Senior Project Director

9801 Washingtonian Boulevard, Gaithersburg, Maryland • Full-time, exempt • Standard office hours: 8:00am–5:00pm ET, Monday–Friday (5 days in office)

About the role

A Vice President-level position with ultimate accountability and ownership for the successful execution and delivery of large-scale, complex nuclear projects with budgets between $1B–$5B. This role has full end-to-end responsibility for project outcomes, including safety performance, quality standards, schedule performance, budget control, and regulatory compliance.

Responsibilities

• Direct ownership of project execution strategy, methodology, and implementation.
• Final decision authority on project scope, schedule, budget, and resource allocation.
• Personal accountability for meeting contractual commitments to customers and stakeholders.
• Risk identification, mitigation, and resolution across all project phases.
• Ownership of the integrated project schedule and critical path management.
• Negotiate, execute, and manage high-value contracts with customers, EPCs, and major suppliers.
• Shape and communicate the project vision, strategy, and execution roadmap.
• Accountability for project financial performance including cost control, change management, and earned value.
• Drive stakeholder alignment and manage executive-level relationships.
• Full accountability for performance of large, multidisciplinary teams (internal matrixed and external subcontracted).
• Responsible for team mobilization, performance management, and delivery.
• Lead all project disciplines: SHEQ, project management and controls, engineering, licensing, supply chain, construction, testing, operational readiness, commissioning and start-up, and external delivery partners.
• Accountable for establishing and enforcing project execution standards, procedures, and nuclear quality requirements.

Strategic & Operational Accountabilities

• Strategic Alignment & Governance: Defines and owns the project vision and strategic direction; accountable for aligning project goals with organizational objectives; establishes and enforces the project governance framework; final decision authority on strategic direction and major changes.
• Regulatory Compliance: Fully accountable for compliance with all applicable nuclear regulations; owns regulatory strategy, commitments, and authority relationships; personal responsibility for maintaining regulatory standing.
• Resource & Financial Management: Complete accountability for project financial performance and budget delivery; owns all critical financial decisions including resource allocation and change authorization; final authority on major financial commitments and reallocations; accountable for earned value and cost control throughout the project.
• High-Level Leadership: Direct accountability for performance of project directors, managers, and all teams; owns project culture, performance standards, and team capability; responsible for ensuring teams have the direction, resources, and empowerment to succeed; accountable for developing project leadership capability.
• Strategic Risk Mitigation: Owns identification and management of high-level strategic risks; personally accountable for risks impacting the project business case or overall success; final decision authority on risk mitigation strategy and contingency activation.
• Executive Stakeholder Management: Primary accountability for senior stakeholder relationships and confidence; owns executive communications, progress reporting, and expectation management; responsible for maintaining stakeholder alignment and organizational trust.
• Commercial Leadership: Complete ownership of high-value contract negotiations and management; accountable for commercial performance with customers, delivery partners, and suppliers; final authority on major commercial terms, claims, and contract modifications.
• Benefits Realization: Ultimate accountability for delivering expected value and operational results; owns the transition from construction through commissioning to operational handover; responsible for ensuring the organization and customer realize planned benefits and ROI.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, business or related field. Preferably a Master’s in a related discipline or MBA, or equivalent experience and education.
• Professional project management qualification (e.g. PMI, Prince2, etc.) preferred.
• Typically, twenty plus years’ proven experience as a senior project leader in the energy / nuclear / petrochemical, technology system development or professional services industry, of projects valued at >$1bn.
• Experience working under nuclear regulatory codes or another strict QA program (e.g., NQA-1, N299, ISO-9001) – preferred.

Pay

The salary range for this position is $250,000–$300,000. Offers within the posted salary range are commensurate with the individual’s qualifications for the position, along with a view on internal equity, market data, and room for growth.

Benefits

• 401K plan with employer match
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Life and disability insurance
• Paid time off
• Tuition reimbursement/professional development policy