and grow high-performing teams of project managers, construction managers, schedulers, cost engineers, and field staff within a supportive employee-owned environment. 
  • Help develop and adapt client and MJ project and program governance frameworks; information systems and policies and procedures needed to drive team performance and accountability
  • Collaborate with HR and technical leaders to recruit and retain top talent
  • Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement
  • Support professional development and cross-training across disciplines

Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (BSCE) or related engineering/construction management discipline.  
• 20+ years of progressive experience in civil engineering, program/construction management, and corporate project controls across commercial, industrial, and infrastructure projects.  
• Deep proficiency in CPM scheduling, Earned Value Management (EVM), cost engineering, change management, and estimating.  
• Demonstrated success implementing and managing enterprise platforms, business analytics, and integrated project reporting systems.  
• Direct experience managing large capital projects ($500M+ capital value), multi-site program rollouts, or major capital improvement programs (CIP).  
• Proven record of managing multi-disciplinary teams, coordinating field operations, and directly engaging executive-level clients and public sector stakeholders.  
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and Project Management Information Systems (PMIS) such as Procore, e-Builder, Kahua, or others.
• Excellent written, verbal, facilitation, negotiation, and executive-level communication skills.
• Strong organizational ability, attention to detail, professional judgment, and commitment to maintaining complete and accurate project records.
• Ability to travel to provide on-site leadership or support during critical mobilization, procurement, design, construction, commissioning, or startup activities.

Nice-to-haves

• Professional Engineer, Registered Architect, Certified Construction Manager, Project Management Professional, or comparable professional credential.
• Certifications: Six Sigma Green Belt (or Lean/Process Improvement equivalent)
• Practical, hands-on background in field supervision, structural concrete execution, vertical building construction, and earthwork.  
• Bilingual fluency in English and Spanish is a strong plus.

Benefits & Perks:

• Performance-based incentive compensation plan/bonus structure.
• Comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Generous Paid Time Off, including Parental Leave.
• Fully funded Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).
• 401k match.
• Ongoing technical training and professional development opportunities.