National recruiting for program directors, infrastructure PMs, construction managers, and owner's representatives — with very successful experience recruiting within the AEC and infrastructure sectors, including civil, water/wastewater, transportation, and project management. We fill senior and executive PM roles in all 50 states.
Metro Associates delivers specialized PM staffing for capital programs, public agency delivery, and private AEC clients nationwide. Our very successful experience recruiting within the AEC and infrastructure sectors gives us the technical depth to match a program director to the delivery model, budget tier, and regulatory environment the role actually operates in.
Recruiting expertise
Program roles are judged on delivery record rather than on credentials, so every one of these searches is run against what a candidate has actually brought in, on what budget, and under whose standards.
Project managers, senior PMs and construction managers across civil, water, transportation and building work. A PMP and a license both count. What counts more is the scope delivered and whether the client came back for the next phase.
Program directors, capital program leads and operations leadership. These moves are almost always confidential, and the shortlist is built from named programs and known outcomes rather than from whoever applies.
Owners who need their own interests represented for the length of a capital program, and firms covering a leadership gap while a permanent search runs. Both are time-boxed by definition, so both are recruited that way.
Beyond PMP and CCM, every PM candidate is evaluated against the specific platforms, contract models, and delivery frameworks the role demands.
2026 national compensation trends
45+ years placing project management leaders on capital programs — from single-project PMs to program directors overseeing billion-dollar infrastructure portfolios.
We recruit within the AEC and infrastructure sectors, including civil, water/wastewater, transportation, and project management — so we match PMs to the technical programs they're actually qualified to run.
Program directors and senior PMs are rarely on job boards. Our executive search capability reaches leaders who are open to the right opportunity, not the next listing.
We verify PMP, CCM, and PE credentials before any name reaches a client — including active status with the issuing body, not just a self-reported claim on a resume.
Whether the program is traditional design-bid-build, CMAR, design-build, or a P3, we present candidates whose experience matches the contract structure rather than the closest available name.
Need a program director, senior PM, or construction manager for your next capital program? Tell us what you need.
We recruit for firms whose projects are entered, and recognized, in the programs below. Metro doesn’t enter them; a recruiting firm isn’t eligible. We place the engineers who deliver the work that does, which is why we track what these juries reward.
ACECEngineering Excellence AwardsThe engineering profession's flagship project competition, judged on innovation, complexity and social value. Categories include Building/Technology Systems, Energy, Water and Transportation.State → nationalACECACEC state & metro member organizationsNational entries must come up through one of 51 state and metropolitan organizations, so every state runs its own Engineering Excellence competition first.All 50 states + DC
ENRBest Projects & Best of the BestRegional project awards across every state, DC and Puerto Rico, judged in 18 categories from airport/transit to sports/entertainment, plus special awards for safety and sustainability. Regional winners advance to the national round.Regional → nationalEvery US state and Washington, DC runs its own Engineering Excellence competition. See the state-by-state list.
Each logo is the trademark of the organization that runs the program, shown to identify it. Metro Associates is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or a winner of any of them; our clients are the entrants.
Transportation, infrastructure & municipal projects
Mechanical, electrical & plumbing systems
Treatment, distribution & stormwater programs
Materials testing, bridge & roadway inspection
Public works & capital improvement programs
Bridge design, high-rise & seismic retrofit
DOT programs, highway design & transit planning
What a search costs and who pays, contingency against retained, how long a fill takes, and when an outside desk beats hiring in-house.
