Sr. Project Manager & Estimator - Solar Vegetation Management in Otsego, Minnesota at MNL

Do you have experience working within the solar industry and understand what it takes to successfully manage work an operating solar site? Can you build strong customer relationships while owning complex projects from estimating and planning through execution and financial closeout? Are you someone who can bring together customer expectations, site conditions, field operations, subcontractors, and multiple vegetation management approaches to develop practical solutions that work? If so, we are looking for you!

About Us

MNL is a full-service ecological restoration company dedicated to Healing the Earth. Our services include native seed and plant production, shoreline and wetland restoration, prescribed burns, conservation grazing, vegetation management, and ecological consulting. We also support solar and infrastructure projects with pollinator-friendly practices and land stewardship expertise.

Our Vegetation Management (VM) team provides ongoing land management services across a variety of landscapes, with a growing focus on utility-scale solar facilities. Our solar work combines services such as mowing, herbicide applications, invasive species management, native vegetation establishment, and prescribed grazing to help customers maintain safe, functional, and well-managed sites.

The Opportunity

MNL is seeking a Sr. Project Manager & Estimator (PME) to lead our growing solar vegetation management business. This position will work closely with MNL's solar customers, helping them develop and execute practical vegetation management strategies across their sites while balancing customer priorities, site conditions, operational realities, and financial performance.

You will bring an understanding of the solar industry together with our VM capabilities to develop solutions that work for our customers. You will also lead and develop a Solar PME and contribute your project experience and industry knowledge to the continued growth and improvement of our solar services.

What You Will Do

Own Solar Customer Relationships & Project Success

• Build strong, trusted relationships with solar customers and develop a deep understanding of their sites, operating priorities, expectations, and long-term vegetation management needs.
• Own assigned projects from estimating and planning through execution and closeout, maintaining accountability for customer satisfaction, project performance, and financial results.
• Anticipate challenges, communicate proactively, and coordinate solutions when site conditions, customer needs, schedules, or project requirements change.
• Identify opportunities to expand existing customer relationships through renewals, additional sites, new services, and other vegetation management needs.

Estimate & Plan Successful Solar Projects

• Develop scopes, estimates, budgets, proposals, and project plans that reflect site conditions, customer requirements, production expectations, labor and equipment needs, subcontracted services, and project risks.
• Evaluate vegetation conditions and site-management needs to develop practical short- and long-term recommendations that balance customer expectations, operational requirements, cost, site conditions, and technical considerations.
• Work with field and technical resources to incorporate specialized vegetation management and grazing recommendations into executable project strategies.
• Use project results and field experience to continually improve estimating assumptions, pricing, planning, and future recommendations.

Manage Subcontractors & External Partners

• Identify and coordinate subcontractors and other external partners needed to successfully deliver solar vegetation management projects, including prescribed grazing and other specialized services.
• Establish clear scopes, schedules, expectations, and performance requirements and ensure subcontracted work aligns with MNL's commitments to the customer.
• Maintain strong working relationships with subcontractors while holding partners accountable for quality, responsiveness, schedule, safety, and other project requirements.
• Coordinate subcontractor activities with customers, Field Operations, Logistics, and other project resources to ensure work is integrated into the overall project plan.
• Address performance concerns, changing site needs, scheduling issues, or other challenges that could affect successful delivery.

Drive Project Execution & Financial Performance

• Coordinate with Field Operations, Logistics, subcontractors, and other internal resources to ensure projects are appropriately staffed, scheduled, equipped, and prepared for successful execution.
• Maintain visibility into project progress, production, costs, schedules, and emerging risks and make adjustments when performance begins to deviate from plan.
• Manage project budgets, forecasts, scope changes, and contractual considerations to protect project profitability and ensure additional or changed work is appropriately captured.
• Maintain alignment between what has been promised to the customer and what can be successfully delivered in the field.

Lead & Strengthen MNL's Solar Capabilities

• Lead and develop the Solar PME through clear expectations, project direction, coaching, feedback, and increasingly independent project ownership.
• Serve as a resource for solar-industry knowledge and help connect customer and industry expectations with MNL's vegetation management capabilities.
• Contribute customer feedback, project experience, market knowledge, and lessons learned to improve solar estimating, project delivery, service offerings, and overall approach.
• Partner across MNL to strengthen how solar work is planned, communicated, and executed as the company continues to grow.

What You Will Need To Be Successful

• Strong project management and estimating experience in solar energy, construction, land management, vegetation management, or another related project-based environment.
• Experience working within the solar industry strongly preferred, with an understanding of how utility-scale solar sites operate and the priorities, expectations, and practical considerations that influence work within them.
• Demonstrated ability to own complex projects, customer relationships, budgets, schedules, and financial performance.
• Experience developing estimates, scopes, proposals, budgets, and project plans and using project performance to make informed business decisions.
• Experience managing subcontractors, vendors, collaborators, or other external project partners, including establishing expectations and holding partners accountable for successful delivery.
• Ability to evaluate site and customer needs and develop practical solutions that balance customer expectations, operational feasibility, cost, contractual requirements, and technical recommendations.
• Working knowledge of vegetation management practices applicable to solar sites, such as mowing, herbicide applications, invasive species management, native vegetation establishment, or similar land-management practices.
• Knowledge of prescribed grazing or livestock-based vegetation management strongly preferred, including enough understanding of practical livestock operations.
• Strong customer relationship, communication, negotiation, judgment, and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and develop others while coordinating effectively across field teams, technical resources, customers, and external partners.
• Ability to interpret specifications, maps, contracts, and customer requirements and translate them into executable project plans.
• Ability to regularly travel to project sites, including overnight travel, up to 30% of the time.