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Lead Project Manager Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

RimePro Inc

Project Manager

Anaheim, CA

$120K - $160K/yr

Summary A well-established general contractor is seeking an experienced Project Manager to lead public infrastructure projects across California. With a strong pipeline of K-12, DSA-regulated, and ...

Fuze HR Solutions Inc.

Project Manager

Wildomar, CA

$135K - $175K/yr

Greater Los Angeles Area, CA Salary: $135,000 - $175,000 Position Summary We are seeking an experienced Construction Project Manager to lead projects from preconstruction through closeout. This ...

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All JobsLead Project JobsLead Project Manager JobsLead Project Manager Jobs in California

Lead Project Manager information

See California salary details

$47.9K

$112.5K

$178.1K

How much do lead project manager jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 31, 2026, the average yearly pay for lead project manager in California is $112,485.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $83,900.00 and $137,700.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a Lead Project Manager?

A Lead Project Manager is responsible for overseeing and coordinating all aspects of a project, ensuring it is completed on time, within budget, and meets the desired objectives. They lead project teams, manage resources, communicate with stakeholders, and address any issues that may arise during the project lifecycle. Their role involves strategic planning, risk management, and ensuring that the project aligns with organizational goals. Lead Project Managers often supervise other project managers and play a crucial role in decision-making and problem-solving throughout the project.

What is the difference between Lead Project Manager vs Project Coordinator?

AspectLead Project ManagerProject Coordinator
CredentialsPM certifications (PMP, CAPM), relevant experienceBasic project management knowledge, often entry-level
Work EnvironmentOversees multiple projects, strategic planningSupports project teams, handles administrative tasks
Employer & Industry UsageUsed in various industries, especially in IT, construction, engineeringCommon in corporate, non-profit, and government sectors

The Lead Project Manager typically holds advanced certifications and manages complex projects, focusing on strategic oversight. In contrast, a Project Coordinator provides support to project teams, handling administrative duties. Both roles are essential but differ in scope, responsibility, and experience required.

Is 100k a good salary for a project manager?

A $100,000 salary for a lead project manager is generally considered competitive, especially in regions with higher living costs. Salaries vary based on industry, experience, certifications like PMP, and company size, but this amount typically reflects a senior or experienced project management role. Factors such as project scope and technical skills can also influence compensation levels.

What is the role of a lead project manager?

A lead project manager oversees project planning, execution, and completion, ensuring goals are met on time and within budget. They coordinate teams, manage resources, communicate with stakeholders, and often use project management tools like MS Project or Jira. Strong leadership, organization, and risk management skills are essential for this role.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Lead Project Manager, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Lead Project Manager, you need expertise in project planning, budgeting, risk management, and a relevant degree or PMP certification. Proficiency with project management software like Microsoft Project, Jira, or Asana is typically required to coordinate tasks and track progress. Outstanding leadership, problem-solving, and communication skills help manage teams and stakeholders effectively. These skills are essential for delivering projects on time, within budget, and to the required quality standards.

What are some common challenges Lead Project Managers face when overseeing multiple projects simultaneously?

Lead Project Managers often juggle several complex projects at once, which can present challenges such as resource allocation, conflicting deadlines, and maintaining clear communication across diverse teams. Staying organized and prioritizing tasks is crucial to ensure that each project's goals are met without overextending resources. Additionally, they must adeptly navigate stakeholder expectations and quickly resolve issues to keep projects on track, all while fostering collaboration and maintaining team morale.

What is the highest paying project manager?

Senior project managers, especially those in industries like IT, engineering, or construction, tend to have the highest salaries, often exceeding $130,000 annually. Project managers with advanced certifications such as PMP and extensive experience in complex projects typically earn higher compensation, particularly in large organizations or specialized sectors.

What are the 4 types of project managers?

The four main types of project managers are functional, projectized, matrix, and hybrid. Functional managers work within specific departments, projectized managers lead entire projects independently, matrix managers operate across departments with shared authority, and hybrid combines elements of these structures. Understanding these types helps in selecting the right management approach for different project environments and organizational needs.
What cities in California are hiring for Lead Project Manager jobs? Cities in California with the most Lead Project Manager job openings:
Infographic showing various Lead Project Manager job openings in California as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 84% Full Time, 12% Part Time, and 4% Contract. Highlights an 92% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 6% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $112,485 per year, or $54.1 per hour.

Lead Project Manager, Factory Development

Divergent

Torrance, CA

Full-time

Re-posted 22 days ago

Job description

Divergent is a technology company that has architected, invented, built, and commercialized an end-to-end factory system called the Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS) that comprehensively uses machine learning to optimally engineer, additively manufacture, and flexibly assemble complex integrated vehicle structures and subsystems. Products created using DAPS are superior in performance, lower in cost, rapidly customizable to meet mission and customer-specific requirements, faster to market, and scalable on demand to high volume production. Divergent is a qualified Tier 1 supplier to global automotive OEMs, and Divergent is now expanding to support mission critical needs in the Aerospace and Defense sector. Join us to be a part of this transformative journey, where your impact will shape the future of technology and production.

Purpose

Architect and lead execution of next-generation manufacturing facility buildouts that bring new production capability online at scale. This role serves as the operational "offensive coordinator" for factory deployment initiatives, owning integrated execution across engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and manufacturing readiness activities. Responsible for driving day-to-day execution, integrated planning, budget, schedule alignment, risk identification, stakeholder accountability, and issue resolution required to successfully ramp new manufacturing capability and operational readiness.

The Role

Integrated Execution Planning & Framework Development:

  • Own integrated execution planning and drive alignment across engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and manufacturing readiness activities required to bring new manufacturing capability online.
  • Maintain visibility into critical path activities, deployment milestones, execution constraints, production readiness objectives, and operational dependencies across factory deployment initiatives.
  • Identify execution gaps, deployment risks, and schedule impacts early while driving issue resolution, escalation management, recovery planning, and corrective actions required to maintain deployment momentum and operational readiness targets.

Execution Leadership & Deployment Coordination:

  • Lead factory deployment execution activities across engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and manufacturing readiness workstreams.
  • Drive stakeholder accountability, execution follow-through, deployment alignment, and issue resolution across internal teams, contractors, OEM vendors, and external partners.
  • Ensure deployment priorities, execution decisions, scope changes, and critical risks are rapidly communicated, escalated, and resolved to maintain factory deployment objectives, production milestones, and operational readiness goals.

Deployment Risk Management & Issue Resolution:

  • Proactively identify, communicate, escalate, and drive mitigation of execution risks associated with factory development, infrastructure deployment, construction execution, manufacturing readiness, and operational integration activities.
  • Lead cross-functional issue resolution, recovery planning, and mitigation efforts required to resolve deployment blockers, reduce execution risk, and maintain alignment across fast-paced factory deployment initiatives.

Cross-Functional Execution Leadership:

  • Lead cross-functional execution alignment across engineering, operations, facilities, procurement, finance, contractors, OEM vendors, and external partners to maintain deployment momentum, production readiness, and operational execution across factory deployment initiatives.
  • Influence stakeholders, drive accountability, resolve competing priorities, and accelerate issue resolution while maintaining alignment on deployment objectives, production milestones, manufacturing readiness goals, and operational timelines.
  • Operates with influence without authority across adjacent functions, shaping decisions and driving outcomes beyond the immediate factory deployment team.

Continuous Improvement for Factory Deployment:

  • Define and drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on improving deployment execution velocity, manufacturing readiness, operational scalability, and cross-functional execution effectiveness across factory deployment initiatives.
  • Capture lessons learned and develop scalable deployment practices, execution frameworks, and operational standards that improve deployment consistency, production ramp readiness, and long-term factory scaling capability across future manufacturing deployments.
Basic Qualifications
  • Ability to lawfully access information and technology that is subject to US export controls
  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management, Operations, or related technical discipline.
  • 10+ years of experience leading manufacturing operations, factory deployment, industrial project execution, production scale-up, operational readiness, facility development, capital projects, or complex industrial programs.
  • Demonstrated experience driving execution across integrated manufacturing, industrial, construction, or factory deployment programs involving multiple stakeholders, parallel workstreams, and production readiness activities.
  • Demonstrated ability to independently prioritize execution activities, resolve deployment challenges, escalate critical risks, and drive execution outcomes under evolving priorities and ambiguous conditions within fast-paced manufacturing or industrial environments.
  • Strong execution leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills with demonstrated ability to drive accountability, maintain execution momentum, enable rapid decision-making, and align cross-functional teams across fast-paced manufacturing or industrial deployment initiatives.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional execution across engineering, operations, facilities, procurement, contractors, OEM vendors, manufacturing stakeholders, and external partners.
  • Strong understanding of industrial facility infrastructure systems, manufacturing environments, and factory deployment activities including power distribution, compressed air, HVAC, facility utilities, equipment installation, commissioning, operational readiness, and manufacturing startup activities.
  • Experience defining and owning integrated execution planning, budget and schedule alignment, deployment forecasting, issue resolution, risk management, and execution visibility across complex industrial or manufacturing programs involving multiple stakeholders and parallel workstreams.
  • Proficiency with project management, scheduling, budgeting, forecasting, and execution management tools such as Microsoft Project, Primavera P6, Excel, Oracle, Datarails, Smartsheet, or similar platforms.
Preferred Qualifications
  • Experience leading or supporting manufacturing facility buildouts, factory expansions, production line deployments, tenant improvements, operational scale-up initiatives, or industrial capital projects.
  • Experience driving integrated execution across engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, manufacturing startup, and operational readiness activities.
  • Experience driving or supporting contractor execution, procurement coordination, construction sequencing, infrastructure integration, equipment installation, commissioning, manufacturing startup, validation, operational readiness, or field execution activities within manufacturing or industrial environments.
  • Experience operating in fast-paced, high-growth manufacturing, industrial, aerospace, defense, automotive, robotics, or advanced technology environments.
  • Exposure to facility layouts, infrastructure coordination, construction drawing packages, manufacturing workflows, or CAD drawing review processes.
  • Experience applying software tools or scripting approaches such as SQL, VBA, Python, or Power BI to support deployment analytics, workflow automation, scheduling analytics, cost tracking, or operational reporting.
  • Experience delivering or supporting complex industrial, manufacturing, construction, or factory deployment programs involving multiple concurrent stakeholders, vendors, contractors, execution phases, and operational readiness milestones.
Work Environment
  • Work is performed in a combination of office, manufacturing, and active construction environments.
  • Role requires regular coordination with engineering, operations, contractors, vendors, and construction teams across office and factory settings.
  • Periodic time spent on the factory floor and within active construction areas supporting project coordination, execution alignment, deployment readiness, and issue resolution activities.
  • Requires occasional standing, walking, and movement throughout industrial, manufacturing, and construction areas.
  • May involve navigating active construction zones, equipment installation areas, mechanical rooms, elevated platforms, or other industrial spaces.
  • Required use of appropriate PPE (e.g., safety glasses, steel-toe footwear, hearing protection, gloves) while on the factory floor or construction site.
  • May occasionally require early mornings, evenings, or weekend support during critical construction, commissioning, startup, or deployment milestones.
Pay Range
$150,280—$200,380 USD

What We Offer:

  • Holistic Compensation Package: Enjoy a world-class compensation package that includes a competitive salary, equity plan, and discretionary results-based incentive bonus opportunities, ensuring you're truly valued for your contributions.
  • Wellness and Time Off: Embrace a healthy lifestyle with paid vacation, sick time, and company holidays, including a year-end shutdown to recharge. We support growing families with paid parental leave, recognizing the importance of bonding time.
  • Comprehensive Health and Wellness: Prioritize your well-being with our comprehensive health and wellness benefits, offering both HMO and Premium PPO options. Additionally, benefit from company-sponsored life insurance and short and long-term disability coverage for peace of mind.
  • Investment in Growth: We're committed to your professional development. Take advantage of reimbursement opportunities for learning and development initiatives, empowering you to continuously expand your skill set and reach peak performance.
  • Collaborative and High-Performing Environment: Join our collaborative, dynamic, and high-performing team within a fast-paced, mission-driven company. Together, we're disrupting the traditional manufacturing industry, fostering innovation, and integrating people and technology to reduce our footprint.


Equal Employment Opportunity
Divergent is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or veteran status, or any other applicable state or federal protected characteristic. Divergent provides affirmative action in employment for qualified Individuals with Disabilities and Protected Veterans in compliance with Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act.
EEO Poster

In order to adjust to changes in our business, it may become necessary to add, remove or modify certain duties and responsibilities, or to reassign you to another job position. From time to time you may be asked to work on special projects or to assist with other work. Your cooperation and assistance in performing such additional work is expected.

E-Verify: Right to Work
Our company participates in E-Verify. E-Verify is a program that electronically confirms a candidate's eligibility to work in the United States after completing the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9). The information provided on the Form I-9 is compared to the records contained in the Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) databases. This helps employers verify the identity and employment eligibility of newly hired employees.
Eligibility to Work Poster (English) | Eligibility to Work Poster (Spanish)

Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance (FCIHO)
Pursuant to the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance (FCIHO), we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

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