Director of Construction Engineering

We are building a state-of-the-art Gigafactory that will be one of the largest cell production facilities in Europe and construction is set to begin in 2023. To make that happen we need the best to join our growing in-house Engineering, Procurement & Construction Management (EPCM) team. We are now looking for our Director of Construction Engineering to join our fantastic team – come be a part of an exciting journey together with us!

Volvo Cars is one of the most well-known and respected car brands in the world. Northvolt is a leading supplier of sustainable, high-quality battery cells and systems, dedicated to delivering the world’s greenest lithium-ion battery.

Together, we have formed a joint venture, NOVO Energy, to power the next generation of pure electric Volvo and Polestar cars.

Our mission is to build a ”first in class” Gigafactory that transforms Volvo Cars into a full EV (Electrical Vehicle) manufacturer - using the most sustainable and innovative methods in construction, whilst achieving the highest level of trust with all service providers to perform the safest, fastest, cost-effective and excellent quality of craftsmanship project in the industry.

We are looking for a self-driven and technically competent discipline Director to join our in-house EPCM-team. The position offers to be at the core of our facilities design organization. Together with your future management team and the Construction Director you will play an important role in building some of the first large scale European battery factories and in the transition to a carbon-free society.

As Director of Construction Engineering, you will have the overall responsibility for organizing and leading multidisciplinary engineering teams by specific discipline. The engineering teams will manage the efforts of setting design project goals and timelines, reviewing and approving design drawings, obtaining required permit approvals, managing on-time issued for Construction design in line with procurement and construction commitment. Furthermore the team support the construction execution with submittal reviews and prompt RFI responses, and ensures a quality handover of as-built drawing to our NOVO Energy Facilities Team.

By joining us you will have the opportunity to get in at the start and be a part of something great, to develop our future Construction Engineering organization and be a key player in our success.

Key responsibilities include but are not limited to:

- Work with the leaders of the EPCM organization to develop the master schedule and budget in relation to the design development and deliverables to be used as baseline of this project.
- Work with the EPCM leader to create the design management organization structure, procedures, defined roles, expectations, and KPI’s aligned with project requirements for successful execution and controls.
- Provide periodical reports to the executive team on how the team is performing against the approved baseline for both time and cost.
- Manage the development of the design management team, assign trainings that are necessary to improve key skills of the team, perform periodic meeting that promote constant growth toward effective performance, and perform each performance assessment in alignment with our human resources expectations.
- Maintain a positive relationship with our engineer of record firms to promote a collaborative and partnership environment while firmly maintaining the contractual commitments.

Skills & Requirements
Personality qualities that we cherish are flexibility, high standards for quality, motivation to take on new challenges. We believe that you are passionate, purpose driven and have the ability to lead a team through technical and planning challenges.

We believe that you have:

- BSc or MSc degree within relevant field of engineering.
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Ideally 10+ years of experience on complex industrial infrastructure projects.

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Have experience in the design/engineering of heavy industrial, manufacturing, or chemical process facilities. Battery factory experience is ideal, but not required. Other facility types that are seen as relevant and welcome: pharmaceutical, data centers, oil & gas, automotive, food & beverage mfg, etc.

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Have experience in multi-disciplinary engineering coordination, interfacing with construction and internal/external stakeholders.

- Excellent communication skills as the role requires constant interaction with team members and external parties such as contractors, vendors, authorities and auditors.
- Fluency in English. Valuable (but not required) if fluency in other languages, including Swedish.
- Experience in setting up the operations for an engineering organization.
- Experience working on international industrial projects and in multi-cultural environments.



Volvo Cars is one of the most well-known and respected car brands in the world. Northvolt is a leading supplier of sustainable, high-quality battery cells and systems, dedicated to delivering the world’s greenest lithium-ion battery. Together, we have formed a joint venture, NOVO Energy, to power the next generation of pure electric Volvo and Polestar cars.

Our Gigafactory in Gothenburg will be one of the largest cell production facilities in Europe, with a potential annual cell production capacity of up to 50 gigawatt hours (GWh) - thereby enabling a supply of batteries for approximately half a million Volvo and Polestar cars per year. Our state-of-the-art R&D facility will gather leading expertise from all over the world, to create the next generation battery cells.

You can read more about this joint venture in these press releases, here and here.