Ambassador Group

Project Manager

Ambassador Group  •  $130k - $500k/yr  •  San Francisco, CA (Onsite)  •  4 hours ago
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Job Description

About the Opportunity

Join one of Northern California's leading structural demolition and remediation contractors. The company specializes in complex bridge, wastewater, industrial, and heavy infrastructure projects throughout Northern California and Northern Nevada.

This is heavy, technical work where safety comes first. The company maintains a .51 EMR and expects every Project Manager to lead by that same standard.

About the Role

The Project Manager owns projects from contract award through owner acceptance. Working alongside field superintendents who manage field operations, you'll own the contract, protect project margin, maintain the schedule, manage change orders, and serve as the primary client contact.

Most projects are around $500k, while bridge and infrastructure work typically ranges from $1.5M to $3M.

This is a hands-on position with time split between job sites, client meetings, and project administration. PMs manage projects across multiple regions and can work from whichever office is most convenient, with roughly one to two days each week spent at a base office, most likely Roseville or Stockton.

What You’ll Own

Project financials and margin

  • Work with Estimating during preconstruction to confirm realistic targets.

  • Own cost-to-complete on active projects and track actuals against budget.

  • Identify margin threats early, including scope creep, labor overruns, sub scheduling issues, and budget variance.

  • Track estimated hours against actual hours and explain what is driving the difference.

Change management

  • Know the contract scope well enough to spot changes as they happen.

  • Work with the superintendent to document and price changed conditions quickly.

  • Present change orders to the client with clear backup and follow them through authorization and billing.

  • Make sure absorbed costs are intentional, not missed.

Client relationship

  • Serve as the client’s main point of contact for the life of the project.

  • Stay ahead of status updates, schedule risks, and change impacts.

  • Handle difficult conversations around delays, disputes, and field surprises professionally.

  • Leave each project with the client ready to hire the company again.

Schedule and job setup

  • Keep look-ahead schedules current and honest.

  • Push clients when their delays put the project at risk.

  • Work with superintendents to resolve sequencing and resource conflicts before they become schedule problems.

  • Read the contract, specs, and scope before mobilization.

  • Flag risky, unclear, or contradictory scope items early through RFIs or preconstruction conversations.

  • Set the job up properly before crews hit the site, including schedule, budget, subcontracts, and safety coordination.

What We’re Looking For

We are looking for someone with experience in structural demolition, heavy civil, bridges, highways, wastewater or water treatment, industrial work, earthwork, heavy equipment, or similar technical scopes. GC-side PMs who have run structural or infrastructure scopes can also fit well.

Public infrastructure experience is a strong plus, especially Caltrans or other public-agency work where documentation, change management, and contract discipline matter. Residential or light commercial demolition is not the right match for this role.

Experience in a smaller company environment matters. The PMs who do well here are resourceful, hands-on, and comfortable operating without layers of support around them.

Strong candidates will be able to:

  • Read a cost report, explain variance, and separate revenue problems from cost problems.

  • Hold a job to budget when there is pressure to spend more.

  • Read contracts and understand which clauses matter.

  • Understand how scope is defined, how changes get authorized, and how to keep the company covered when field conditions shift.

  • Build trust with clients while still pushing through difficult change orders.

  • Pick up construction technology quickly.

Procore experience is helpful because many GC clients use it. The company is also rolling out DocumentCrunch for contract review and moving toward more mobile field and project tools.

Compensation and Benefits

Base Salary: $130,000 to $180,000 DOE

Medical: Five plan options through Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health Plus, and Anthem BlueCross. On the base Kaiser Silver Bridge plan, the company covers 100% of the employee premium and 85% for dependents. Buy-up plans are available.

Dental and Vision: Mutual of Omaha DPPO and EyeMed Insight. The company covers 100% for employees and dependents.

Retirement: Voya Safe Harbor 401(k) with a match up to 5%, fully vested from day one.

Life/AD&D: $15,000 company-paid, with supplemental coverage available.

FSA: Healthcare FSA up to $3,300 and Dependent Care FSA up to $5,000.

EAP: Employee assistance program through Mutual of Omaha at no cost.


Ambassador Group

About Ambassador Group

Hiring in construction is not a paperwork task.

It’s a legacy decision.

Ambassador Group is a construction executive search boutique for (mostly) West Coast SMEs. We partner with owners, COOs, and operations leaders at firms between 25–200 employees who care more about the right leader than the fastest hire.

Our clients build custom residential, commercial, industrial, and specialty projects. They come to us when they’re tired of rushed headhunting, shallow vetting, and leaders who look good on paper but can’t carry the culture.

We call our work professional matchmaking over rushed headhunting. Instead of blasting job boards, we quietly approach off-market construction leaders who are already delivering results. We slow down early, so you can move faster and with more confidence later.

Roles we most often place:

• Senior Project Managers

• Superintendents and General Superintendents

• Operations and Division Leaders

• Estimating and preconstruction leaders

Our process mirrors a well-built project. Clear definition of the role and culture. A disciplined structure for sourcing, interviewing, and debriefing. A thoughtful finish with onboarding and integration support. No shortcuts. No guessing.

We stay involved after the “yes.” We check in at 30, 60, 100 days, and one year to support both sides of the relationship and make sure the match holds under real-world pressure. Most clients work with us again and again as they grow.

If you’re a construction leader who wants humble, hungry, and emotionally smart people on your team—and you’re ready to treat hiring as seriously as your projects—let’s talk. Book an exploratory call and we’ll walk through your upcoming leadership needs and where your current process is helping or hurting you.

Industry
HR & Recruiting
Company Size
11-50 employees
Headquarters
Nationwide
Year Founded
2017
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