A security systems project manager runs commercial access control, camera, alarm and cabling jobs from the signed proposal to the customer's final acceptance. They build the device schedule, order the gear, get fire alarm plans approved and hand over as-builts and training.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, security systems companies · BLS, May 2025
You'll manage installs of access control, cameras, alarms and structured cabling from signed proposal to customer sign-off. You build the device schedule, plan cable runs and terminations with the Field Supervisor, get programming done before go-live, and deliver as-builts and training. On fire alarm jobs, you also handle plan submittals and inspections with the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ).
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Build a device schedule for every job: each reader, camera, sensor and data drop, with its location, cable type, panel and programming notes.
Order panels, cameras, readers, cable and electrified door hardware, and track lead times against the general contractor's schedule.
Coordinate door prep, power, conduit and ceiling access with the door hardware supplier, electricians and general contractor.
Submit fire alarm drawings to the AHJ and book acceptance testing, using a NICET-certified designer where your AHJ requires one.
Schedule programming of access levels, camera views and alarm zones with the Master Security Technician, and set up monitoring accounts before go-live.
Price change orders for added or moved devices, and get them signed before technicians install them.
Close each job with cable test results, labeled as-builts, user training and warranty dates.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Mark the device schedule with what was roughed in, terminated, tested and programmed.
Walk an active site with the Lead Technician to check cable pathways, labeling and rack builds.
Answer general contractor RFIs about device locations, power needs and door hardware.
Set training sessions, go-live dates and after-hours cutovers with customers.
Confirm the next day's equipment and cable are staged with the Warehouse Manager.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Devices installed and programmed by the go-live date: [your target].
Cable runs passing certification testing the first time: [your target].
Fire alarm systems accepted by the AHJ without a retest: [your target].
Added devices billed through change orders: [your target].
Days from go-live to as-builts delivered: [your target].
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
[3+] years managing or leading security, access control or low voltage installation projects.
Can read floor plans, riser diagrams and door hardware schedules, and build a device schedule from them.
Knows structured cabling: pathways, terminations, labeling and testing.
Holds or can get your state's low voltage or alarm license, where your state requires one.
Runs device schedules, job budgets and change orders in [your project management software].
6. Preferred Experience
NICET certification in Fire Alarm Systems and working knowledge of NFPA 72.
BICSI installer or RCDD credential.
Manufacturer certifications for the access control and video platforms you sell, such as [your platforms].
Comfort with IP networking: VLANs, PoE switches and camera bandwidth.
7. Physical Requirements
Climb ladders and lifts to check cabling above ceilings, and work in tight telecom closets and risers.
Carry cable boxes, cameras and ladders up to [50] pounds.
With or without reasonable accommodation.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Desk time on device schedules and orders, plus site walks across [your service area].
Weekday schedule: [7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.], with go-live dates set around the customer.
Some after-hours cutovers when a customer can't lose cameras or door access during the day.
Construction sites and occupied buildings, with hard hats and safety glasses where required.
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
What a project manager handles on security and low voltage jobs
Every project manager runs schedules, budgets and changes. These jobs touch doors, ceilings, networks and fire codes. So the project manager works with more trades than the crew size suggests.
Oklahoma fire alarm plans go through the state portal
In areas where the Oklahoma State Fire Marshal reviews fire alarm plans, only a licensed fire alarm company may submit them. Plans go in through the state's online portal, one application per building. Review won't start until every document and fee is in. After approval, keep a printed copy of the plans and permit on the job site. Print the plans in color and at the scale submitted, since plans on site that aren't in color fail the inspection. Source: Oklahoma State Fire Marshal: fire alarm plan submittal instructions (01/2026).
Cable warranties depend on who installs
Cabling makers offer long system warranties, with conditions. Panduit's Certification Plus warranty, for example, runs 15, 20 or 25 years. It's only available when an accredited Panduit partner installs the system, and it doesn't cover problems from improper installation. When a spec calls for a maker's warranty, make sure your company qualifies before you bid. Source: Panduit: Certification Plus System Warranty.
Read the door hardware submittal early
On access control jobs, the door hardware supplier sends a submittal that lists each opening's lock, frame prep and hinges. Check it against your device schedule before anyone approves it. Look for the lock type each card reader door needs, a way to get wire through the frame or hinge, and a door position switch wherever the system has to know the door is shut. A change on paper is a markup; after the doors hang, it's a new frame prep.
Cutovers keep the old system alive
In an occupied building, the old cameras and door access stay live until the new system is programmed and tested. Plan the switch door by door and camera by camera. Do it after hours if the customer can't lose them by day. Have a fallback for any reader that won't take badges. Set up the monitoring account before the old panel comes off the wall.
How much security systems project managers make
The closest BLS group for security systems project managers is construction managers. Construction managers who work for security systems companies earned a median of $107,490 a year ($51.68 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $114,990 median for construction managers in all industries. About 130 of the 380,360 construction managers in that survey work for security systems companies.
Pay is usually a salary. Some companies add a bonus tied to job margin or an on-time closeout.
Security systems companies
$107,490$107,490 median Middle half $100,570–$130,770 10th–90th $85,490–$160,310
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
Security systems companies
$85,490
$100,570
$107,490
$130,770
$160,310
All industries
$69,690
$88,550
$114,990
$151,640
$189,440
BLS doesn’t publish pay for low-voltage contractors on their own. These figures cover security systems services, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Has run commercial access control, video or fire alarm projects from start to finish
Reads floor plans, riser diagrams and door hardware schedules
Writes and prices change orders, with signatures before the crew starts
Holds general contractors to the schedule and site access, politely
Knows IP networks well enough to plan cameras, switches and bandwidth
Teach these on the job
Your project software, budgets and change order forms
Each AHJ's submittal and inspection steps
The access and video platforms you sell
Cabling makers' warranty programs
Your closeout package format
Project managers here work in your project software, mark up drawings in a PDF tool and use each platform's design software for readers and cameras. List them in the ad. Experienced candidates will know many by name.
Security systems project manager interview questions
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Recovering from hardware mix-ups
Two days before go-live, you learn [six] doors got standard strikes instead of electrified ones because the hardware supplier never got your spec. What do you do?
A strong answer: Tells the customer and general contractor right away, sets a temporary plan, expedites hardware, phases go-live and fixes the spec handoff.
Behavioral · Secure system handover
Tell me about a job where you had to hand over admin passwords, programming backups and system access to the customer. How did you do it securely?
A strong answer: Changed every default password, delivered as-builts, test results and programming backups, gave credentials only to the owner's named contact through a secure method, and recorded who got what.
The template leaves each target for you to fill in. Pick numbers from your last several finished jobs, and review them job by job rather than by month.
Devices installed and programmed by the go-live date
On go-live day, compare the device schedule's count of devices marked programmed and tested with the full count, job by job.
Cable runs passing certification testing the first time
Use the tester's saved results to compare first-pass results with all runs tested, and note which crew and pathway any failures came from.
Fire alarm systems accepted by the AHJ without a retest
Log each acceptance test, whether it passed on the first visit and the inspector's reasons for any retest, from your permit and inspection records.
Added devices billed through change orders
Compare devices on the final as-built with the contract's device count, and check that every added device has a signed, billed change order.
Days from go-live to as-builts delivered
Count the days from go-live to the day the customer received labeled as-builts, test results and warranty dates, using your closeout records.
How should a security project manager answer a general contractor's RFIs?
Answer in writing, quickly, and tie each answer to the device schedule. Most questions ask where a device goes, what power it needs or what door hardware it expects. Give the drawing reference and the device schedule line. If the answer adds or moves devices, say so. Then send a change order before the crew does the work.
How much does a security systems project manager make?
Construction managers who work for security systems companies earned a median of $107,490 a year ($51.68 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $100,570 and $130,770 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
What does the monitoring center need before a commercial system goes live?
Set the account up early. The center needs the zone list, which comes from the device schedule. It also needs the customer's call list and passcodes. Add the open and close schedule if the customer wants those reports. The field supervisor's final walk then checks each zone against that list.
Who trains the customer's staff on a new access control system?
The project manager sets up training and makes sure it happens. Often the tech who programmed the system teaches it. Train the staff who add badges and pull reports apart from staff who only open doors. Leave a short written guide and record who came. Set a follow-up date, since questions show up after the first week.
What do the ladder, lift and 50-pound lines mean for a project manager?
They come from site walks. The project manager climbs ladders and lifts to look at cable above ceilings. They squeeze into telecom closets and risers, and sometimes carry cable boxes, cameras or a ladder. Most days mix desk work with one or two site visits. The template already includes reasonable accommodation. If an applicant raises one, go through the tasks together.
