Project Manager, Ground Up Construction

About Our Client

Our client is a mid tier commercial general contractor serving clients across the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex. They self perform 5 to 10 ground up new construction projects a year alongside a high volume tenant improvement division.

They win work through relationships rather than by chasing a single niche, so the project mix is genuinely diverse. The pipeline is significant and still growing, with real ambitions for 2027. In several cases they already hold civil drawings for a client's next project, which means performance on the current one directly earns the next.

They are not a giant, and that is deliberate. They are looking for pillars of the organization, people who will help elevate the company on the operations side and see projects through to a finish that earns repeat work.

This is a confidential search. Bosun Solutions is representing the client and will share their identity with candidates who advance.

The Role

Project Manager for the ground up new construction division. You will own one ground up project at a time, and you will own it completely.

The current active project is a 58,000 square foot two story building, roughly a 24,000 square foot footprint, with significant civil development. It carries liquidated damages and a set of contractual obligations that require daily monitoring. It is a substantial project and it needs a capable manager on it now.

Where you will work

This is an in office role. It is not a field position and it is not remote, but you will be out at the job site on a regular basis, meeting with the client, stakeholders, architects, and engineers, and then back at the office for the balance of your work. Superintendents are on site the majority of the time; the Project Manager is the client facing lead.

Experience Level

Ground up commercial experience is required for this seat and is not tradeable against other strengths. Within that, the search is deliberately aimed at junior and developing project managers, and is open at two levels.

Entry level, 0 to 2 years of ground up experience

• Exposure to ground up commercial new construction at a general contractor as an assistant project manager, project engineer, field engineer, or coordinator ready for the step up
• Solid working command of submittals, RFIs, change orders, and pay applications
• Confident reading commercial plans, with room to sharpen on a complex project
• Target compensation $70,000 to $85,000

Developing level, 2 to 4 years of ground up experience

• Two to four years running ground up commercial projects end to end
• Strong plan reading proficiency
• Exposure to projects carrying liquidated damages or comparable contractual exposure is a plus, not a requirement
• Target compensation $85,000 to $95,000

Candidates across this full range are encouraged to apply. Depth of ground up capability matters more than a year count.

What You Will Own

• One ground up new construction project at a time, from preconstruction through closeout
• Daily monitoring of contractual obligations, including liquidated damages exposure
• Schedule ownership, critical path management, and recovery planning when needed
• Client, architect, engineer, and municipal coordination
• Submittals, RFIs, change orders, and pay applications
• Subcontractor buyout, coordination, and performance management
• Budget ownership, cost tracking, and reporting through project close
• Complete and current project documentation, maintained by you

Being Honest About How They Are Built

Larger general contractors staff a ground up project with a full team: project manager, superintendent, assistant superintendent, project engineer, and project coordinator, with an admin bench behind them. In that structure the PM role narrows toward oversight and communication.

That structure does not exist here. A project is run by a project manager, a superintendent, and a Director of Operations who already wears a great many hats. There is no project engineer or project coordinator behind you.

This project in particular carries a high volume of administrative work. The strongest predictor of success is an exceptionally high level of personal organization alongside the technical capability. Both are required, and neither substitutes for the other.

You will not be left to sink. The operations team expects to provide real support through the early phase of the project, and they are candid that a capable mid level PM with the right ground up background can carry this with that backing.

Who Thrives Here

• You are ready to own the whole scope rather than a slice of it
• You are organized to an unusual degree and run your own documentation without prompting
• You are comfortable splitting your week between the office and an active job site
• You are ambitious and early in your climb, with something to prove
• Accountability, work ethic, honesty, and integrity are simply how you operate
• You want to help build a company, not maintain a machine somebody else built

Compensation and Benefits

Compensation is set by experience level as outlined above, with a formal review at 90 days.

• Entry level, 0 to 2 years ground up   •   $65,000 to $75,000
• Developing level, 2 to 4 years with strong plan reading proficiency   •   $75,000 to $85,000

Every hire gets a documented 90 day review. Perform exceptionally and your salary increases at that mark. Fall short and you receive a specific written list of what to improve so the next increase is achievable. They have a track record of moving quickly on people who earn it.

Benefits and allowances

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Company cell phone and laptop
• Gas card and vehicle allowance
• 14 days paid vacation following the 90 day introductory period