Construction Manager

Job Description

Job Description

Job Title: Construction Manager / Owner’s Representative – Data Center Projects Job Description

This role serves as a construction manager and owner’s representative for large-scale, mission-critical data center projects, overseeing work from early design and site selection through construction, fit-out, commissioning, and turnover. You act as the central point of accountability between the owner and external stakeholders, providing technical oversight, strategic project management, and proactive issue resolution to ensure each facility meets long-term performance, resiliency, and compliance requirements. The position is highly independent, involves extensive travel to multiple sites, and focuses on managing brownfield and campus-scale data center developments.

• Serve as the primary point of contact and advocate for the owner across all phases of the project, including design, construction, commissioning, and turnover.
• Lead owner-side project meetings, steering committees, and milestone reviews, providing clear communication and direction to architects, engineers, contractors, vendors, and operations teams.
• Align project execution with the owner’s business objectives, operational standards, and risk management policies, ensuring that all stakeholders understand and meet these expectations.
• Participate in site selection, feasibility studies, and early due diligence for data center developments, including brownfield sites and large campus projects.
• Review design development documents to verify alignment with owner standards, resiliency targets, scalability requirements, and mission-critical performance needs.
• Coordinate with architecture and engineering firms to validate constructability, operational maintainability, and compliance with applicable codes and industry standards.
• Provide input on procurement strategies, contract structures, and bid evaluations to support transparent, cost-effective project delivery.
• Oversee general contractor performance related to scope, budget, schedule, and quality assurance/quality control requirements throughout construction.
• Review and approve contractor submittals, RFIs, and change orders on behalf of the owner, ensuring timely, accurate, and well-documented decisions.
• Track schedule milestones, cost exposures, and contingency usage, escalating issues to owner leadership with clear, actionable recommendations.
• Monitor site safety performance and enforce strict adherence to safety and environmental protocols, supporting a culture of safe work practices.
• Manage construction through interior and fit-out phases, including colocation fit-outs of varying scale, ensuring coordination across disciplines and trades.
• Provide technical oversight for equipment submittals, installation practices, and integration of MEP systems within mission-critical data center environments.
• Participate in factory witness testing (FAT), site acceptance testing (SAT), and commissioning activities at Levels 1–5 to validate system performance.
• Ensure deficiencies are logged, tracked, reported, and resolved through a structured QA/QC and issue-management process.
• Support integrated systems testing to validate redundancy, failover, and sequences of operations for critical infrastructure.
• Monitor contractor invoices, pay applications, and progress reports to maintain financial transparency and accuracy.
• Prepare and deliver detailed reporting to owner executives on budget performance, change management, and forecast-to-complete.
• Enforce the owner’s contractual rights, warranty protections, and performance guarantees with contractors and vendors.
• Ensure delivery and completeness of as-built drawings, O&M manuals, commissioning reports, warranty binders, and training materials for operations staff.
• Support a smooth transition from construction to operations, ensuring facilities are ready for day-one occupancy and long-term reliability.
• Capture lessons learned from each project and contribute to continuous improvement of the owner’s data center delivery standards.
• Represent the owner professionally in client meetings and site interactions, maintaining strong relationships with multiple firms and teams.
• Operate independently without direct reports while coordinating closely with project managers who manage site personnel.
• Travel regularly to multiple sites, typically visiting 4–5 locations with 3–4 day stays at each, while remaining based out of your home location.
• Participate in candidate and stakeholder screening processes as needed, supporting timely onboarding and project staffing decisions.

• 7–10+ years of progressive experience managing large-scale construction projects, with at least 5 years in mission-critical or data center environments.
• Direct experience overseeing projects valued at $100M or more, including fast-track delivery schedules.
• Strong background in construction project management, including preconstruction, construction, and fit-out phases.
• Experience with data center construction, including understanding of what happens in a data center environment and associated infrastructure.
• Proven ability to interface effectively with owners, architecture and engineering firms, general contractors, trade contractors, commissioning providers, and equipment vendors.
• Demonstrated capability to serve as an owner’s representative, advocating for owner interests and managing external stakeholders.
• Ability to review and interpret design documents, construction drawings, and technical specifications for constructability and compliance.
• Experience managing RFIs, submittals, change orders, and contract administration on complex construction projects.
• Strong skills in schedule management, cost control, and contingency tracking for large, multi-phase projects.
• Working knowledge of QA/QC processes, commissioning procedures, and integrated systems testing for MEP and critical systems.
• Ability to monitor and enforce safety and environmental protocols on active construction sites.
• Comfort working independently with minimal supervision, making informed decisions and recommendations on behalf of the owner.
• Willingness and ability to travel extensively and work a 6-day week with 10–12 hour days when required by project demands.

• Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Architecture, or a related discipline.
• Professional certifications such as PE, PMP, CxA, LEED AP, or equivalent are strongly preferred.
• OSHA 10 or OSHA 30 training is highly beneficial for supporting site safety oversight.
• Experience working as either an owner’s representative or with general contractors; both backgrounds are welcome.
• Exposure to brownfield developments and large campus data center projects, including multi-site portfolios.
• Experience with fit-out work in colocation facilities and interior construction following core and shell completion.
• Familiarity with commissioning authorities and structured commissioning processes at Levels 1–5.
• Ability to provide clear written and verbal communication to executive stakeholders, project teams, and site personnel.
• Strong organizational skills to manage documentation, reporting, and multiple concurrent site activities.
• Comfort working in contract-based arrangements with potential for year-over-year extensions as projects and programs grow.
• Willingness to work in various regions, including locations such as Texas and West Virginia, depending on project needs.

This role operates in a highly dynamic, mission-critical construction environment focused on data center facilities, including brownfield sites and large campus developments. You work primarily on active construction sites through core, shell, and interior fit-out phases, engaging with multiple stakeholders such as architects, engineers, general contractors, trade contractors, equipment vendors, commissioning authorities, and operations teams. The position is largely field-based with extensive travel; you may visit 4–5 sites on a recurring basis, typically spending 3–4 days at each location while remaining based out of your home. Work schedules commonly involve a 6-day workweek with 10–12 hour days, reflecting the fast-track nature and urgency of data center delivery. You function independently without direct reports, collaborating with small owner teams and project managers who oversee site personnel. The environment emphasizes strong safety culture, adherence to site-specific safety and environmental protocols, and close coordination around critical equipment and MEP systems. Engagements are typically structured as multi-month or year-over-year contracts tied to specific sites or portfolios, with opportunities to support ongoing growth in the data center space. Dress expectations vary by setting, ranging from appropriate field attire and PPE on construction sites to professional business-casual clothing for office and client meetings.

This is a Permanent position based out of Lenexa, KS.

The pay range for this position is $120000.00 - $200000.00/yr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Medical, dental, and vision insurance Life, accident, and disability coverage 401(k) with company match Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and wellness initiatives Paid company holidays, floating holidays, and flexible time off Opportunities for training, professional growth, and advancement

This is a fully onsite position in Lenexa,KS.

This position is anticipated to close on Sep 4, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email View email address on ziprecruiter.com for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.