Project Development Project Manager (PDPM) Transmission & Substation

Description:
Project Development Project Manager (PDPM) Transmission & Substation
Position Overview
FirstEnergy is seeking a Project Development Project Manager to lead the upfront planning and early-stage development of large-scale transmission line and substation capital projects ranging from 34.5kV to 500kV. This critical role owns, manages, and controls projects from conceptual planning and initiation through early development to prepare them for a seamless transition to the execution phase. The Project Development Project Manager coordinates cross-functional technical teams and guides projects to approximately 30 percent design maturity to guarantee they safely and efficiently achieve the project scope outlined by sponsors.
Examples of Project Types
Voltage levels range from 34.5kV to 500kV .
Substation projects involve complete substation rebuild and conversion projects including ring bus, breaker and a half, and double-breaker configurations .
Substation terminal upgrades include breakers, relays, and physical equipment, along with relay-only or equipment-only replacements .
Transmission line projects encompass complete line rebuilds, line rehabs, line switch replacements, and customer connections .
Communications projects cover the replacement of RTUs, cell antennas, and microwave towers, as well as the installation of MPLS, ADSS, and OPGW fiber builds .
Interconnection projects include new transmission customer connections and generator interconnections such as solar, onshore, and offshore wind .
Distribution projects involve circuit rebuilds, pole replacements, reclosers, tripsavers, URDs, upsizing existing lines, customer connections, and cooperative-driven projects .
Project budgets range from small (< *** million) and medium (*** million to *** million) to large (*** million to *** million) .
Ninety percent of these projects occur in a brownfield environment, which typically involves reconfiguring existing substations to new configurations or rebuilding transmission lines to updated standards and electrical requirements .
Key Responsibilities
Project Leadership & Early-Stage Development
Lead project kick-offs and establish cross-functional teams to evaluate, define, and refine project scope, goals, and priorities.
Oversee all development-phase activities, including siting, environmental review, permitting, estimating, engineering, right-of-way acquisition, procurement support, material planning, and constructability reviews.
Manage the transition of multiple concurrent overhead transmission and substation projects from early planning to project execution teams at approximately 30 percent of the design lifecycle.
Planning, Scheduling & Risk Mitigation
Review and analyze technical project documents to develop strategic schedules, execution plans, forecasts, and key deliverables.
Evaluate project scope with internal and external support teams to identify, document, and mitigate risks associated with scope, schedule, and budget.
Project contractor resource levels, determine project durations, and maintain schedules in coordination with scheduling teams.
Coordinate project schedules to request system outages with operations, submitting outage requests per PJM and internal timelines.
Financial Management & Project Controls
Maintain detailed project financials in coordination with cost analyst teams, reviewing project estimates for adequacy and completeness.
Ensure project costs are maintained within approved leadership thresholds and seek capital expenditure authorizations when required.
Implement and follow strict change management protocols to maintain complete documentation of changes in scope, schedule, and forecast.
Communication
Serve as the primary point of contact for project sponsors, including regional and corporate teams, and external stakeholders, providing clear and timely project status updates.
Assist the Portfolio Management Team with the development of multiyear portfolios by ensuring accurate project schedules and forecasts.
Lead and perform lessons-learned audits of completed development phases to evaluate gaps in tools or techniques, driving process improvements across the Project Development team.

Requirements:
Qualifications
Education & Experience
A Bachelor of Science degree in engineering, business, finance, construction management, or a related technical field is required.
In lieu of a degree, consideration will be given to candidates with seven years of related experience, or five years of transmission or distribution utility experience.
A minimum of three years of related experience in project organization, engineering, finance, construction, project management, planning, or project controls is required.
Four to eight years of experience in the transmission and distribution industry is highly preferred.
Skills & Competencies
Candidates must possess strong project management abilities with exceptional time management skills and a demonstrated experience managing and controlling multiple complex tasks concurrently.
A strong technical background in transmission, distribution, or utility infrastructure, including an understanding of construction timing and documentation, is required.
Experience with project scheduling and management tools such as Primavera P6 or MS Project, and a detailed understanding of project controls, are highly preferred.
Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills with a proven track record of leading cross-functional teams to achieve defined deliverables are required.
A strong team-player attitude with a willingness to work collaboratively in a dynamic team environment is required.
Requirements
Candidates must possess a valid driver's license.
Candidates must show a willingness and ability to travel to assigned project locations, client sites, and throughout the service territory as required.

Project Office Locations
76 S. Main St, Akron, OH 44308
2800 Pottsville Pike, Reading, PA 19605
300 Madison Ave, Morristown, NJ 07960
801 Cabin Hill Drive, Greensburg, PA 15601

About the Client:
This 100% employee-owned engineering, architecture, and construction firm has been building critical infrastructure for more than 125 years. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, and operating from 75+ offices across the country and world, the firm has grown to more than 14,500 employee-owners generating over $7.4 billion in annual revenue. The sectors it serves read like a blueprint for how modern society functions: energy, aviation, water, telecommunications, transportation, and healthcare.

What sets this organization apart is its ownership model. Every full-time employee is an owner through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), a structure that fundamentally aligns professional incentives with company performance. When the organization succeeds, so does every employee. That shared stake creates a culture of accountability, collaboration, and genuine investment in outcomes that is difficult to replicate in traditionally structured firms.

That ownership culture has been recognized consistently. The firm earns a 4.2 out of 5 stars on Glassdoor across more than 1,800 employee reviews, with 87% of employees recommending it as a workplace. It has been named a Glassdoor Best Places to Work multiple years running. Employees rate career opportunities and compensation among the highest categories, reflecting a culture that rewards growth and performance.

Teams here span civil and structural engineers, architects, environmental scientists, construction managers, and program management professionals. Projects are complex, consequential, and often one-of-a-kind: from designing major airport expansions to building large-scale energy infrastructure, employees engage with work that requires creative problem-solving and deep technical expertise.

For candidates who want to own their work, literally and figuratively, this firm offers a career environment defined by purpose, ownership, and impact.