Assistant Project Manager - Fire and Life Safety Engineering

About Us

At WSP, we are driven by inspiring future-ready pioneers to innovate. We’re looking to grow our teams with people who are ready to collaborate in building communities and expanding our skylines. We hire candidates of all experiences, skillsets, backgrounds and walks of life and actively foster a work environment and culture where inclusion and diversity is part of our fundamental structure. This is delivered behaviorally, through our policies, trainings, local partnerships with professional diverse organizations, internal networks, and with the support and sponsorship of our leaders.

About the Role

WSP is initiating a search for a Full-Time Assistant Project Manager within the Fire & Life Safety (FLS) Specialty Service group for our Houston, TX office. Other locations considered: Arlington, VA, Columbia, MD, Dallas, TX, New York, NY, and Boston, MA. You will be involved in projects with our Fire and Life Safety Team, working closely with architects, owners, and engineers on large, complex projects with a focus on user experience, operational efficiency, collaboration, and sustainability in the built environment. Our team works on high-quality, high-profile, national and international projects.

Responsibilities

• Project Delivery
  • Conduct project setup using internal systems, including converting project opportunities to billable jobs and communicating with internal teams to deliver project numbers.
  • Manage engineering teams to complete multiple projects concurrently.
  • Support the development and maintenance of project workplans, including schedules, tracking tasks, and following up with stakeholders.
  • Maintain regular communication with clients regarding project status and schedules, and proactively coordinate client actions and tasks.
  • Track financial performance metrics for projects, culminating in summary reports to enable forecasting and inform invoicing.
  • Coordinate the QA/QC process for project deliverables and final submissions to clients.
  • Create and manage project resource planning, ensuring alignment with project plans and staff utilization expectations.
  • Establish effective communication methods and regular intervals to update staff on project performance.
  • Assist with coordination of project correspondence, such as RFIs and submittal reviews, to ensure timely responses and proper filing.
• Project Pursuits
  • Assemble technical resource information, scope, and pricing to create responses for Requests for Qualifications and Proposals.
  • Log and track the progress of project opportunities.
  • Create and maintain a proposal fee database to enable data-driven and historical fee input relevant to client and market trends.
  • Coordinate project and pursuit process improvements across the practice.
• Culture and Personality
  • Highly organized with exceptional skills in tracking progress.
  • Highly collaborative with a proactive approach to communications.
  • Assist with onboarding to train new staff on project delivery and internal processes.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with an emphasis on organizing and presenting requirements clearly.
  • Ability to lead internal team meetings and participate in presentations.
  • Resourceful self-starter capable of working productively on multiple projects simultaneously under strict deadlines.
  • Interest in evolving trends in the built environment across various vertical markets (healthcare, commercial, science & technology, hospitality, cultural, etc.).

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, architecture, engineering, science, or a related major, or equivalent experience in a technical or consulting engineering firm.
• Minimum of 3-5 years of relevant post-education experience in a project management role within a relevant industry or previous experience within the architectural engineering industry in a similar role.
• Experience in project planning, cost management, schedule management, and methods of analyzing and reporting project performance on financial and other relevant KPIs.
• Highly proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, PowerBI, Visio), Bluebeam, and Adobe software applications (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Acrobat).
• Ability to learn and become proficient with internal project management platforms.

Preferred Qualifications

• Project management certification (e.g., Project Management Professional (PMP)) or similar demonstrated experience is highly desired.

Benefits

WSP provides a comprehensive suite of benefits focused on providing health and financial stability throughout the employee’s career. These benefits include:

• Medical, dental, vision, disability, and life coverage.
• Retirement savings plans.
• Paid sick leave, vacation (or other personal time), and paid parental leave.
• Paid time off for bereavement, voting, and attendance at naturalization proceedings.

Pay

Expected salary (all locations): $88,500 - $120,000. WSP USA is providing the compensation range based on the successful applicant’s education, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, and internal equity.