Last updated September 21, 2026 · Compiled from Amundson Group placement records and public market data.
Hiring for heavy civil, site development, paving, data center, rail, or wastewater work? Amundson Group is a construction-only recruiter. First qualified resumes in 7 hours. Send us the role or call (832) 558-7982.
What construction executive search actually means
Construction executive search is the dedicated recruitment of senior leaders who run a construction business or a major piece of one: division presidents, vice presidents of operations, general managers, regional directors, chief estimators, directors of preconstruction, and the operations and safety executives who report to them. It is different from filling a superintendent or project manager opening. The candidate pool is small, most of the people you want are not applying anywhere, and a wrong hire at this level can set a company back several years of backlog and reputation.
Amundson Group runs construction executive search from Houston, Texas, our headquarters and only office, for clients nationwide. We work exclusively in heavy civil (highways, bridges, earthwork, grading), site and land development (utilities, paving), data center, rail, tunnels, and wastewater construction. We do not place commercial building roles and we do not work energy or oil and gas. That focus is the point: the executives who can run a bridge program or a utility-heavy site development division are a specific group, and we already know most of them.
Why 2026 is a hard year to hire construction leaders
Leadership hiring in construction has not loosened, even as the market has become more selective about where growth is happening. Per AGC and NCCER’s 2026 workforce survey, 87% of construction firms reported open salaried positions, and 87% of those firms said salaried roles were as hard or harder to fill than a year earlier. Per BLS data, the industry carried 326,000 open construction jobs in July 2026, up 28,000 from June.
Demand is also concentrated. AGC’s 2026 outlook shows data centers as the strongest segment with a +57 net demand reading, and water and sewer work posting a positive +16. Companies competing in those markets are hiring leaders who have already delivered similar work, not leaders who can learn it on the job. The result is a market where the right profile moves fast and the wrong profile does not move at all.
How Amundson Group runs a construction executive search
Our process is built to be fast at the front end and thorough at the decision point. Here is what a client can expect:
- Intake and calibration. We define the role around real deliverables: backlog to protect, markets to enter, teams to rebuild, and the reporting relationships that will make or break the hire. We also pressure-test compensation against what the market is actually paying.
- Network-first sourcing. We start with our network of 90,000+ construction professionals, built over 1,200+ construction placements across 250+ construction companies served. Our average time from job intake to first qualified resume is 7 hours, and executive searches begin with the same speed even though final selection takes longer.
- Confidential outreach. Most executive candidates are employed and cautious. We approach them discreetly, qualify their interest and their record, and protect both sides until there is a real conversation to have.
- Verification of execution. We look for proven delivery on the type of work you build, not just a title on a resume. That means digging into project scale, self-perform versus subcontracted work, safety culture, and how the candidate handled a bad job.
- Offer and transition support. We help structure offers, manage counteroffers, and stay involved through the start date so the search finishes the way it started.
Where we recruit construction executives
We are a national construction recruiter with the deepest roots in Texas (Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Fort Worth), Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, plus Nashville, Phoenix, Denver, and the Virginia corridor. We place and serve clients nationwide, including California and New York, all from our Houston headquarters.
What construction executives are paid
Compensation at the executive level varies widely by sector, company size, geography, and the mix of base salary, bonus, and equity or profit participation. Our construction salary data is drawn straight from where the hiring happens, our recruiting desks, across a network of 90,000+ construction professionals, and cross-checked against authoritative sources including BLS, AGC, ENR, and industry surveys. It is the market as we actually see it, not scraped job-board averages. Current ranges by role are in our construction salary guide.
Start a construction executive search
If you are a contractor in heavy civil, site development, data center, rail, tunnel, or wastewater work and you have a leadership seat to fill, tell us about the role at amundsongroup.com/hire-talent. Amundson Group is veteran-owned and an Inc. 5000 honoree in 2024 and 2025, and we would welcome the chance to earn the search.
Frequently asked questions
What is construction executive search?
Construction executive search is the dedicated recruitment of senior leaders for construction companies, including division presidents, vice presidents of operations, general managers, regional directors, chief estimators, and directors of preconstruction. Unlike filling field or project-level roles, executive search targets a small pool of mostly employed candidates who are not actively looking. A specialized firm identifies them through its network, approaches them confidentially, verifies their record of delivering the type of work the client builds, and manages the offer and transition. Amundson Group provides construction executive search for heavy civil, site development, data center, rail, tunnel, and wastewater contractors nationwide.
How long does a construction executive search take?
The front end can move quickly. At Amundson Group, our average time from job intake to first qualified resume is 7 hours, and executive searches begin at that pace because we start from a network of 90,000+ construction professionals rather than from scratch. The full search takes longer than a superintendent or project manager placement because executive candidates are typically employed, cautious, and often bound by notice periods or bonus timing. Confidential outreach, deep verification of project history, and offer negotiation all add time. Clients who define the role clearly at intake and make decisions promptly finish fastest.
Which construction sectors does Amundson Group recruit executives for?
Amundson Group recruits construction executives exclusively in heavy civil (highways, bridges, earthwork, grading), site and land development (utilities, paving), data center, rail, tunnels, and wastewater construction. We do not place commercial building roles such as office, retail, hospitality, or tenant build-out, and we do not work in energy or oil and gas. That focus matters at the executive level because the leaders who can run a heavy civil or utility-intensive program are a specific group with a specific track record, and a specialized firm already knows most of them. We serve clients nationwide from our Houston, Texas headquarters.
Why is hiring construction executives so difficult in 2026?
The market is both tight and selective. Per AGC and NCCER’s 2026 workforce survey, 87% of construction firms reported open salaried positions, and 87% of those said the roles were as hard or harder to fill than a year earlier. Per BLS data, there were 326,000 open construction jobs in July 2026. At the same time, growth is concentrated in segments like data centers and water and sewer work, so companies want leaders who have already delivered that exact type of project. The best candidates are employed and rarely apply, which is why most executive hires in construction come through direct, confidential search rather than job postings.
Start a search with Amundson Group. Average 7 hours from job intake to first qualified resume.
Need this hire made? Send us the role. Amundson Group is a construction-only recruiter based in Houston, placing across the United States: heavy civil, site development, paving, data centers, rail, tunnels, wastewater, and underground utilities. 1,200+ construction placements to date, a 90,000+ professional network, first qualified resumes in 7 hours. Inc. 5000 in 2024 and 2025.
Prefer to talk? Call (832) 558-7982 or use the full form at amundsongroup.com/hire-talent.
Looking for your next role? See open construction jobs.
Reviewed and updated September 29, 2026. Methodology note: Our salary data is drawn from our recruiting desks, across a network of 90,000+ construction professionals, and cross-checked against authoritative sources (BLS, AGC, ENR and industry surveys).