Senior Project Manager - Life Sciences

About Us

Clayco is a full-service, turnkey real estate development, master planning, architecture, engineering, and construction firm that safely delivers clients across North America the highest quality solutions on time, on budget, and above and beyond expectations. With $8.1 billion in revenue for 2025, Clayco specializes in the "art and science of building," providing fast track, efficient solutions for mission critical, industrial, life sciences, power & energy, aviation, commercial, institutional, residential and sports & entertainment related building projects.

The Role We Want You For

As a Senior Project Manager, you will take charge of leading and managing design and construction teams, driving the delivery of multi-disciplined real estate and capital projects in the dynamic Life Sciences/Biotech/Pharmaceuticals sector. With direct accountability for project delivery, you'll collaborate with external engineering firms, interdisciplinary engineering teams, estimators, schedulers, and construction experts. This role provides a unique opportunity to contribute to the collaborative development of projects, ensuring optimal solutions for our clients.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Create and maintain a safe work environment where all team members go home safely every day.
• Lead comprehensive management of project cost, schedules, and budgets, ensuring optimal financial outcomes.
• Write well defined and comprehensive scopes of work for trade partners and vendors/consultants minimizing opportunities for scope gaps.
• Lead trade partners and contracted vendors/consultants, ensuring seamless project execution.
• Create, analyze, track, and proactively manage all activities to uphold project schedules.
• Provide execution expertise through clear and engaging communication, aligning team goals with project objectives.
• Evaluate construction proposals, pricing, and scopes, identifying factors influencing costs and reporting on pertinent data.
• Review requests for payment and approve final invoices, payment applications, and retention payments.
• Collaborate within a matrix environment to communicate and coordinate resource needs effectively.
• Conduct/support monthly internal project performance reviews, ensuring transparency and efficiency.
• Demonstrate flexibility in responding to issues and client requests, maintaining focus on successful project operations.
• Manage diverse personalities within the work team and client relationships, fostering collaboration.
• Communicate clearly and consistently, documenting information for effective project tracking.
• Engage effectively with clients at all levels, consistently recognize and communicate opportunities for additional revenue.
• Oversee monitoring and reporting on project progress against execution plans, guiding corrective actions when needed.
• Champion best practices for Contract and Scope Change Management, ensuring adherence to project obligations.
• Direct the project team in implementing contract and scope change management processes as required.
• Manage the smooth transition of building operations to the client, overseeing all system turnover closeout documentation and warranties.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, process, chemical, civil/structural, or electrical engineering, or related field preferred
• 10-15 years of experience managing construction projects ($50+ million) ideally design-build.
• construction organization
• 5+ minimum years’ experience performing management within the life sciences market.
• Prior experience on projects >$5M to $75M
• Good negotiation, presentation, and persuasion skills.
• Strong analytical ability and capacity to interpret data.
• Comfortable with change and ambiguity, adaptable, collaborative, and a systems thinker.
• Self-motivated, results-oriented, and focused on developing future leaders.
• Strong organizational and time management skills with attention to detail.

Some Things You Should Know

• Our clients and projects are nationwide – Travel will be required.
• No other builder can offer the collaborative design-build approach that Clayco does.
• We work on creative, complex, award-winning, high-profile jobs.
• The pace is fast!
• This position is classified as a safety-sensitive role in accordance with applicable state and federal laws. Candidates selected for this position will be subject to a comprehensive background check, which includes mandatory drug testing.

Why Clayco?

• 2025 Best Places to Work – St. Louis Business Journal, Los Angeles Business Journal, and Phoenix Business Journal.
• 2025 ENR Top 400 – Top Data Center Contractor (Top 3).
• 2025 ENR Top 100 Design-Build Firms – Design-Build Contractor (Top 5).
• 2025 ENR Top 100 Green Contractors – Green Contractor (Top 3).

Benefits

• Discretionary Annual Bonus: Subject to company and individual performance.
• Comprehensive Benefits Package Including: Medical, dental and vision plans, 401k, generous PTO and paid company holidays, employee assistance program, flexible spending accounts, life insurance, disability coverage, learning & development programs and more!

Compensation

• The salary range for this position considers a wide range of factors in making compensation decisions including but not limited to: Education, qualifications, skills, training, experience, certifications, internal equity, and location. Compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case.