Senior Project Manager

About Lydian Energy

Lydian is an established energy development company specializing in the development and construction of utility-scale solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in North America. Lydian owns 14 assets in development, construction or under operation, consisting of both solar and storage, which reached or are expected to reach FNTP from 2024-2028.

Lydian is backed by Excelsior Energy Capital (“EEC”), a leading private equity fund manager with more than $1.5B in assets under management, that is exclusively focused on north American middle market renewables investing. Lydian’s relationship with EEC provides several critical advantages, including access to (i) a specialized team of value-add investor-operators with decades of renewables development, construction, and transaction experience and (ii) committed discretionary equity capital, strong relationships with debt and tax equity investors, and deep experience structuring tax equity and project financings.

Lydian has built a team of seasoned, passionate energy infrastructure professionals with deep expertise in project development, construction, financing, and M&A. This is an opportunity to join a fully capitalized development platform that is running at full capacity, but still at an early-enough stage for you to have a real impact on company culture and commercial outcomes.

Job Scope

The Senior Project Manager carries overall accountability for safety, scope, schedule, cost, and quality across a portfolio of complex, high-value renewable energy projects. This role functions as the primary interface with internal stakeholders, utilities, system operators, regulatory entities, equipment suppliers, and EPC contractors. High collaboration skills are essential: the role requires working effectively across accounting, finance, legal, commercial, and operations/asset management, in addition to external partners, and the ability to build strong working relationships across all of these groups.

The ideal candidate brings a proven track record of independently delivering large-scale solar PV and/or BESS projects from development through commissioning, with the judgment to navigate complexity and the presence to lead cross-functional teams in a fast-moving environment. This is a full-ownership role: the successful candidate takes projects from construction through completion rather than a single phase of the work.

Key Responsibilities include:

Development:

• Lead preparation and senior review of CAPEX and OPEX cost estimates for solar and BESS projects, providing sign-off quality analysis for investment committee submissions.
• Own project schedules, budgets, cashflow models, and reporting packages; ensure accuracy and completeness across multiple concurrent projects.
• Drive the RFP process for EPC contractors, including evaluation of proposals and lead negotiation of contracts, with accountability for final commercial terms.
• Serve as a senior relationship owner with internal and external partners, equipment suppliers, utilities, and project host communities.

EPC Project Execution:

• Accountable for delivering complex, multi-site energy storage and solar projects within approved budgets and schedules, escalating risks with recommended mitigations.
• Lead strategic sourcing and manage the full RFP/RFQ cycle for engineering services, equipment and material procurement, and construction contracts.
• Drive bid evaluations, review contract terms and conditions in coordination with legal, and own contract negotiations through close.
• Chair weekly project meetings; maintain action item registers, prepare meeting minutes, manage RFIs, track issues, and document lessons learned.
• Develop and maintain integrated project schedules in coordination with EPC contractors; proactively identify and communicate schedule risks.
• Own change management processes, including review of scope modifications and approval of contractor invoices.
• Coordinate across a broad set of internal and external stakeholders including leadership, project team members, utilities, AHJs, professional services, EPC contractors, and equipment suppliers.
• Directly manage at least one full-time, site-based construction manager or construction engineer per project (contract staff), while holding indirect accountability for all contractors and vendors performing project work; on larger or multi-phase projects, this may include additional direct reports.
• Work across the broader organization, including accounting, finance, legal, and the commercial team, and coordinate with operations and asset management on project handoff at completion.
• Responsible for monitoring of construction quality to ensure that all work is installed in accordance with the plans, specifications, QA/QC requirements, code requirements, contract requirements and good construction practices.
• Responsible for the Safety and Environmental compliance of the Lydian’s personnel and subcontractors during construction in accordance with federal, state and local laws, and Lydian policies, practices and procedures. Ensure all personnel and subcontractors meet technical and safety training requirements.
• Own project reporting to senior management, including schedule, budget, and risk status across the portfolio.
• Mentor and provide day-to-day guidance to junior Project Managers as the team grows.

Qualifications

• Solar PV and/or BESS experience is strongly preferred; strong utility-scale wind background will also be considered. "Utility-scale" is defined as projects of 100 MW or greater.
• Engineering background strongly preferred. Candidates with electrical engineering backgrounds from conventional power plants (gas, coal, nuclear) are also of strong interest.
• 8-10 years of project management experience in the energy sector, including direct responsibility for utility-scale solar PV and/or BESS project delivery (strong utility-scale wind experience also considered). Demonstrated experience leading roughly half a dozen utility-scale projects from construction through completion, reflecting the pace of renewable project cycles.
• Demonstrated track record of delivering projects exceeding $200M in total installed cost, on schedule and within budget.
• Expert-level proficiency in project scheduling software (Primavera P6, Microsoft Project, or equivalent); advanced use of the Microsoft 365 suite (Project, SharePoint, Teams, Excel).
• Strong commercial acumen, including experience negotiating EPC and procurement contracts and managing contractor performance.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage multiple concurrent projects in a fast-paced development environment.
• High collaboration skills, with the ability to build effective working relationships across accounting, finance, legal, commercial, and operations/asset management.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and written communication skills, with experience preparing executive-level reporting.
• Experience developing and maintaining project KPIs, operational metrics, and management dashboards.
• Safety certifications required (OSHA 30 or equivalent) preferred.
• PMP certification is a plus but not required.
• Travel required approximately every other week to project sites (typically 2-4 days per trip, depending on project needs), plus a quarterly all-team offsite.

Equal Employment Opportunity

We are committed to equal-employment principles and are dedicated to diversity and the strength it brings to the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth or medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth), gender identity or expression, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, legally protected genetic information, marital status, veteran status, military status, sexual orientation or any other protected category or class that may be applicable.