An electrical project manager carries each multi-visit job from signed contract to passed final, from a builder's new house to a generator or EV charger install. They handle permits, inspections, utility dates, materials and job costs. Design and code decisions stay with the master electrician.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, electrical contractors · BLS, May 2025
Annual pay: 10th percentile $73,110, middle half $91,490 to $144,780, 90th percentile $186,150. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Reports to
Production manager
Department
Operations
Schedule
Weekdays, office and job sites · Hours follow builder and inspector schedules, with early calls on install days and an occasional Saturday walk-through
You'll run our project work: new homes for builders, remodels, service upgrades, generators and EV chargers. You pull permits, book rough-in and final inspections, set up utility disconnects and meter work, and keep builders and homeowners updated. The Master Electrician owns the design and code calls; you own the schedule, materials, money and paperwork.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Pull permits through the company's license holder as your state requires, and keep each job's permit and inspection record in one place.
Confirm load calculations and panel capacity with the Master Electrician before ordering generators, EV chargers or service upgrades.
Set up utility disconnect and reconnect appointments, meter pulls and new service drops for service upgrades.
Follow each builder's schedule for temporary power, rough-in, trim-out and final, and have crews ready when the builder is.
Order panels, generators, chargers and fixture packages, and confirm the homeowner's fixture and device choices before the crew arrives.
Write change orders for added circuits, fixture moves and surprises found in walls, and get the homeowner's or builder's sign-off first.
Close each job with final inspection approval, a labeled panel directory and a walk-through with the customer.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Check builder schedules and inspection results, and adjust next week's rough-in and trim dates.
Call homeowners the day before work to confirm access, power-off times and what to expect.
Stop by a remodel or service upgrade to check progress with the Field Supervisor.
Coordinate gas hookups for standby generators with the plumbing contractor.
Review open permits and close out the ones that passed final.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Re-inspection trips per job: [your target].
Builder milestones met on the promised date: [your target].
Open permits closed after final: [your target].
Project gross margin by job type: [your target].
Homeowner review score on completed projects: [your target].
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
[3+] years in residential electrical work, including [1+] year scheduling or managing jobs.
Understands residential permits and inspections in your area, including the utility's steps for service upgrades.
Can read house plans and electrical layouts and build a material list from them.
Schedules and tracks jobs in [your field service or project management software].
A valid driver's license and a driving record that meets your insurance carrier's rules.
6. Preferred Experience
A journeyman or master electrician license in [your state].
Experience with standby generator and EV charger installs.
Has worked with production home builders and their scheduling systems.
Working knowledge of the NEC edition your area enforces.
7. Physical Requirements
Walk job sites, climb ladders, and enter attics and crawl spaces to check work.
Carry wire spools, fixtures and tools up to [50] pounds.
With or without reasonable accommodation.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Days split between the office, builder subdivisions and customers' homes in [your service area].
Regular hours: [7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday], following builder and inspector schedules.
New construction sites, occupied homes, and attics in summer heat and winter cold.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Pay: [range and hourly or salary basis].
Additional pay: [overtime, bonus or incentive terms, or none].
Benefits: [health, dental, vision, retirement, paid time off, and when they start].
10. Company Culture and Overview
[Two or three sentences on what your company does, the area you serve, and the support a new project manager gets in the first 90 days.]
11. How to Apply
[Apply link or email]. Our process: [phone interview, in-person interview, and next steps]. Contact [hiring contact] if you need an accommodation during the application process.
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
Every project manager tracks dates and money. On home electrical jobs, three outside parties set the pace: the building department, the utility and the builder.
The utility sets the date on a service upgrade
A panel or service upgrade usually means the utility cuts power at the meter and turns it back on later. Each utility has its own steps and wait times. The project manager asks for the disconnect as soon as the job is sold. They line up the inspection and tell the homeowner how long the power will be off.
Builders work in phases
On new homes, the electrical work comes in stages: temporary power, rough-in, trim-out and final. The builder's schedule shifts every week. A missed rough-in holds up insulation and drywall. The project manager watches each builder's schedule, moves crews to match, and keeps a list of which lots are ready for which stage.
Home standby generators usually run on natural gas or propane, so a plumber or gas contractor runs the fuel line. The unit also needs a pad and the clearances its maker calls for. The project manager books the gas work, the pad, the wiring and the inspections in the right order, so the generator doesn't sit in the warehouse for weeks.
Change orders come before the extra work
Remodels open walls and find surprises: undersized wire, missing boxes, old splices, or circuits that don't match the panel labels. The project manager prices the change, gets the homeowner's or builder's signature, and only then sends the crew back in. Work done without a signature is work you may never get paid for.
Residential vs. commercial electrical project manager
Both jobs run schedules, materials and money. The customers and the paperwork are different.
Topic
Residential
Commercial
Customers
Homeowners and production home builders
General contractors, building owners and tenants
How work is won
In-home quotes and builder contracts priced per plan
Competitive bids from drawings and specifications
Paperwork
Permits, change orders, utility requests and panel directories
Submittals, requests for information, pay applications and closeout binders
Schedule
Many short jobs a week, or a builder's lot-by-lot phases
One project over months, on the general contractor's schedule
Typical equipment
Home panels, standby generators, EV chargers and fixture packages
Switchgear, panelboards, lighting controls and large feeders
How much electrical project managers make
The closest BLS group for electrical project managers is construction managers. Construction managers who work for electrical contractors earned a median of $114,450 a year ($55.02 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $114,990 median for construction managers in all industries. About 21,840 of the 380,360 construction managers in that survey work for electrical contractors.
Project managers are usually salaried. When there's a bonus, it often follows gross margin on closed jobs and how few re-inspections those jobs needed.
Electrical contractors
$114,450$114,450 median Middle half $91,490–$144,780 10th–90th $73,110–$186,150
All industries
$114,990$114,990 median Middle half $88,550–$151,640 10th–90th $69,690–$189,440
$50k$75k$100k$125k$150k$175k$200k$225k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Electrical contractors
$73,110
$91,490
$114,450
$144,780
$186,150
All industries
$69,690
$88,550
$114,990
$151,640
$189,440
BLS reports residential and commercial electrical contractors together. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Has done home electrical work, enough to read a plan and spot a missing circuit
Builds a material list from house plans and electrical layouts
Keeps many jobs straight in a schedule and never drops the follow-up
Writes clear change orders and gets them signed before work starts
Explains delays to homeowners and builders early and plainly
Knows how permits and inspections work where you do business
Teach these on the job
Your project or field service software
Each builder's scheduling portal and standards
Your utilities' service upgrade steps
Your job costing and margin reports
Your supplier accounts and ordering cutoffs
Project managers work in your field service or project software, the builders' scheduling portals, the city permit sites and each utility's service request system. In the ad, say how many active jobs the role carries and whether it covers builder work, remodels or both.
Electrical project manager interview questions
They have their own page: 6 questions that test this job, what strong and weak answers sound like, and a work exercise to run with your finalists.
The template leaves these targets blank on purpose. Track each one for a quarter, then set goals from what your best months looked like.
Re-inspection trips per job
Return trips caused by failed inspections, divided by jobs closed each month. Log the inspector's reason for each one, so you can tell crew mistakes from paperwork or scheduling misses.
Builder milestones met on the promised date
Temporary power, rough-in, trim-out and final finished on the date the builder scheduled, divided by all milestones due. Leave out the dates the builder moved, since those weren't yours to miss.
Open permits closed after final
Permits closed out in the city's system after a passed final, compared with all permits that passed final. Review the open list every week.
Project gross margin by job type
Revenue minus labor, materials and permit costs on each closed job, grouped by new home, remodel, service upgrade, generator and EV charger. Compare with the estimate to find where bids run light.
Homeowner review score on completed projects
Star ratings and survey answers from homeowners after the final walk-through. Read the comments about communication, cleanliness and power-off times, not just the stars.
How is an electrical project manager different from a production manager?
The project manager runs single jobs from sale to final: permits, utility dates, materials, change orders and margin. The production manager looks after all project work at once. They decide how many crews you need, who goes where each week, and whether the work is profitable overall. In this template, the project manager reports to the production manager.
How much does an electrical project manager make?
Construction managers who work for electrical contractors earned a median of $114,450 a year ($55.02 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $91,490 and $144,780 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
Does an electrical project manager need an electrician's license?
The template lists a journeyman or master license as a plus, not a must, and has permits pulled through the company's license holder as your state requires. A licensed project manager can read a failed inspection report and talk code with the master and the inspector. If yours will never touch the wiring, strong scheduling skills may matter more.
When does an electrical contractor need a project manager?
Watch for jobs that slip between the sale and the final. Signs include failed inspections nobody chased, missed utility dates, generators sitting in the warehouse waiting on gas work, and builders calling the owner to ask where the crew is. Give one person those details. Then the master and the field supervisor can focus on the wiring.
Should an electrical project manager come from the field?
BLS says time in construction matters for construction managers, most of all for those without a degree. The template asks for several years in residential electrical work, including time scheduling or managing jobs. An electrician who wants off the tools often makes a strong project manager. Builders and inspectors already trust how they talk about the work.
How many jobs can one electrical project manager handle?
It depends on the mix. Builder work brings many small milestones across many lots. Generators and service upgrades bring fewer jobs, but each has more steps. Start with a load the person can call through every day. If re-inspections and missed milestones climb, the load is too high.
