Construction Lead

Unlimited Industries

• $125K — $150K *
Energy & Utilities
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5-7 years of experience leading large capital projects from inception to completion
  • Engineering background, ideally with a focus on construction
  • Hands-on leadership style, actively involved on-site
  • Strong frustration with industry bureaucracy and slow processes
  • Deep understanding of EPC and GC operations for effective partnership
  • Alignment with the mission to create a sustainable future

Responsibilities

  • Define and establish the construction culture and processes for the organization
  • Select and manage EPC/GC partners to ensure project timelines are met
  • Oversee all aspects of project execution from engineering to construction
  • Implement automation and AI solutions for repetitive tasks
  • Lead small, competent teams to take ownership of project outcomes
  • Make rapid decisions on-site to expedite construction processes

Benefits

  • Opportunity to shape the construction department from the ground up
  • Work in a dynamic, hands-on environment with significant site presence
  • Be part of a mission-driven organization focused on sustainable energy
  • Potential for innovation through automation and AI in construction processes
  • Collaborate with a team that values speed and efficiency over bureaucracy
Full Job Description
The role:

We're hiring our first construction lead. We already serve as Engineer of Record on gigawatts of utility-scale energy projects, but we don't want to stop at designing them. We are going to build them. This person will define how we do that.

On our first projects, you'll find the right EPC/GC to build with and manage them closely enough that the project moves at our pace, not the industry's. This is a very hands-on role. We expect you to be deep in the weeds on every project, defining our build culture as you go: how we organize ourselves to build, what we own directly, and where we partner.

Most construction today is run as contract management: the owner hires an EPC, the EPC hires subs, everyone prices risk into their scope, and the job becomes moving paper between them. Nobody is paid to go faster, so nobody does. We're building the opposite: small, highly competent teams who own the outcome end to end; engineering, procurement, and construction on one plan and one schedule; decisions made in hours by the people closest to the work, not through change-order cycles; and risk taken deliberately when it buys schedule.

We are early. There is no construction department and no playbook, and we're not looking for someone to import one from a large EPC. Anything repetitive in this job should be a candidate for automation with AI.

This role is in-person in San Francisco, CA or Texas and will include significant time on job sites.

What we're looking for:
  • You've been the responsible leader on multiple large capital projects that actually got built, from groundbreaking through energization
  • An engineer by background
  • A builder at heart: you lead from the front, you're on site, and you're hands-on when it counts
  • You're frustrated by how slowly this industry builds and how much bureaucracy sits between a decision and steel in the ground
  • You know how EPCs and GCs actually operate, so you can pick the right partner and hold them to the schedule
  • Mission alignment and desire to build a future of abundance


Experience: Responsible leadership on multiple large capital projects (utility-scale energy, gas generation, data centers, or comparable heavy industrial work).

This is probably not the role for you if:
  • You think the way this industry builds today is basically fine
  • You'd rather manage from an office than lead from the field
  • You solve schedule risk with more process and more paperwork
  • You need a large construction organization around you to be effective


Bonus:
  • Utility-scale gas generation projects: simple cycle, combined cycle, or reciprocating engines

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