Construction Manager

About the Role

We are building a first-of-kind advanced nuclear manufacturing facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and are seeking a hands-on Construction Manager / Owner's Representative to drive execution on the ground. This role is the company's onsite decision-maker during construction, responsible for translating aggressive schedules and evolving design intent into real, built outcomes.

This is a startup player-coach role, not a passive oversight position. The ideal candidate thrives in fast-moving, ambiguous environments, is comfortable making real-time field decisions, and can push contractors, designers, and internal teams to deliver.

The role is intentionally structured to either:

• Remain focused on capital projects and future build phases, or

• Transition into a site facilities / operations leadership role after construction.

Key Responsibilities

Owner's Representative & Field Execution

• Serve as the primary onsite authority representing ownership during all phases of construction, upholding high standards of excellence for site safety and work completion.

• Maintain daily field presence, driving execution across GC(s), subcontractors, and vendors.

• Hold contractors accountable to schedule, manpower, sequencing, and quality commitments.

• Identify issues early and resolve them decisively to avoid schedule or cost impact.

• Review and manage RFIs, submittals, pay applications, and change orders with a bias toward speed and clarity.

Schedule-Driven Delivery

• Own day-to-day schedule awareness and near-term lookahead planning.

• Leverage first principles / creative problem solving to recover lost time and protect critical path activities.

• Support cost tracking and change management with a strong understanding of trade-offs between schedule, scope, and cost.

• Ensure inspections, testing, and commissioning activities are sequenced to avoid delays.

Design Interface & Future Phases

• Actively participate in design discussions for future construction phases, expansions, or follow-on facilities.

• Provide constructability, sequencing, and operational feedback to design teams based on real-world field conditions.

• Translate lessons learned from active construction into improved designs, scopes, and execution strategies for future phases.

• Support early planning for utilities, equipment layouts, access, maintenance, and operational flow.

Regulatory & Stakeholder Coordination

• Interface directly with local AHJs, inspectors, and third-party reviewers.

• Coordinate closely with internal Engineering, Facilities, Operations, EHS, Security, and Regulatory teams to ensure alignment between design intent and field execution.

• Support documentation, turnover, and readiness activities required for a regulated manufacturing environment.

Transition to Operations (Optional Path)

• Drive facility turnover, commissioning, and startup readiness.

• Depending on business needs and candidate strengths, transition into a Facilities or Site Operations role owning:

o Preventive maintenance and service contracts

o Contractor oversight

o Building systems and utilities

o Continuous improvement and future expansions

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in construction management, owner's representation, or capital project execution for industrial or manufacturing facilities.

• Demonstrated success in onsite, field-driven roles with direct GC oversight.

• Strong command of construction sequencing, schedule control, and change management.

• Comfortable making decisions in ambiguous, fast-paced environments with limited precedent.

• Willingness to be fully onsite in Oak Ridge, TN, including weekends during active construction.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience delivering projects in highly regulated or high-consequence environments (energy, nuclear, defense, aerospace, advanced manufacturing).

• Direct involvement in design-for-construction or design-for-operations efforts.

• Background that supports long-term ownership of site facilities or future build phases.

What Success Looks Like

• The project moves fast without losing control of scope or quality.

• Issues are resolved in the field before they escalate.

• Contractors are clear on…