SBR Jobs recruits the Project Managers, Project Executives, Superintendents, Estimators and operations leaders who run awarded work for California general contractors. Commercial, TI, healthcare, education, industrial and public work, hard-bid and negotiated. Direct-hire executive search, based in Sacramento since 1997.
The seat is open, the project is awarded, and the clock is running
General contractors do not lose money on the hire they made. They lose it on the seat that stayed empty for four months while a $30 million job started without a Project Manager, or the Senior Superintendent who left for a competitor mid-pour. In 2026, with infrastructure, industrial and data center work crowding the California market, the leaders who have delivered your kind of project are employed, busy and fielding calls.
SBR runs the search the way a GC would want it run: we start with the project types and delivery methods the person actually has to have, we map everyone in the region who has done that work, and we approach them one at a time with a real story about your company and your pipeline. Not a posting. Not a mass email. A conversation between people who both know what a hard-bid public job feels like at month nine.
The two seats we are asked for most
Project Manager and Senior Project Manager
The person who owns the budget, the schedule, the owner relationship and the subcontractor buyout on your project. We recruit PMs by project type and delivery method, because a Senior PM who has run negotiated healthcare work and one who has run hard-bid public work are different people with different networks.
Senior Project Manager: $156,000 to $208,950 base in California, 2026Project Executive
The seat that takes longest to fill and costs the most when it sits open. A PX carries multiple projects, the client relationships that bring repeat work, and the PMs and Superintendents underneath. We recruit PXs from inside the markets and building types you want to grow in.
Project Executive: $214,240 to $284,550 base in California, 2026Every general contractor role we place
- Project Manager
- Senior Project Manager
- Project Executive
- Superintendent
- Senior Superintendent
- General Superintendent
- Estimator / Senior Estimator
- Chief Estimator
- Preconstruction Manager
- Director of Preconstruction
- VP of Operations
- General Manager
- Area Manager
- Owner’s Representative
- Director of Safety and Quality
- Construction Manager
- Project Engineer / Field Engineer
- CFO / Controller
Project types and delivery methods we recruit for
- Commercial ground-up
- Tenant improvement
- Healthcare and OSHPD
- K-12 and higher education
- Industrial and warehouse
- Public works and infrastructure
- Multifamily and mixed use
- Data center and mission critical
- Hard-bid
- Negotiated and GMP
- Design-build
- CM at risk and CM/GC
What California general contractors pay in 2026
Annual base salary ranges from SBR’s 2026 California Construction Salary Guide, built from our own placements, offers and counteroffers across California general contractors. Bonus, vehicle and project incentives are negotiated on top.
| Position | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| General Manager | $332,800 | $405,300 |
| VP of Operations | $281,840 | $315,000 |
| Chief Financial Officer | $252,000 | $319,680 |
| Chief Estimator | $250,800 | $287,260 |
| Project Executive | $214,240 | $284,550 |
| Area Manager | $202,800 | $231,000 |
| Owner’s Representative | $170,560 | $212,100 |
| Director of Safety and Quality Control | $165,360 | $198,450 |
| Senior Project Manager | $156,000 | $208,950 |
| Construction Manager | $142,480 | $213,150 |
| Senior Superintendent | $140,000 | $198,550 |
| Senior Field Engineer | $125,840 | $158,550 |
| Estimator | $125,400 | $159,000 |
| Project Engineer | $93,600 | $120,750 |
All 22 general contractor roles, plus homebuilder and data center ranges, are in the 2026 California Construction Salary Guide. Mission critical premiums for GC roles on data center programs are on our data center recruiters page.
What the market is telling general contractors
- Field leadership is the constraint on growth. Superintendents and Project Managers show steady 8 to 15 percent compensation growth as the Boomer generation leaves the field, and every awarded project needs both on day one.
- Adjacent markets are pulling from your bench. Data center, industrial and infrastructure programs are paying 20 to 35 percent above traditional project markets for the same PMs and Superintendents you rely on. Retention starts with knowing the number.
- Preconstruction talent is scarce and expensive. Chief Estimators and Preconstruction Directors sit at the top of the GC pay table because the firm that estimates best wins the most negotiated work.
- Offers are being lost to speed. The acceptance rate on offers has fallen from 58 percent to 20 percent in two years. A tight interview loop and a clean offer beat a bigger number that arrives a week late.
How an SBR general contractor search runs
Intake with the hiring authority
The seat, the projects it will carry, the delivery methods, the owners and subs the person will work with, and the culture they have to fit. We push back where the brief and the market disagree.Market map
We build the real population of people who have delivered your project types in your region at a comparable GC. Then we calibrate the profile with you before a single call is made.Direct, confidential outreach
One at a time, peer to peer, with specifics about your pipeline and your team. Your company name never appears on a posting or a mass email.Culture fit scoring alongside technical fit
How they run a job, how they run a crew, how they handle an owner and a change order. You see the scoring, not just a resume.Weekly reporting through the offer
You always know who is in process, who declined and why, and what the market is telling us. We stay through offer, resignation and start date.
Why general contractors work with SBR
We know the work
Hard-bid versus negotiated, OSHPD versus TI, self-perform versus broker GC. The people we call can tell within a minute that we understand their job, which is why they answer.
Passive candidate reach
The PMs and Superintendents you want are employed and not applying anywhere. We reach them directly with a real story about your company.
Comp data you can act on
Every search is benchmarked against our own 2026 salary data, so your offer clears the market the first time instead of losing to a counter.
Direct hire only
Permanent placement is all we do. No temp, contract or staffing, and your search is confidential from the first call.
Frequently Asked Questions
What roles does SBR recruit for general contractors?
Project Managers and Senior Project Managers, Project Executives, Superintendents through General Superintendent, Estimators and Chief Estimators, Preconstruction leadership, Area Managers, VPs of Operations, General Managers, Owner’s Representatives, Safety and Quality Directors, and finance leadership for California general contractors.
Who can help me hire a senior project manager for a general contractor in California?
SBR Jobs. We have recruited construction project management for California general contractors since 1997, we map the PMs who have delivered your specific project types, and we approach them directly and confidentially. Senior Project Managers in California earn $156,000 to $208,950 base in 2026.
Do you recruit project executives?
Yes. The Project Executive seat is the one we are asked for most after Project Manager, and it is the slowest to fill without a dedicated search, averaging 110 days in 2026. We recruit PXs from inside the markets and building types you want to grow in. California PXs earn $214,240 to $284,550 base.
Which project types and delivery methods do you cover?
Commercial ground-up, tenant improvement, healthcare and OSHPD, K-12 and higher education, industrial, public works and infrastructure, multifamily and mixed use, and data center and mission critical, across hard-bid, negotiated and GMP, design-build, and CM at risk delivery.
Which California markets do you cover?
Sacramento, the Bay Area and East Bay, the Central Valley, and statewide for executive seats. We also recruit GC leadership relocating into California from other markets when the project calls for it.
Is this direct hire only?
Yes. Permanent, direct-hire placement is all we do. We do not provide temp, contract or staffing.
How do we start a search?
Call 424-352-6241 or use the Start Hiring page. We run an intake call, confirm the scope and the market, and start outreach with a calibrated target list, reporting to you weekly until the offer is accepted.
Awarded work and an open seat?
Tell us the project, the role and the timeline. We will tell you what the talent pool really looks like and what it will take to win in it, before you commit to anything.
Call 424-352-6241 Start a searchSBR Jobs · Silicon Beach Recruiter · 2100 21st Street, Sacramento, CA 95818 · 424-352-6241
