Structural Steel Project Manager

About the Company

RNGD is a rapidly scaling organization emerging as a nationally recognized leader in construction through our unique Renegade mindset focused on innovation, creativity, and culture. The team is made up of a highly engaged group of seasoned professionals and emerging leaders. We are creators who believe that what we build drives the growth of our cities and that to fulfill our mission, we must constantly challenge the old way of doing things. Headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, we thrive on building communities, building teams, building leaders, and growing the business throughout the Southeast region with additional offices in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama.

About the Role

We're looking for a Structural Steel Project Manager who will lead assigned structural and miscellaneous steel projects from contract award and preconstruction handoff through detailing, fabrication, delivery, erection, and closeout. This role owns project scope, schedule, budget, documentation, and stakeholder coordination to ensure work is delivered safely, profitably, on time, and in accordance with contract requirements and RNGD standards.

The Structural Steel Project Manager serves as the primary connection among clients, general contractors, design partners, Detailing and VDC, Procurement, Steel Manufacturing, Logistics, field leadership, subcontractors, and erectors, proactively resolving risks that could affect fabrication or installation.

Core Responsibilities

Project Planning & Commercial Management

• Review contracts, estimates, bid documents, drawings, specifications, scope clarifications, alternates, and commitments at project turnover.
• Lead project kickoff and establish clear scope, budget, schedule, procurement, subcontracting, long-lead, and reporting requirements.
• Develop and maintain project budgets, cost forecasts, cost-to-complete projections, owner billings, and project margin visibility.
• Identify, price, negotiate, document, and execute change orders and other scope adjustments.
• Manage buyout, purchase orders, subcontracts, subcontractor invoices, and vendor commitments in accordance with RNGD procedures.

Detailing, Fabrication, and Delivery Coordination

• Develop and maintain an integrated project sequence that aligns detailing, approvals, material purchasing, fabrication, coatings, packaging, delivery, and erection.
• Coordinate shop drawings, erection drawings, submittals, RFIs, ASIs, field dimensions, and related technical information with the general contractor, design team, detailers, fabricators, and field teams.
• Review shop and erection drawings for conformance with contractual scope, sequencing, constructability, fabrication capabilities, welding requirements, coatings, and installation needs.
• Confirm that released work is supported by approved information, material availability, production capacity, and field readiness.
• Coordinate priorities and delivery sequencing across Detailing and VDC, Procurement, Steel Manufacturing, Quality, Logistics, and Steel Field leadership.
• Obtain or verify field measurements when required to support fabrication accuracy and installation readiness.

Project Execution, Risk and Quality

• Monitor project milestones and maintain accurate, current project schedules and status reporting.
• Identify and mitigate risks related to scope, design, approvals, materials, fabrication, coatings, logistics, erection, cost, schedule, safety, and quality.
• Maintain complete and organized project records, including RFI, submittal, change, procurement, nonconformance, and closeout documentation.
• Partner with Safety and Quality teams to ensure project execution complies with company standards, project specifications, and applicable steel fabrication and erection requirements.
• Lead internal, production, and external project meetings and communicate decisions, constraints, responsibilities, and recovery actions clearly.
• Escalate material project risks, commercial concerns, or conflicts early enough for leadership and project partners to act.

Client, Partner and Team Leadership

• Serve as the primary project contact and maintain professional, proactive communication with clients, general contractors, architects, engineers, subcontractors, erectors, and internal teams.
• Build alignment among office, shop, logistics, and field teams to support predictable project delivery.
• Provide clear direction to Project Engineers, Coordinators, and other assigned team members; delegate effectively and support their development.
• Protect the client and partner experience by addressing concerns promptly, honoring commitments, and maintaining transparency regarding project status and risk.
• Lead project closeout, including punch list completion, turnover documentation, financial reconciliation, and lessons learned.

Field and Physical Requirements

• Travel to fabrication facilities and active project sites as required.
• Walk active job sites and manufacturing environments, including uneven surfaces and elevated areas.
• Climb stairs and ladders as necessary to review fabrication or installation progress.
• Work at a computer for extended periods to manage budgets, schedules, drawings, and project documentation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Engineering, or a related field preferred; equivalent structural steel project management experience will be considered.
• Minimum of 5 years of progressive project management experience, with demonstrated experience in structural and/or miscellaneous steel fabrication and erection.
• Strong working knowledge of structural steel project delivery, including detailing, material procurement, fabrication, coatings, delivery sequencing, and field erection.
• Ability to read and interpret architectural and structural drawings, shop and erection drawings, specifications, contracts, scopes of work, and project schedules.
• Working knowledge of applicable structural steel fabrication and welding requirements, including AISC and AWS standards.
• Demonstrated experience managing budgets, cost-to-complete forecasts, schedules, change orders, RFIs, submittals, subcontractors, and project closeout.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and project scheduling tools; experience with Bluebeam and Tekla PowerFab, Tekla Structures, or similar steel project management and detailing platforms preferred.
• Strong organizational, analytical, communication, negotiation, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Valid driver's license and ability to travel to fabrication facilities and project sites as required.

Core Competencies

RNGD Values Alignment

Exemplifies RNGD's core values:

• Renegade Mentality
• Sweep Floors
• Build Together
• Honor Promises

Structural Steel Project Execution

• Understands the full steel project lifecycle from detailing and material release through fabrication, delivery, erection, and closeout.
• Connects design intent to practical fabrication and field execution.
• Maintains disciplined control of scope, sequencing, documentation, and commitments.

Financial Acumen and Commercial Ownership

• Manages budgets, forecasts, change exposure, billing, and project margin proactively.
• Understands contract requirements and identifies commercial risk early.
• Makes informed decisions that balance cost, schedule, quality, and client commitments.

Planning, Coordination and Problem Solving

• Anticipates constraints across detailing, procurement, production, logistics, and erection.
• Develops practical recovery plans and drives issues through resolution.
• Maintains accurate information and communicates priorities clearly across stakeholders.

Accountability and Relationship Management

• Takes ownership of project outcomes and follows commitments through completion.
• Builds trust through transparency, consistency, and professional communication.
• Creates alignment among clients, partners, project teams, shop teams, and field operations.

Team Leadership and Development

• Sets clear direction, assigns ownership, and holds team members and partners accountable.
• Coaches Project Engineers and Coordinators to strengthen project capability.
• Promotes collaboration, continuous improvement, and shared responsibility for results.

RNGD is an Equal Opportunity Employer.