Project & Deployment Manager
Project & Deployment Management · Sacramento, CA (Hybrid)
Why This Role Exists
P&C projects span multiple disciplines (protection, controls, networking, cybersecurity), multiple vendor platforms (SEL, Woodward, CAT, ABB, Cisco, EIG), and multiple commissioning phases that require coordination with prime contractors, owner representatives, and site operations. This role exists because the project coordination — scope management, trade sequencing, configuration management, and multi-phase commissioning planning — is a full-time engineering management function. You coordinate the delivery: schedules, resource plans, submittal packages, configuration baselines, and phased commissioning logistics. When three continental sites each need site-specific implementation packages derived from a common 134-IED design, you are the person managing the cross-site consistency.
What You Own
- Project schedules, milestones, and resource plans across protection, controls, networking, and cybersecurity disciplines
- Scope boundary management: prime contractor interface, subcontractor coordination, change order tracking
- Configuration management: CI inventory and baselines across 8 vendor platforms, version control procedures, change control gates
- Submittal packages and RFI responses — coordinating technical content with engineering team
- Multi-phase commissioning logistics: per-phase resource plans, safety coordination documents, readiness reviews
- Cross-site design coordination: ensuring design changes at one site are evaluated for impact at other sites
- Risk registers, stakeholder communication plans, and lessons-learned capture per phase
Systems You'll Touch
Vendor Platforms
Test Phases
What Success Looks Like
First 90 Days
- Owned the schedule and resource plan for at least one active P&C project
- Produced a submittal package or RFI response set coordinated with the engineering team
- Reviewed and understood the firm's configuration management procedures and CI baseline approach
First 180 Days
- Managing project delivery end-to-end: schedule, scope, resources, submittals, and commissioning coordination
- Configuration baselines maintained across vendor platforms with formal change control gates
- Multi-phase commissioning logistics planned and coordinated with prime contractor and site operations
Required Background
- 7+ years project management or deployment management in protection & controls, substation, or critical power
- Multi-discipline coordination: managing teams across protection, controls, networking, and commissioning disciplines
- Prime contractor interface experience: submittals, RFIs, scope coordination, change order management
- Configuration management for multi-vendor systems — version control, baseline tracking, change control procedures
- Commissioning coordination: phased commissioning planning, trade sequencing, stakeholder management
- Scheduling and resource planning for field-heavy engineering projects
Preferred Background
- PMP certification or equivalent project management credential
- Experience managing P&C scopes across multiple simultaneous sites or programs
- Data center or mission-critical facility project management experience
- Formal configuration management under federal or regulated program requirements
- International project coordination (time zones, local regulations, travel logistics)
What to Expect in the Field
- Travel
- 30–50% for project kickoffs, commissioning milestones, and stakeholder coordination
- Site Hours
- Standard office hours for project management; site presence during commissioning milestones and phase gates
- Customer-Facing
- Heavy — primary interface with prime contractor project managers, owner representatives, and site operations for scheduling and coordination
- Documentation
- Heavy — project schedules, resource plans, submittals, RFIs, change logs, risk registers, CI baselines, lessons learned
- Field Safety
- NFPA 70E awareness for site visits; coordination of safety plans for commissioning phases (managed by Safety Lead, supported by PM)
Why Ziggurat
- Manage projects where you understand the technical scope — this is engineering management, not administrative project coordination
- Cross-vendor coordination across 8 manufacturer platforms: SEL, Woodward, CAT, ABB, EIG, Eaton, Cisco, UPS OEM
- Direct collaboration with the principal engineer — project decisions made in conversations, not through layers of management
- Shape the project management practice for a growing P&C firm — define standards, templates, and processes from the ground up
Hiring Process
Screen
Background review against role requirements — vendor platform experience, relevant certifications, project types, and standards familiarity. Quick assessment of baseline alignment before investing either party's time.
Resume review + 15-min intro call
Technical Review
Deeper evaluation of technical depth. We review sample work — relay settings files, protection study reports, commissioning test procedures, or SCADA configuration packages — depending on the role. If samples aren't shareable, we discuss specific project scenarios in detail.
Async work-sample review or 45-min technical call
Interview
Scenario-based conversation with the principal engineer. Real project situations: how you'd approach a coordination study for a complex switchgear lineup, sequence a commissioning plan across multiple vendor platforms, or troubleshoot a protection scheme failure during site acceptance testing.
60-min video call with founder
Exercise / Artifact Review
A practical evaluation matched to the role. Engineering roles receive a take-home exercise — review and mark up a set of relay settings, identify gaps in a protection study, or develop a test procedure for a specific scheme. Field-focused roles walk through a commissioning package or test report they've delivered, explaining their methodology and decisions.
Take-home exercise (2–4 hrs) or artifact walkthrough (60 min)
Final Conversation
Role scope, current project pipeline, working arrangements, and compensation. This is a two-way conversation — we want to confirm the role fits your goals, not just the other way around.
30-min call
This role supports our end to end and lifecycle service scopes.
Questions about this role? Email us at careers@zigguratautomation.com
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Let's Talk Engineering
Send your background.
First step: a 15-minute call with the principal engineer.