Project Helper Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

$70-$100,000 DOE | Full-Time | San Diego County

Drab to Fab is hiring a Landscape Construction Project Manager to help manage the transition from design to construction and keep projects moving smoothly from planning through completion.

This role is focused on project management, construction coordination, material planning, subcontractor management, estimating support, and department oversight. The right person will help take operational pressure off leadership, design, and construction by making sure jobs are properly planned before they hit the field.

This is not primarily a design or CAD role. CAD experience is a bonus, but it is not a core requirement.

The Landscape Construction Project Manager will:

• Bridge the gap between design and construction
• Improve project handoffs before construction begins
• Coordinate materials, vendors, subcontractors, irrigation, and enhancements
• Work closely with construction leads to keep projects on schedule
• Help identify missing details, scope gaps, and potential field issues early
• Support estimating, job costing, and project planning
• Ensure designers can focus more time on designing instead of managing construction details

• Lead pre-planning meetings with the design team before projects move into construction
• Review designs for constructability, sequencing, access, material needs, irrigation needs, and potential field issues
• Identify unclear scope, missing details, or project risks before construction starts
• Create clear internal handoff notes for construction leads, irrigation, enhancements, subcontractors, and purchasing
• Confirm project scope, client expectations, inclusions, exclusions, and key deadlines
• Make sure the construction team has the information needed to build the job efficiently

• Manage projects from design handoff through completion
• Work closely with construction leads to coordinate daily and weekly priorities
• Track project timelines and help ensure work stays on schedule
• Communicate updates, delays, changes, and issues to the right team members
• Clarify scope, materials, sequencing, and design intent during active projects
• Help solve problems before they become expensive field mistakes
• Ensure the final build aligns with approved scope, budget, quality standards, and client expectations

• Coordinate all project materials needed for construction
• Review plans and scopes to identify required materials and lead times
• Generate or support material takeoffs for:
  • Plants
  • Hardscape
  • Irrigation
  • Lighting
  • Drainage
  • Soil
  • Mulch
  • Specialty materials
• Place, confirm, and track material orders with vendors and suppliers
• Schedule deliveries to align with construction timelines
• Communicate material substitutions, shortages, delays, or changes to the team
• Help reduce downtime caused by missing, incorrect, or late materials

• Assist with baseline estimating and takeoffs as needed
• Help build or review estimates in LMN before final approval
• Identify missing scope, missing materials, subcontractor needs, and unclear pricing assumptions
• Support job costing by helping ensure receipts, subcontractor costs, materials, and labor time are tracked accurately
• Provide feedback after projects to improve future estimates and production planning

• Coordinate subcontractors for items such as:
  • Irrigation
  • Concrete
  • Masonry
  • Electrical
  • Drainage
  • Lighting
  • Specialty trades
  • Enhancement work
• Confirm subcontractor scope, schedule, expectations, and site readiness
• Make sure subcontractor work aligns with plans, quality standards, and timelines
• Communicate subcontractor issues quickly to construction leads and leadership
• Hold subcontractors accountable for schedule, quality, and completion of assigned work

• Oversee coordination for the irrigation and enhancement departments
• Help prioritize department schedules and resources
• Coordinate irrigation and enhancement work with the larger construction schedule
• Support department leads with:
  • Planning
  • Material coordination
  • Scheduling
  • Client expectations
  • Follow-through
• Help create accountability around completion dates, quality standards, and job profitability

• Maintain organized project documentation in Google Drive, LMN, and internal systems
• Send clear meeting notes, internal updates, and project recaps as needed
• Keep design, construction, irrigation, enhancement, subcontractor, and leadership teams aligned
• Document project changes, decisions, delays, and issues
• Help create a smoother process from signed design to completed installation

• Experience in landscape construction, project management, estimating, production coordination, or a related field
• Strong understanding of landscape construction methods, materials, sequencing, and jobsite realities
• Ability to read and understand landscape plans, scopes of work, estimates, and construction details
• Highly organized with strong follow-through
• Strong communication skills with designers, crews, subcontractors, vendors, and clients
• Comfortable managing multiple active projects and priorities at once
• Able to identify problems early and push for solutions
• Experience with LMN, Google Drive, or similar systems preferred
• Irrigation, hardscape, planting, drainage, lighting, or enhancement experience is a strong plus
• CAD experience is a bonus, but not required

• Design handoffs are clear, complete, and buildable before construction starts
• Construction leads understand the scope, materials, sequence, and expectations
• Materials are ordered correctly and arrive on time
• Subcontractors are scheduled, prepared, and held accountable
• Irrigation and enhancement work is coordinated into the larger production schedule
• Jobs stay on timeline with fewer surprises, delays, and last-minute decisions
• Designers spend more time designing instead of managing construction details
• Leadership spends less time chasing materials, subs, estimates, and project loose ends
• Projects are better planned, better communicated, and more profitable