Lead Scheduler

About the role

Avicado is seeking a proactive planner with deep expertise in data center scheduling and phased delivery to serve as Lead Scheduler. This client-facing role involves driving coordination and leading execution of complex construction schedules with precision, not merely data entry. The position requires approximately 25% business travel per month to job sites and client offices.

Responsibilities

• Create detailed project schedules during all capital project phases, incorporating critical elements such as design milestones, permitting timelines, and long-lead procurement.
• People Management: May lead, mentor, and support a remote team of consultants. Provide ongoing coaching and facilitate professional development. Assist in hiring and developing team talent in line with project needs and culture fit.
• Baseline & Strategic Scheduling: Establish and maintain baseline schedules that align with the delivery strategy, including phased commissioning and fast-track execution models.
• Coordinate 3rd party schedules such as utilities, general contractors, developers, and specialty trades.
• Risk & Impact Analysis: Perform schedule risk assessments to identify delays along the critical path and propose mitigation strategies. Conduct what-if scenarios to forecast impacts of design changes, procurement delays, or field issues.
• Cross-Functional Coordination: Collaborate closely with design, cost, and procurement teams to ensure realistic integration of timelines and resource dependencies.
• Ongoing Schedule Management: Maintain live project schedules throughout execution. Reflect real-time progress, manage updates, and track changes to provide accurate and actionable schedule insights.
• Critical Path Monitoring: Track and analyze critical and near-critical activities, proactively identifying delays, and recommending recovery plans.
• Commissioning Schedule Management: Develop and manage commissioning plans in alignment with mechanical, electrical, and IT system turnovers, including parallel commissioning strategies.
• Tool & Process Optimization: Leverage existing tools such as Forma and P6 to drive schedule efficiency. Identify gaps and recommend new systems or tools to enhance performance and alignment with client needs.
• Client Engagement & Business Reviews: Lead Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) with client sponsor team and Avicado executives to review scheduling performance, realign goals, address emerging challenges, and define next-phase priorities.

Requirements

• Ability to travel to job sites and client offices about 25% per month.
• Ability to develop and grow a schedule management team.
• Advanced proficiency in scheduling software. Expert level of P6 is required along with general working knowledge and ability with MS Project and other schedule analysis tools like Planera, Foresight and/or SmartPM.
• Mastery of schedule development, including work breakdown structures (WBS), logic sequencing, resource loading, and schedule baselining.
• 5+ years of data center construction scheduling and/or project management expertise.
• Familiarity with phased delivery models and early equipment procurement specific to data center environments.
• Knowledge of how scheduling interfaces with cost, procurement, risk, and change management systems.
• Ability to develop integrated schedules and maintain alignment across multiple trades and stakeholders.
• Strategic thinking to identify risk scenarios, assess mitigation options, and proactively advise on recovery strategies.
• Ability to interface effectively with design teams, contractors, commissioning agents, and other project stakeholders.
• Facilitation skills to lead schedule review meetings, coordination sessions, and recovery planning workshops.
• Hands-on understanding of field construction activities and constraints to ensure realistic and executable schedules.
• Flexibility to dynamically update and re-sequence schedules in response to design evolution, procurement delays, or field conditions.
• High attention to detail, especially in meeting client-specific requirements for large-scale or hyperscale programs.
• A proactive, self-starting mindset with a high degree of ownership and accountability.

Preferred Qualifications

• 10+ years of data center or mission critical experience.
• Track record of leading stakeholder alignment around phased scheduling strategies.
• Comfortable with some light, AI-assisted coding like SQL queries.

Candidate Characteristics

• Responsive; Avicado takes great pride in reacting quickly and positively to our clients and teammates, both internal and external.
• Innovative; a desire to drive innovation through new and unique solutions while embracing creative ideas.
• Entrepreneurial; the drive to take initiative, deliver results, and create value for our clients.
• Empowered; bring solutions instead of problems.
• Performance Driven & Accountable; sets goals and challenges our high-performance culture.
• Even-tempered; handles pressure and thrives in a fast-paced environment.
• Coachable; recognizes strengths & weakness and open to guidance.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation
• Health insurance
• Flexible PTO
• Remote work
• Philanthropic Matching Gift Program

About Avicado

Avicado was established in 2015 with a focus on utilizing the latest cloud-based tools and applications to enhance clients' experience. As a technology consultancy, Avicado empowers construction owners to make the most of their systems and data. The team collaborates with enterprise organizations such as data centers, universities, hospitals, and real estate developers to promote seamless interoperability across their teams and technologies.

Avicado is a close-knit team with a high-performance culture that values diversity and inclusivity. The company has created a highly interactive remote work environment that encourages mutual respect and individuality while fostering opportunities for employees to excel both personally and professionally. Offerings include competitive benefits, remote work experiences, flexible work arrangements, various career development opportunities, employee resource groups, and more.

Avicado has attained the "Great Place to Work" certification and has been included on Inc.'s Best Workplaces list for three consecutive years. The company also received the AYA Award, which recognizes allies who promote equality and actively foster positive change for women in technology.