Project Manager - Design and Construction

nooks

$140K — $170K *
Real Estate & Construction
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 7-10 years of project management in construction and architecture with hands-on experience in drawings and execution.
  • Proven ability to coordinate drawing sets across schematic design, design development, and construction document phases.
  • Experience managing contractors and vendors, including RFIs, submittals, and change orders to specification.
  • Familiarity with permitting and approvals processes for efficient navigation.
  • Strong communication skills to engage both technical and non-technical stakeholders and ensure team alignment.
  • Proficient with project management tools (e.g., Procore), Google Workspace, and drawing-review software.
  • Must reside in a major West Coast city.

Responsibilities

  • Coordinate drawing processes across all design phases to ensure accuracy and adherence to Nooks standards.
  • Translate program requirements into practical, buildable solutions in collaboration with Product Security.
  • Review architectural and engineering drawing sets to preemptively solve constructability issues.
  • Oversee general contractors and vendors, managing schedules, site coordination, and issues during construction.
  • Evaluate requests for information (RFIs), submittals, and change orders to ensure alignment with design intent.
  • Manage permitting processes and submissions effectively to maintain project timelines.
  • Ensure quality and consistency in builds, leading project meetings to keep decisions and progress on schedule.

Benefits

  • Remote or hybrid working options available with up to 50% travel to project sites.
  • Opportunity to work on fast-paced projects with a focus on scalability and efficiency.
  • Key role in shaping repeatable construction processes within an innovative company.
  • Direct involvement in accredited environments, enhancing professional development.
  • Engagement with cross-functional teams, fostering collaboration across various domains.
Full Job Description
About the Role

You will lead the end-to-end delivery of Nooks' physical spaces - from early design coordination through construction and handoff to Operations. This role exists because building accredited classified environments at speed and at scale requires a single owner who can hold scope, schedule, and budget across every site, translate Nooks' product standards into buildable solutions, and keep architects, engineers, and general contractors moving toward handoff. You will report into Nooks' Construction function within Product as an individual contributor, working from a remote or hybrid base with travel of up to 50% to project sites. In this role, you are an individual contributor as part of the Nooks Construction Team, under the VP of Product. You will work on a remote or hybrid basis with travel to project sites up to 50% of the time.

This is a builder role. While you'll have clearly defined ownership areas, priorities shift quickly in a fast-moving, build-heavy environment, and the right person steps into whatever the project needs - making decisions with imperfect information, improving the process as they go, and treating every build as a chance to make the next one more repeatable.

Key Responsibilities

Design Coordination & Documentation
  • Coordinate the full drawing process across schematic design, design development, and construction document (SD, DD, CD) phases, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and alignment to Nooks standards
  • Partner with Product Security to translate program and accreditation requirements into buildable, repeatable solutions
  • Review drawing sets with architects and engineers to resolve constructability issues before they reach the field

Construction Execution
  • Oversee general contractors and vendors through construction, owning schedule tracking, site coordination, and issue resolution
  • Review requests for information (RFIs), submittals, and change orders against design intent and budget before approval
  • Lead permitting and approvals, managing submissions and comment responses to protect the schedule

Project Controls & Delivery
  • Own each project from early design through turnover, holding scope, schedule, and budget at every stage
  • Track milestones and surface risks early, driving mitigation before they affect delivery
  • Partner with Finance to monitor budgets, validate changes, and maintain financial control across the project lifecycle

Quality & Closeout
  • Enforce build quality and consistency as Nooks scales across sites, reinforcing repeatable standards
  • Run internal and external project meetings that keep decisions, accountability, and momentum on track
  • Drive closeout - punch lists, final inspections, and handoff to Operations

What Success Looks Like in This Role

Within the first year, this person has taken multiple Nooks sites from design through turnover on schedule and on budget, with no surprises that leadership learns about late. Drawing sets move cleanly through SD, DD, and CD because issues are caught and resolved before they reach the field. Contractors and vendors are managed tightly, with RFIs, submittals, and change orders reviewed against both design intent and budget. Construction leadership relies on this person as the single owner of delivery for their projects - knowing the status, the risks, and the path to handoff at any moment. As the playbook matures, each build is more repeatable than the last.

Cross-Functional Expectations

You will work daily with Product on standards and program requirements, with Finance on budget control and change validation, and with IT/Cyber and Operations to ensure each space is built to accreditation and ready for handoff. Externally, you are Nooks' primary point of contact for architects, engineers, consultants, and general contractors - driving their work to Nooks standards rather than simply receiving it. Success in these relationships means deciding quickly with imperfect information and keeping every party aligned on scope, schedule, and budget.

The Skillset

Hard requirements
  • 7-10 years of project management in construction and architecture, with direct ownership of drawings and construction execution
  • Demonstrated experience coordinating drawing sets across SD, DD, and CD phases and reviewing for constructability
  • Experience managing contractors and vendors, including RFIs, submittals, and change orders, to spec
  • Working knowledge of permitting and approvals processes and how to navigate them efficiently
  • Ability to communicate with both technical and non-technical stakeholders and keep teams aligned
  • Proficiency with project management platforms (e.g., Procore), Google Workspace, and industry-standard drawing-review software
  • Must live in a major West Coast city

Preferred
  • Experience in a high-growth or startup environment, particularly multi-site or repeatable build programs
  • Proximity to a major airport

Eligibility & Clearance

Candidates must be a United States Citizen. An active security clearance is preferred. All candidates must be eligible for and committed to obtaining and maintaining eligibility up to the Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) level as a condition of employment.

Salary Range for all departments

Salary Range

$140,000-$170,000 USD

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