Senior Aviation Project Manager

About the role

AECOM is seeking a dynamic, self-motivated, and experienced Senior Aviation Project Manager based in Atlanta to lead the region’s aviation practice, drive strategic growth, and strengthen client relationships. In this leadership role, you will collaborate closely with the East Region Aviation team and, as needed, AECOM’s national aviation team to oversee the planning, design, coordination, and construction of a diverse portfolio of airport infrastructure projects. The position also provides opportunities to deliver technical leadership, foster innovation, and mentor emerging talent across the practice.

In addition, this role will serve as a key Client Account Manager (CAM) within AECOM’s growth-focused program. As a highly visible and strategic position, the CAM is responsible for cultivating and expanding client relationships, driving business development initiatives, and influencing AECOM’s internal growth strategy. Success in this role requires a strong client-centric mindset, the ability to identify and capture new opportunities, and a commitment to delivering exceptional value to clients and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

Project Management

• Project manager for design efforts for airport development projects, including runways, taxiways, aprons, terminals, and related facilities.
• Provide technical leadership and serving as a subject matter expert within the civil aviation engineering group.
• Plan and oversee design activities, including airfield layout, site grading, drainage, pavement design, and stormwater management.
• Mentor and develop staff, provide leadership and an environment which encourages teamwork, initiative and growth.
• Resolve complex technical challenges and make independent engineering decisions
• Build and maintain positive client relationships.
• Develop strategy, prepare proposals, negotiate contracts, and execute projects.
• Coordinate staffing plan and workload through project development duration while meeting project schedules and budgets.
• Control overall project cost and scope, schedule, and quality of work.
• Coordination with clients, agencies, FAA, and other stakeholders.

Client Account Management

• Establish and proactively maintain strong professional relationships and credibility with key aviation clients.
• Employ a consultative selling approach to develop compelling business cases to differentiate and highlight the value of AECOM's solutions and win targeted business.

Business Development

• Position and map AECOM capabilities to customer business objectives and key initiatives.
• Demonstrate a high level of motivation and entrepreneurial ability in leading and supporting pursuits.
• Ability to add value to proposal efforts in concert with the capture managers, the marketing and sales operations teams, and with resources from within the AECOM operation organization.
• Keep abreast of the industry and business challenges and leverage this knowledge to focus on direct sales activities.

Qualifications & Requirements

Minimum

• Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Civil Engineering or related engineering degree and ten years of related civil experience or demonstrated equivalency of experience and/or education
• Ten or more years of project management and leading teams in the aviation market sector.
• US Citizenship required due to the projects associated with this position
• Valid US Driver’s License required to visit project sites, clients, and other AECOM offices. As a condition of employment, selected candidate must pass a Motor Vehicle Records review

Preferred

• Experience in airport or airfield civil engineering design, a solid understanding of FAA standards, and the ability to lead projects and teams in a collaborative environment.
• Experienced in operational leadership and business development for professional services best practices.
• Experienced in team-oriented leadership and able to work in a fast-paced environment with minimal supervision.
• Experience and proficiency to communicate problems clearly and simply to clients, leadership, and technical staff.
• Experience managing multiple projects and business priorities simultaneously, with the ability to navigate competing deadlines while ensuring exceptional quality, professionalism, and client service.

Additional Information

• Relocation is an option for this position
• Sponsorship for US employment authorization is not available now or in the future for this position

At AECOM, we are committed to maintaining a secure and trustworthy recruitment process and take any fraudulent hiring activity seriously. To support this commitment, all newly hired employees are required to attend an in-person Day 1 onboarding at an AECOM office location as a condition of employment.