Change Manager

Luster National•San Francisco, CA

7d•$125,000 - $200,000

About The Position

Luster is building a talent pool for future Change Manager roles supporting large, complex heavy-civil infrastructure programs, including highways, roads, bridges, transit, aviation, and water/wastewater projects delivered through traditional and alternative methods. These roles support change control and provide independent analysis of entitlement, cost, and schedule impacts. They maintain accurate, traceable scope, cost, schedule, and technical baselines and provide program leadership with a defensible position before funds are committed. Assignments may range from a single contract package to a program-level change function. This posting is for future opportunities, not a currently available specific opening. Selected candidates may be activated in Luster’s talent pool and notified first when a project need arises. Responsibilities and scope vary with experience level. The role works with contracting, estimating, scheduling, engineering, inspection, right-of-way, and operations stakeholders to identify and evaluate changes, support negotiations, process approved change orders, and maintain a complete and auditable change record. Candidates should have substantial experience with change control, change orders, or claims on large, complex heavy-civil infrastructure projects, and be able to assess contractual entitlement and cost and schedule impacts. Compensation is expected to be $125,000–$200,000 per year ($60–$96 per hour), depending on factors including experience, skills, education, credentials, and location.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in construction management, civil engineering, construction engineering, business administration, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
10+ years of construction change control, change order, or claims experience on large (over $500 million), complex heavy-civil infrastructure projects.
Experience leading change control on a construction contract package, including change identification, entitlement determination, pricing, executed change orders, and coordination of supporting estimators, schedulers, and analysts.
Experience evaluating change proposals, requests for equitable adjustment, or claims for entitlement and cost and schedule impact, and recommending a position to the owner.
Experience developing or reviewing independent cost estimates and time impact analyses to assess contractor-submitted pricing and delay claims.
Experience preparing change board or governance packages and presenting recommendations to owner decision-makers.
Working knowledge of public works contract provisions governing changes, differing site conditions, delays, and notice and claim requirements.
Experience with industry-standard PMIS, document management, and CPM scheduling software, such as MS Project, Unifier, Kahua, e-Builder, or Primavera P6.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite/Office 365, including tools such as Outlook, Teams, Word, and PowerPoint.
Excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills.
Strong multitasking and organizational skills.
Collaborative mindset that fosters teamwork, trust, and positive relationships.
Curiosity, problem-solving ability, and commitment to continuous improvement.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in construction management, civil engineering, construction engineering, or business administration.
Active professional certifications such as CCM (CMAA), PMP (PMI), and/or CCP or CFCC (AACE).
Experience managing a program-level change control function across multiple contract packages, including supervising change analysts and standardizing package evaluation.
Experience negotiating individual change orders exceeding $10 million.
Experience leading the owner’s position on a claim through a dispute resolution board, mediation, or formal claims process.
Experience analyzing delay and schedule impact on a CPM schedule, including concurrency and the distinction between excusable and compensable delay.
Experience with industry-standard estimating, cost analysis, and document markup software, such as HCSS HeavyBid, RSMeans, Bluebeam Revu, or ProjectWise.
Proficiency with Microsoft Power BI, Oracle Cloud Analytics, or other dashboard KPI reporting software.

Responsibilities

Support the program’s change control process from early identification through entitlement determination, pricing, negotiation, and executed change order.
Track change notices and open change items in a log through documented decisions within contract timeframes.
Evaluate change proposals, requests for equitable adjustment, and claims for contractual entitlement, and recommend a position based on contract language and the factual record.
Develop and review independent cost estimates and time impact analyses to assess contractor-submitted pricing and delay claims.
Coordinate estimators, schedulers, and analysts supporting change evaluation and apply consistent analysis, pricing, and documentation methods.
Prepare change board packages with recommendations, independent analysis, funding sources, and consequences of inaction, and present them to program decision-makers.
Support negotiations of change order value and time extensions with the contracting officer or contract administrator, documenting agreements and releases.
Process approved change orders and confirm they are reflected in contract value, baseline schedule, budget, and affected drawings and specifications.
Coordinate change evaluation with engineering, inspection, right-of-way, and operations groups.
Evaluate impacts to active operations and existing facilities before a change is approved.
Analyze differing site conditions, design changes, and third-party-driven changes involving bridges, underground work, and systems, distinguishing covered work from work not covered by the contract.
Report change trends, open change exposure, and pending time extensions to executive program leadership.
Maintain configuration control of change records and affected technical documentation, including version control, revision history, and audit trails.
Keep entitlement decisions, pricing basis, and correspondence retrievable for audits, funding reviews, and dispute resolution.