Project Director - Critical Utilities Infrastructure Revitalization, SLAC

Overview

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is seeking an experienced and highly qualified Project Director to lead the $209M Critical Utilities Infrastructure Revitalization (CUIR) project, a major infrastructure upgrade supporting the laboratory's long-term scientific mission. The CUIR project aims to address capability gaps exacerbated by aging infrastructure. Many utilities were installed in the 1960s as part of the original laboratory construction. The systems are beyond useful life, suffer from parts obsolescence, and were not designed to support the experimental parameters needed for science research today and in the future.

The purpose of the CUIR project is to modernize SLAC's multiprogram utility infrastructure to provide reliable and efficient operations. The project addresses degraded infrastructure and critical replacements, and modernization associated with underground water/fire protection, sanitary sewer, and storm drain systems sitewide; adds new electrical feeder cables and equipment to reduce downtime; replaces underrated/obsolete electrical equipment; and installs cooling water infrastructure for operational reliability.

CUIR is organized as a portfolio of subprojects with an approved Start of Construction for subproject 1 (Critical Electrical System Improvements) in June 2025.

• Direct the overall planning and execution of the CUIR project in a safe and environmentally sound manner, providing leadership, management, and strategic vision for the project and meeting needs of the laboratory and funding agencies.
• Manage the entire collection of projects and/or programs undertaken by an organization or division in a manner that ensures their alignment with the university's strategic objectives. Typically, it proposes new initiatives and champions the business and technical planning and conceptual efforts for major projects and initiatives. Provide limited technical contribution as needed to successfully complete projects.
• Perform the full range of project management cycle: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. Independently lead and direct projects requiring high levels of functional integration and involving multiple disciplines to be managed.
• Direct development of an action plan, and estimate requirements for resources, including management, labor, materials, and time required to complete project.
• Facilitate discussions and negotiations to drive recommendation consensus.
• Create and help execute comprehensive change management strategy and communication plan relative to project/portfolio scope and stakeholders; orchestrate and lead change management methodologies underlying project success.
• These elements typically delineate the project management involved at this level: charter origination, scope identification, shaping, and definition; number of disciplines/stakeholders to manage is across-university impact, and city, county and major donor constituents; risk-manage, control, and report on risk associated with numerous projects and programs, affecting an entire School or business entity's project program and risk sharing and control is the project manager's responsibility;
  
  project complexity involves some of the most complex, new technology to be utilized and facilitates decisions requiring consideration of wide influences to drive a decision; primary university relationship is at the deans, donors and executive committee level; single project budget/scope accountability over $10M; cumulative budget/scope accountability over $10M.

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, construction management, project management or a related technical discipline and ten years of relevant experience; or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Demonstrated experience directing large, complex capital infrastructure projects (typically >$100M) within a DOE, federal, or comparable regulated environment.
• Thorough knowledge of DOE Order 413.3B, including Critical Decision (CD) milestones, project governance, baseline development and control, risk management, and reporting requirements.
• Pro…