Construction Project Manager

Construction Project Manager Department: SEI Dev Reports to: Director of SEI Dev Location: Cedar Falls, IA HQ with regular travel to active sites Status: Full-time, salaried, exempt Position Summary The Construction Project Manager (CPM) is responsible for site builds assigned to them from groundbreaking through commissioning and energization. This role is accountable for delivering each site on schedule, on budget, and to spec - coordinating third-party vendors, internal staff, and self-performed work to convert approved project scopes into operating revenue-generating sites. Success in this role is measured by sites energized on schedule, budget variance held within tolerance, and a clean handoff to Operations with zero punch-list surprises.

Key Responsibilities

Project Execution & Delivery

• Own end-to-end construction execution for assigned projects from procurement through commissioning and energization.
• Drive all phases - site prep, civil/concrete, substation, transformer set, container delivery and placement, electrical interconnect, fluid/cooling, fiber/internet, and security/IT - to the schedule and budget approved at project kickoff.
• Run weekly project huddles with vendors and internal staff; maintain a single up-to-date project tracker (Monday.com) reflecting current status, blockers, and next milestones for every active project.
• Self-perform construction tasks when faster, cheaper, or more reliable than contracting it out - particularly during ramp-up and on critical-path items.

Vendor & Procurement Management

• Solicit, compare, and award bids for materials, equipment, and labor against the project budget; negotiate pricing, scope, and payment terms.
• Manage vendor relationships across active and prospective sites; build and maintain a vetted vendor bench by region.
• Issue and track POs; verify deliverables before payment release; coordinate with Department Director and Finance Department so committed funds, paid invoices, and budget remaining stay reconciled.

Budget Ownership

• Own the construction budget for each assigned project once the estimate is locked at hand-off and manage spend against it.
• Manage construction-related invoice and purchase order approvals in accordance with company approval policies and escalation procedures.
• Provide a monthly budget-vs-actual variance read on every active project; flag projected overruns ≥5% as soon as identified, with mitigation options.

Schedule & Risk Management

• Build, maintain, and update the master project schedule for each site; identify the critical path and manage schedule float
• Maintain and update a project-level task list. (Monday.com)
• Apply contingency thinking (e.g. pad schedules with appropriate contingency on long-lead items).
• Communicate development risks that can impact financial performance, company reputation, personnel safety
• Document lessons-learned after each project so the next site benefits.

Quality, Safety & Compliance

• Ensure all work meets all code requirements and Simple Mining's site standards; coordinate inspections
• Ensure site safety expectations, PPE requirements, and vendor compliance standards are maintained during active construction
• Confirm noise mitigation, environmental, and community-commitments (e.g., dB targets, screening, water management) are designed before construction begins and verified at operation handoff.

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Hand-off in: receive scope, estimate, drawings, and signed agreements from the Site Development & Estimating lead; confirm completeness before mobilizing.
• Hand-off out: deliver an energized site to Operations with as-built drawings, equipment manuals, vendor warranty info, and a clean punch list.
• Coordinate with Finance (weekly Thursday check-in cadence) on payment timing and cash flow; with Legal on vendor agreements and change orders; with PR/Community on construction-phase community communications when relevant.
• Contribute construction-phase content to the Site Development Template (a current Q1/Q2 SEI Dev rock).

Decision Authority

• Financial approval threshold up to $25,000.
• Approves directly: Day-to-day construction sequencing, vendor scheduling, in-scope change orders under approval threshold, schedule reflows that don't move the energize date, self-perform vs. contract decisions on tasks below approval threshold.
• Provides Director of SEI Dev recommendations on financial decisions above threshold.
• Escalates immediately: Any safety incident, any projected budget overrun ≥5% of project budget, any utility/permitting block that threatens energize date, any vendor performance issue requiring termination.

What Success Looks Like (First 12 Months)

• ≥90% of assigned sites energized within 20% of the original committed energize date.
• Final project actuals within ±5% of approved budget on ≥80% of completed sites.
• Zero recordable safety incidents on assigned sites.
• A populated lessons-learned log used to improve the Site Development Template each quarter.
• Vendor bench expanded - at least two vetted alternates available for each major trade by end of year.
• Clean weekly visibility for the Director of SEI Dev: the Monday.com PROJECTS and TASKS boards reflect ground truth without being chased.

Required Qualifications

• 3+ years managing industrial, electrical, or energy infrastructure construction projects (utility-scale solar/wind, substations, data centers, manufacturing, or similar).
• Demonstrated ownership of project budgets ≥$2M and master schedules with multiple parallel trades.
• Working knowledge of medium-voltage electrical systems (substations, transformers, switchgear) and civil/concrete site work.
• Proficiency in standard project tools (Monday.com or equivalent, Excel/Sheets, PDF markup, basic scheduling tools); comfortable in Slack and Google Workspace.
• Valid driver's license; willing to be on assigned sites at least 1–2 days per week during active construction.
• Strong written communicator - can produce a clean weekly status that the CFO and CEO can read in 60 seconds.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience with bitcoin mining, HPC, or container-based data center deployments.
• PMP, CCM, or equivalent project management credential.
• Familiarity with utility interconnection processes (MISO and Midwest cooperatives a plus).
• Familiarity with EOS operating cadence (Level 10 meetings, scorecard, rocks).
• Bilingual English/Spanish (helpful on jobsites).

Work Environment

• Hybrid: SEI Dev HQ (Cedar Falls, IA) + active project sites across Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and other Midwest locations as the portfolio expands.
• Travel: 25–40% during active construction phases, lower between projects.
• Outdoor and active jobsite conditions; standard PPE required on site.

Scope Clarification

• This role coordinates and oversees construction execution. Work is performed by third-party vendors, internal staff, and the CPM directly when speed, cost, or quality demands it.
• The CPM does not own site identification or initial scoping. The CPM is the receiving partner at hand-off and owns the project from that point forward.
• The CPM does not own ongoing site operations post-energization - that hand-off goes to the Operations team, with the CPM remaining available for warranty/punch-list close-out.