Principal Quality Manager

Mott MacDonald•Austin, TX

25d•$144,000 - $176,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Mott MacDonald is seeking a Senior Quality Manager to provide strategic and operational leadership for quality management across major infrastructure projects in North America. The role supports complex transportation, aviation, rail and transit, highway, water, energy, and multidisciplinary programs, working with project leadership teams, clients, contractors, and delivery partners to promote quality, continuous improvement, and right-first-time delivery. It ensures compliance with client requirements, regulations, contractual commitments, and corporate standards. The successful candidate serves as the quality lead on major programs and provides oversight throughout the project lifecycle, from planning and design through construction, commissioning, and handover. The position is hybrid, with an in-office culture and a minimum of three days per week in the office. The expected salary is US$144,000–176,000, with individual pay depending on factors including work location, education, experience, and skills.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Quality Management, or a related discipline.
15+ years of quality management experience supporting major infrastructure, transportation, rail, transit, aviation, highway, water, energy, or multidisciplinary engineering programs.
Demonstrated experience developing and implementing Quality Management Plans, Quality Assurance programs, audit programs, and corrective action processes.
Experience leading quality oversight across owners, contractors, consultants, regulators, and third-party reviewers.
Strong knowledge of ISO 9001, quality management systems, quality assurance and quality control practices, auditing, risk-based quality planning, and continuous improvement methodologies.
Experience supporting Design-Bid-Build, Design-Build, Progressive Design-Build, CM/GC, and P3 delivery models.
Proven leadership, stakeholder management, communication, and problem-solving skills.
Familiarity with engineering design quality, construction quality management, configuration management, compliance management, and quality performance reporting.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree.
Professional certifications such as CMQ/OE, ISO 9001 Lead Auditor, PMP, PE, Six Sigma Green Belt, or Six Sigma Black Belt.
Experience supporting programs exceeding $100M in capital value.

Responsibilities

Lead development and implementation of Project Quality Management Plans (PQMPs), quality objectives, KPIs, and reporting frameworks.
Provide quality leadership and independent oversight across planning, design, procurement, construction, testing, commissioning, and handover.
Ensure compliance with client, contractual, regulatory, and corporate quality requirements.
Lead quality audits, surveillance, supplier assessments, and assurance reviews across major projects.
Manage non-conformances, corrective actions, root-cause investigations, and continuous improvement initiatives.
Oversee quality documentation, inspection and test plans (ITPs), quality work plans, and quality control processes.
Monitor contractor, consultant, and supplier quality performance, identifying emerging risks and improvement opportunities.
Support program assurance, stage-gate reviews, risk management, and project governance activities.
Develop quality dashboards, metrics, and performance reports for project and executive leadership teams.
Act as the primary quality representative with clients, regulators, contractors, and delivery partners.
Deliver quality training, mentoring, and best-practice guidance to project teams.
Capture lessons learned and drive continuous improvement across major projects and programs.