Innovation Manager in London

The Innovation Manager for the Infrastructure GBU plays a critical role in shaping how the business identifies, cultivates, and deploys transformative solutions that enhance project delivery, operational performance, and long‑term customer value. This role leads the creation and management of a structured innovation portfolio, aligning sector-driven opportunities with the broader GBU strategy and Bechtel’s enterprise innovation roadmap.

More than simply introducing new tools or technologies, the Innovation Manager is responsible for architecting a scalable, measurable, and sustainable innovation ecosystem that delivers real impact. This includes defining innovation value frameworks, capturing realized benefits, and guiding pilots from early exploration through to functional adoption and institutionalization. By partnering with sector leads, functional SMEs, M&BD teams, and project leadership, the Innovation Manager ensures that innovations address customer priorities, unlock measurable improvements in safety, construction efficiency, productivity, sustainability, and digital delivery, and accelerate enterprise-wide transformation.

This role is central to building an innovation-forward culture, fostering collaboration across projects, driving ideation campaigns, cultivating innovation champions, and ensuring that new ideas, technologies, and digital methodologies translate into meaningful project outcomes. The role comes at an exciting time when Bechtel is advancing deployment of Robotics and Construction Automation technologies.

Major Responsibilities:

• Lead the Bechtel Innovate program for the Infrastructure GBU, including identifying, prototyping, piloting, and scaling innovations; measuring impact and value; and capturing lessons learned in the Bechtel Traction platform.
• Support Project Innovation Managers in developing and executing Project Innovation Plans that deliver measurable value to customers and strengthen Bechtel’s project execution offering.
• Develop and lead the Infrastructure GBU’s strategy and deployment for Robotics and Construction Automation in collaboration with Bechtel Equipment Operations (BEO), Moonshot team and Infrastructure GBU Construction function.
• Chair the Construction Innovation Task Force (CITF) and lead a network of Innovation Champions to disseminate, cross‑pollinate, and institutionalize impactful innovations across projects, sectors, and regions.
• Manage the annual GBU innovation campaign to identify, prioritize, and resource a pipeline of high‑value ideas based on anticipated ROI and customer benefit.
• Oversee the annual Innovation of the Year submissions, compiling the GBU’s strongest innovations and coordinating with Bechtel Group for enterprise review.
• Coordinate with sector leads, business line managers, project managers to identify customer value propositions, challenges, and priorities.
• Liaise with the GBU AI Program to ensure innovations align with the broader GBU AI and Data strategy.
• Support winning new work by integrating relevant innovation execution approaches into pursuit strategies.
• Identify and host training, mentoring, and knowledge sharing activities, including developing training materials, presentations, and multimedia content for functional, project, M&BD, and operations teams.
• Conduct regular market assessments to track emerging technologies, solution providers, and opportunities aligned to project use cases and value-based priorities.

Education and Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Significant experience in engineering, construction, or infrastructure delivery, with a demonstrated focus on innovation, digital transformation, or technology enablement.
• Experience managing innovation pipelines, portfolios, pilots, or proof-of-concepts, including capturing value, ROI, and lessons learned.
• Hands-on experience implementing innovative or digital technologies within engineering or construction environments (e.g., digital workflows, field technologies, BIM/GIS, automation, data-driven tools).
• Strong understanding of project workflows across design, construction, project controls, and handover processes.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives, influence stakeholders, and drive measurable change across projects or business units.
• Excellent communication skills—oral, visual, and written—with experience presenting complex concepts to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, adapt to evolving needs, and work across diverse geographic regions and business lines.
• Experience facilitating workshops, meetings, or ideation sessions and ensuring follow-through on decisions and actions.

Required Knowledge and Skills:

• Experience researching, piloting, or deploying robotics or construction automation technologies (e.g., robotic layout, autonomous equipment, automated inspection, or robotic process automation) within engineering or construction environments.
• Organizational Change Management (OCM) experience, particularly in institutionalizing new digital processes or standards.
• Experience with Design Thinking, Lean, or Six Sigma methodologies.
• Experience with crowdsourcing or ideation platforms and innovation prioritization frameworks.
• Hands-on experience working on Construction sites and/or knowledge of construction equipment technology ecosystems (e.g., Trimble, Caterpillar, Volvo).

Bechtel is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, national origin, disability, citizenship status (except as authorized by law), protected veteran status, genetic information, and any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.