Manager of Lab Strategy & Technical Operations

Black & Veatch Family of Companies•Olathe, KS

19d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Lab Manager is responsible for technical support, strategy, governance, coordination, and long-term effectiveness of a multi-disciplinary Smart Utility / Advanced Technology Lab. This role serves as a single point of coordination and technical support across Black & Veatch participating technical disciplines while enabling those teams to independently define and execute their technical objectives. The Lab Manager operates at the intersection of business and technical strategy, operations, governance, and stakeholder alignment, ensuring the lab functions as a shared, scalable enterprise asset. This role is hands-on and execution-focused, combining day-to-day lab operations with technical implementation and troubleshooting of a broad range of operational technology (OT), networking, and infrastructure platforms. The Lab Manager ensures the lab is operational, secure, organized, and ready to support project delivery, internal research, client demonstrations, and cross-discipline collaboration. The position requires strong technical aptitude, a willingness to learn across domains, and the ability to serve as trusted “remote hands” for engineers, project teams, and partners leveraging the Smart Utility Lab.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in engineering technology or sciences preferred or any other degree, specialized training, or experience, that makes the individual uniquely qualified to perform the job responsibilities.
Minimum of 5 years of related work experience.
All applicants must be able to complete pre-employment onboarding requirements (if selected) which may include any/all of the following: criminal/civil background check, drug screen, and motor vehicle records search, in compliance with any applicable laws and regulations.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field.
5+ years of experience in network engineering or lab management.
Strong knowledge of networking protocols (TCP/IP, BGP, OSPF, VLANs).
Hands-on experience with enterprise-grade network hardware (Cisco, Juniper, etc.).
Familiarity with virtualization technologies (VMware, Hyper-V) and network automation tools.
Excellent organizational and project management skills.
Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
Effective communication and leadership skills.
CCNP, CCIE, or equivalent advanced networking certifications preferred.
RCDD (Registered Communication Distribution Designer) Certification.

Responsibilities

Establish and maintain the overall governance model for the lab, including roles, responsibilities, and cross-discipline coordination.
Maintain schedules for both project-driven lab activities and ongoing lab infrastructure upgrades and maintenance, usage prioritization, and milestone tracking as part of formal lab governance.
Define and manage process and artifact documentation such as lab layout, milestone plans, and future expansion roadmaps, treating the lab as a program-level initiative.
Act as a single point of coordination for lab activities across participating teams, including but not limited to: Power / Distribution SCADA, Networks & Cybersecurity, Wireless / Telecommunications, Infrastructure Advisory, Digital Substation, Water Automation, and Additional solution teams as onboarded.
Ensure disciplines retain ownership of their technical requirements, while the Lab Manager enables integration, scheduling, and shared resource usage.
Facilitate alignment across teams during lab planning, testing windows, stakeholder reviews, and client facing activities.
Manage the coordination and relationship between stakeholders and BV Facilities.
Maintain visibility into lab assets, including shared equipment spanning grid, network, wireless, and automation platforms, as documented in lab asset and equipment inventories.
Coordinate transitions and consolidation of lab equipment as part of long-term facility planning and lab evolution initiatives.
Support broader strategic initiatives (e.g., Grid Modernization, Private Networks) by improving lab utilization and alignment with enterprise priorities.
Own strategic vendor and ecosystem relationships related to lab-based services, including: Identification of target technology partners, Joint solution concepts and co-development opportunities, Alignment with BV’s broader vendor and alliance strategies.
Coordinate with discipline SMEs and the Strategic Lab Manager to enable vendor participation in lab pilots, demos, and evaluations.
Support joint client demonstrations and proof points.
Ensure vendor engagement supports BV differentiation and service maturity, not one-off technical testing.
Coordinate budget inputs and sponsorship commitments from participating organizations and solution teams.
Work with Engineering Managers and Resource Leaders to align staffing contributions supporting lab operations, testing, and planned initiatives.
Provide visibility into labor and usage patterns to support management decision-making (e.g., hours tracking, utilization planning).
Oversee day-to-day lab operations at a program level and managing the Lab Technical Lead to ensure the lab is available, organized, and usable by participating disciplines.
Ensure appropriate documentation, inventory tracking, and configuration records exist to support repeatable testing and stakeholder transparency.
Coordinate vendor interactions supporting lab equipment, services, or demonstrations when required by participating teams.
Serve as the coordination point for lab stakeholder meetings, status updates, and leadership briefings.
Provide structured updates on current state of the lab, active initiatives and testing and gaps or future investment needs.
Provide updates on planned expansions or enhancements.
Support client-facing engagements where the lab is positioned as a differentiator or demonstration environment.
Perform hands-on lab activities including equipment racking, stacking, cabling, labeling, power management, and physical layout optimization for IT, OT, and utility systems.
Maintain the lab in a clean, organized, and presentable state suitable for internal use, project execution, and client demonstrations.
Operate as on-site and remote hands support for engineers and project teams performing lab activities across multiple time zones and disciplines.
Maintain core lab network infrastructure including switches, routers, firewalls, wireless, and supporting services required to interconnect lab systems.
Plan and execute routine lab upgrades, infrastructure refreshes, and maintenance activities with minimal disruption to active projects.
Configure, stage, and support a wide range of OT and utility-focused equipment, including electric grid, water, communications, and industrial systems.
Apply baseline and project-specific configurations to lab systems under the direction of engineering teams and documented designs.
Troubleshoot hardware, software, network, and integration issues across multi-vendor IT and OT environments.
Support firmware and software upgrades for lab equipment while maintaining configuration control and rollback plans.
Stage project-specific lab environments to support engineering design, testing, validation, and proof-of-concept activities.
Assist with or independently execute documented test plans and procedures across network, OT, cybersecurity, and smart utility solutions.
Collect logs, results, and observations from test activities and support engineers in root-cause analysis and issue reproduction.
Coordinate lab scheduling to balance project testing needs with infrastructure maintenance and improvement activities.
Manage lab inventory including hardware, cables, consumables, software, licenses, and tooling.
Track equipment ownership, usage, and location, including chain of custody for project, client, and vendor-provided assets.
Maintain accurate records of licensing, warranties, and support agreements associated with lab systems.
Maintain and enforce physical accountability of lab equipment and ancillary parts, tools and supplies.
Manage and facilitate Access Control of the lab.
Maintain documentation for lab layouts, configurations, standard builds, test environments, and operational procedures.
Support development and refinement of lab standards, safety practices, and operational workflows.
Identify opportunities to improve lab efficiency, scalability, repeatability, and cross-solution usability.
Stay current on emerging utility, OT, networking, and cybersecurity technologies relevant to Smart Utility solutions.