Project Manager - Design and Construction

ABOUT NOOKS

Nooks is pioneering Classified-Infrastructure-as-a-Service (CIaaS) — designing, building, and operating Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIFs) and other secured, classified environments for the defense and national security community. We work with the agencies, contractors, and mission-driven organizations that keep the nation safe, delivering the physical infrastructure that makes classified work possible. We’re growing fast, operating across multiple markets, and building a company that takes both the mission and the business seriously.

About the Role

You will lead the end-to-end delivery of Nooks’ physical spaces — from early design coordination through construction and handoff to Operations. This role exists because building accredited classified environments at speed and at scale requires a single owner who can hold scope, schedule, and budget across every site, translate Nooks’ product standards into buildable solutions, and keep architects, engineers, and general contractors moving toward handoff. You will report into Nooks’ Construction function within Product as an individual contributor, working from a remote or hybrid base with travel of up to 50% to project sites. In this role, you are an individual contributor as part of the Nooks Construction Team, under the VP of Product. You will work on a remote or hybrid basis with travel to project sites up to 50% of the time. 

This is a builder role. While you’ll have clearly defined ownership areas, priorities shift quickly in a fast-moving, build-heavy environment, and the right person steps into whatever the project needs — making decisions with imperfect information, improving the process as they go, and treating every build as a chance to make the next one more repeatable.

Key Responsibilities

Design Coordination & Documentation

• Coordinate the full drawing process across schematic design, design development, and construction document (SD, DD, CD) phases, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and alignment to Nooks standards
• Partner with Product Security to translate program and accreditation requirements into buildable, repeatable solutions
• Review drawing sets with architects and engineers to resolve constructability issues before they reach the field

Construction Execution

• Oversee general contractors and vendors through construction, owning schedule tracking, site coordination, and issue resolution
• Review requests for information (RFIs), submittals, and change orders against design intent and budget before approval
• Lead permitting and approvals, managing submissions and comment responses to protect the schedule

Project Controls & Delivery

• Own each project from early design through turnover, holding scope, schedule, and budget at every stage
• Track milestones and surface risks early, driving mitigation before they affect delivery
• Partner with Finance to monitor budgets, validate changes, and maintain financial control across the project lifecycle

Quality & Closeout

• Enforce build quality and consistency as Nooks scales across sites, reinforcing repeatable standards
• Run internal and external project meetings that keep decisions, accountability, and momentum on track
• Drive closeout — punch lists, final inspections, and handoff to Operations

What Success Looks Like in This Role

Within the first year, this person has taken multiple Nooks sites from design through turnover on schedule and on budget, with no surprises that leadership learns about late. Drawing sets move cleanly through SD, DD, and CD because issues are caught and resolved before they reach the field. Contractors and vendors are managed tightly, with RFIs, submittals, and change orders reviewed against both design intent and budget. Construction leadership relies on this person as the single owner of delivery for their projects — knowing the status, the risks, and the path to handoff at any moment. As the playbook matures, each build is more repeatable than the last.

Cross-Functional Expectations

You will work daily with Product on standards and program requirements, with Finance on budget control and change validation, and with IT/Cyber and Operations to ensure each space is built to accreditation and ready for handoff. Externally, you are Nooks’ primary point of contact for architects, engineers, consultants, and general contractors — driving their work to Nooks standards rather than simply receiving it. Success in these relationships means deciding quickly with imperfect information and keeping every party aligned on scope, schedule, and budget.

The Skillset

Hard requirements

• 7–10 years of project management in construction and architecture, with direct ownership of drawings and construction execution
• Demonstrated experience coordinating drawing sets across SD, DD, and CD phases and reviewing for constructability
• Experience managing contractors and vendors, including RFIs, submittals, and change orders, to spec
• Working knowledge of permitting and approvals processes and how to navigate them efficiently
• Ability to communicate with both technical and non-technical stakeholders and keep teams aligned
• Proficiency with project management platforms (e.g., Procore), Google Workspace, and industry-standard drawing-review software
• Must live in a major West Coast city

Preferred

• Experience in a high-growth or startup environment, particularly multi-site or repeatable build programs
• Proximity to a major airport

Eligibility & Clearance

Candidates must be a United States Citizen. An active security clearance is preferred. All candidates must be eligible for and committed to obtaining and maintaining eligibility up to the Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) level as a condition of employment.