Principal of Construction Services

About the role

The Operating Principal (OP) is accountable for the operational excellence, financial performance, risk posture, and leadership of the Construction Services Program. This role focuses on execution, quality, margin discipline, safety, compliance, and talent development, while maintaining limited client-facing interaction centered on quality control, issue resolution, and senior-level alignment. The OP is also responsible for supporting the Managing Principal (MP), other service area Principals, and Business Development personnel in the acquisition of additional work for the service area. The OP serves as the senior operational authority for remedial construction delivery and acts as a steward of firm standards, governance, and performance. The duties of this position are carried out with wide latitude, judgment and discretion, under direct supervision and direction of the MP of Construction Services.

Responsibilities

• Prioritize all August Mack work involving CS to ensure maximized work quality, scheduling and revenue.
• Participate in client communications related to project quality, execution issues, safety concerns, and corrective action plans.
• Verify all client commitments are achievable, documented, and aligned with contractual requirements before project integration.
• Serve as an escalation point for significant delivery, schedule, cost, or compliance issues impacting client confidence.
• Support Client, Principals and Project Managers by reinforcing scope clarity, constructability alignment, and execution feasibility.
• Review and approve formal client correspondence related to claims, change disputes, or performance concerns.
• Support Company growth initiatives and Business Development efforts to secure and execute internal and external work by: meeting with customer project team and contacts during execution of work and updating client information in Vantagepoint; attending select client meetings with Principals to provide technical support; presenting project approach to clients in kick-off meetings or project interviews; providing resources and technical information to assist with bids and estimates.
• Direct and ensure program-level financial performance meets or exceeds targets for revenue, gross margin, backlog quality, and forecast accuracy.
• Review and approve project budgets, cost structures, and contingency strategies for major remedial construction efforts.
• Validate change order and cost controls regularly; ensure earned value tracking is updated by project teams.
• Partner with Finance to evaluate project write-ups, write-downs, reserves, and implement margin recovery plans.
• Support capital planning decisions related to equipment utilization, subcontractor strategy, and self-perform investments.
• Provide leadership on pricing discipline and risk-adjusted margins for construction work.
• Support MP in preparation and implementation of annual CS business plan.
• Conduct regular health, safety, environmental, contractual, and financial risk audits and update mitigation protocols based on findings within the program.
• Review and acknowledge risks and implement all contracts, subcontract agreements, and project delivery approaches to mitigate risk.
• Ensure compliance with insurance requirements, bonding, regulatory obligations, and client-specific risk terms.
• Lead response strategy for incidents, claims, disputes, and regulatory inquiries within 24 hours of occurrence.
• Establish and enforce risk identification, mitigation, and escalation protocols across all remedial construction projects.
• Partner with Risk Management and Legal to continuously improve contract language, project controls, and field compliance practices.
• Provide executive oversight of project execution, scheduling, staffing, and delivery across the Construction Services Program.
• Ensure all employees maintain required certifications and verify compliance on a project basis.
• Establish and enforce standard operating procedures, construction execution plans, and quality control frameworks.
• Implement operational improvements, staffing changes, and hiring needs based on evaluation of KPIs and service area goals.
• Review performance of at-risk or underperforming projects and direct corrective action plans.
• Ensure Project Managers effectively manage scope, subcontractors, change orders, documentation, and compliance with contractual requirements.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives through post-project reviews, lessons learned, and refinement of construction execution and delivery processes.
• Champion early project planning and constructability reviews to reduce execution risk, improve predictability, and enhance project outcomes.
• Lead, mentor, and develop Project Managers, Construction Managers, Field Leaders, and technical staff within the program.
• Define role expectations, performance standards, and promotion readiness criteria.
• Participate in hiring, succession planning, and organizational design for remedial construction operations.
• Conduct or support performance evaluations, coaching, and corrective actions.
• Promote a culture of safety, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Serve as a visible leader in reinforcing firm values and operational discipline.
• Forecast staffing needs and lead hiring and advancement efforts, as necessary, to support growth.
• Maintain strong understanding of the morale and dynamics of CS.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in construction management, environmental science, environmental engineering, geology, hydrogeology or a related field. Other combinations of education and experience that meet the minimum requirements may be substituted.
• 10+ years of professional experience in environmental remediation, civil construction, or a related field including two years of management experience.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Project or other equivalent scheduling software.
• Valid driver's license, acceptable driving record, and physically capable of operating vehicles safely. This classification requires the use of a personal or company vehicle on company business.

Skills

• Civil and Environmental Construction
• Environmental and Health & Safety regulations
• Hazards inherent to environmental work and related safety measures
• Soil and groundwater treatment processes and remediation system construction techniques
• Project management, scheduling, quality control and cost control
• Leadership, communication, and client management

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits effective on your first day of employment
• Generous PTO, including community service time off, 8 paid holidays, and paid parental leave
• 401(k) with company match
• Annual company reimbursement for one professional organization membership, one job-related external training, and one professional license or certification
• Team building activities, social events, and donation of time, service, and resources to local organizations