Vice President – Process Mechanical Construction - Life Sciences (Chicago)
The Vice President will provide executive leadership for the growth and delivery of complex pharmaceutical, biotechnology, life sciences and advanced manufacturing construction projects.
This position requires a senior construction and operations leader with significant experience delivering process-intensive manufacturing facilities, ideally within regulated environments. The successful candidate will bring a strong understanding of process mechanical construction, clean-process piping, high-purity utility systems, equipment installation, cleanrooms, fabrication and modularization, with experience supporting projects from preconstruction through construction, commissioning, qualification and operational readiness.
This is not primarily a commercial building or data center construction position. The role is focused on developing and leading capabilities around pharmaceutical/life sciences and process-driven advanced manufacturing environments, where quality, cleanliness, documentation, regulatory compliance and production readiness are fundamental to project delivery.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide executive leadership for the company's Advanced Manufacturing and Life Sciences construction operations and growth strategy.
- Lead the pursuit and execution of major projects across pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and other process-intensive manufacturing markets.
- Oversee complex construction scopes involving process piping, clean-process systems, high-purity utilities, mechanical systems, production equipment installation, cleanrooms and supporting infrastructure.
- Ensure projects meet stringent requirements around safety, quality, cost, schedule, cleanliness, documentation and regulatory compliance.
- Provide leadership across the full project lifecycle, including preconstruction, estimating, engineering coordination, procurement, fabrication, construction, commissioning, qualification, validation and startup readiness.
- Develop and expand prefabrication, modularization and offsite manufacturing strategies to improve safety, productivity, quality and schedule performance.
- Partner with engineering, project management, procurement, quality, fabrication and field construction teams to develop integrated project-delivery strategies.
- Build organizational capabilities around clean-process construction, high-purity systems and regulated manufacturing environments.
- Drive operational excellence through Lean construction/manufacturing, standardization, continuous improvement, digital workflows and data-driven performance management.
- Establish and monitor operational KPIs covering safety, quality, productivity, cost, schedule, capacity, throughput and customer satisfaction.
- Build executive-level relationships with pharmaceutical, life sciences and advanced manufacturing customers and support strategic business development.
- Lead and develop senior operations, project and construction leaders while building the organization required to support long-term growth.
Required Experience
- 15+ years of progressive leadership experience within industrial construction, EPC, mechanical/process construction, fabrication or advanced manufacturing project delivery.
- Significant experience delivering major pharmaceutical, biotechnology, life sciences or process-intensive advanced manufacturing facilities.
- Strong knowledge of process mechanical construction, including process piping, clean-process piping, high-purity utility systems, equipment installation and associated mechanical infrastructure.
- Experience working within regulated manufacturing environments, ideally involving cGMP, FDA, ISPE, USP or comparable quality/regulatory requirements.
- Experience delivering projects involving cleanrooms, controlled environments and/or hygienic manufacturing systems.
- Demonstrated involvement in commissioning, qualification, validation, startup and operational readiness for manufacturing facilities.
- Experience leading large, multidisciplinary construction or operations organizations with accountability for safety, quality, cost, schedule and overall operational performance.
- Demonstrated experience with prefabrication, modularization, fabrication or offsite manufacturing strategies.
- Strong commercial and financial acumen, including responsibility for operating budgets, project performance, cost controls, capital planning and resource allocation.
- Proven ability to operate at an executive level with customers, engineering partners, project teams, subcontractors, vendors and senior leadership.
Preferred Experience
The strongest candidates will have delivered projects involving several of the following:
- Pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities
- Biotechnology / biologics facilities
- API or drug-product manufacturing
- Medical device manufacturing
- Cleanrooms and controlled environments
- Clean-in-place / process utility systems
- High-purity water and utility systems
- Process piping and specialty mechanical systems
- Process equipment installation
- Modular process systems and skids
- Offsite fabrication and prefabrication
- Semiconductor or other highly controlled advanced manufacturing environments
- Commissioning, qualification and validation
If this role could be of interest and matches your background and experience, please apply via the link or reach out to Edward Yardley ( ) for a confidential call.