Jobs › Barry-Wehmiller

This position has closed. Barry-Wehmiller removed this listing from their careers page on Oct 6, 2026. The interview prep below is still useful, and there are similar open roles at the bottom of this page.

Director of Client Development – Design‑Build & EPC Capital Projects (Life Sciences)

Barry-Wehmiller · Chicago, IL · Full time

Posted Apr 14, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 4, 2026

Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Tell me about a design-build or EPC capital project in life sciences that you helped win. What was your role in the pursuit?

What they are checking: Whether they have a track record of winning large life sciences capital work, not just supporting proposals.

Tell me about a time you brought together engineering, construction and operations experts for a pursuit. How did you get them aligned?

What they are checking: Whether they can lead a cross-functional pursuit team without direct authority.

Tell me about a pursuit you lost. What did you learn?

What they are checking: Whether they reflect honestly on losses and improve their approach.

What would you do

A long-time client starts talking with a competitor about their next facility. What do you do?

What they are checking: Whether they can protect key relationships by understanding concerns and offering value.

A client asks for a price on a design-build project before scope is clear. How do you respond?

What they are checking: Whether they protect the firm from risky commitments while still moving the client forward.

About the work

How do you find capital projects in life sciences before an RFP goes out?

What they are checking: Whether they build relationships and market intelligence that create early positioning.

How would you explain the advantages of design-build versus a traditional design-bid-build to a pharmaceutical client?

What they are checking: Whether they understand delivery models and can match them to the client's risk and schedule needs.

How do you decide which opportunities to pursue and which to pass on?

What they are checking: Whether they use go or no-go discipline to focus resources on winnable, profitable work.

What are life sciences clients most worried about on a new manufacturing facility right now?

What they are checking: Whether they understand regulatory, schedule, cost and speed-to-market pressures in the industry.

How do you build and manage a sales pipeline for projects that take years to close?

What they are checking: Whether they can forecast and manage long sales cycles with many touchpoints.

Practice this interview out loud.

Offer builds a real interview for this exact role at Barry-Wehmiller from your resume and this job description, asks the questions one at a time, and tells you what landed. The first one is free.

Practice this out loud

The full job description

As published by Barry-Wehmiller.

About Us: BW Design Group is a fully integrated architecture, engineering, construction, system integration, and consulting firm committed to helping our clients realize their most critical goals from Strategy to Commercialization. As the only firm born from a manufacturing technology company to become an independent and fully integrated firm, we combine deep domain expertise in the manufacturing environment with an approach that is built to serve the dynamic needs of our clients. Rooted in our distinct culture of Truly Human Leadership, we cultivate the leaders who will define tomorrow and partner with our clients in the food & beverage, life sciences, industrial, and advanced technology industries to build the future of manufacturing and technology. Barry-Wehmiller is a diversified global supplier of engineering consulting and manufacturing technology for the packaging, corrugating, sheeting and paper-converting industries. By blending people-centric leadership with disciplined operational strategies and purpose-driven growth, Barry-Wehmiller has become a $3 billion organization with nearly 12,000 team members united by a common belief: to use the power of business to build a better world. Job Description: Who You’ll Work With You will join one of our 45 offices in the US, be part of a committed team of over 1500 professionals, and work in teams and directly with our clients doing work that is shaping the world around us. You will be welcomed into a rapidly growing business and team and empowered to make an impact. You will be valued, cared for, and challenged on your path to becoming a world‑class professional consultant and surrounded by leaders who are committed to creating an environment that enables you to realize your own success and fulfillment. When you join BW Design Group as a Director, you are joining a team that will challenge you and position you for growth. In this role, you will work with a team of industry experts to help the world’s leading companies solve their most difficult problems. You will join our Architecture + Engineering + Construction (AEC) Business and partner with seasoned leaders, technical specialists, and subject matter experts to deliver the highest quality solutions to our clients with consistency and accuracy. Role Overview We are seeking a Director, Client Development - Life Sciences Manufacturing (Design‑Build / EPC) to build, secure, and execute large‑scale capital programs ($100M+), with direct accountability for bookings, commercial strategy, and delivery outcomes. This client‑facing growth leadership role blends strategic client alignment with deep technical expertise to expand multi‑project initiatives across pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, and advanced therapy manufacturing environments—including cGMP facilities, utilities, laboratories, and controlled manufacturing spaces—in both brownfield and greenfield settings. Operating outside traditional utilization expectations (e.g., billable hours), the role is measured by bookings, margin‑aware account growth, delivery performance, and long‑term client value—empowering you to focus on high‑impact client strategy, pursuit leadership, and capital alignment in an entrepreneurial environment. Dedicated preconstruction, engineering, and construction teams support the role, ensuring technical depth and delivery leadership partnership complement your accountability in client development. Success in this role is defined by secured bookings, profitable delivery of multi‑project capital programs, and sustained executive‑level client relationships. Programs may span small‑molecule, biologics, advanced therapies, and medical device manufacturing, requiring flexible delivery strategies across diverse regulated environments. What You’ll Do • Own bookings targets, pricing strategy, and commercial positioning, developing opportunities into secured design‑build (DB) and engineer‑procure‑construct (EPC) initiatives supporting life sciences manufacturing, laboratory, clean utility, and distribution facilities, including validation‑ready environments—leveraging your technical insights to achieve outcomes. • Engage client executive stakeholders across Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Validation, Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, and Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) to align capital investment with capacity growth, regulatory compliance, operational readiness, and speed‑to‑market objectives. • Lead pursuit strategy and executive presentations; negotiate commercial terms, delivery approach, pricing, and risk allocation with direct accountability for contractual outcomes, drawing on technical expertise to build client trust. • Lead internal subject matter experts (SMEs) across process, architecture/engineering (A/E), preconstruction, construction, and controls to deliver integrated DB/EPC solutions. • Participate in go/no‑go reviews, pipeline governance, forecasting, and customer relationship management (CRM) discipline to support predictable growth and backlog health. • Serve as executive sponsor through execution and closeout, remaining accountable for client satisfaction, commercial performance, and long‑term account profitability. What You’ll Bring • 15+ years leading and delivering capital programs for manufacturing clients in a design‑build, EPC, or integrated A/E/C environment—particularly within life sciences, pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, or other regulated production environments—with personal responsibility for securing work, pricing, and delivery execution. • Deep understanding of life sciences manufacturing operations, including cGMP production, people and material flows, cleanroom classifications and pressure cascades, adjacency planning, clean utilities (WFI, PW, clean steam), automation, validation readiness, and operational turnover across manufacturing and support systems. • Experience leading large, multidisciplinary delivery teams with authority over scope, cost, schedule, and margin. • This role requires ownership of commercial outcomes and delivery risk within a DB/EPC model, using technical expertise to secure and execute high‑value contracts. • Use industry experience and technical knowledge in delivery strategy development and cost/schedule de‑risking, including preconstruction, constructability, phasing, shutdown/tie‑in planning, commissioning, qualification, and validation (CQV) readiness, operational readiness and turnover (ORAT), and risk management —all to support client pursuits and margin‑aware growth. • Life sciences manufacturing sector experience is strongly preferred; pharmaceutical, biotech, cell & gene therapy, or medical device manufacturing experience applicable. • Experience working in quality‑driven and regulated environments; cGMP‑regulated facilities, FDA/EMA oversight, and validation exposure required. • Executive‑level communication skills with the ability to influence and align technical and non‑technical stakeholders. • Willingness to travel for client engagement, site walkdowns, and industry events. • BS or MS in Engineering, Architecture, Construction Management, or related field. • Professional Engineer (PE) preferred but not required; Master of Business Administration (MBA) and/or Project Management Professional (PMP) a plus. Our culture and commitment to our people is what sets us apart. We foster an environment of mutual respect, integrity, and unconditional interest in the individual and collective success of our professionals. Our model and entrepreneurial mindset offer a rewarding, challenging, and highly flexible path. As a Director, you will build a meaningful and fulfilling career with the support of professional development resources and mentorships including our First Year Experience program, Individual Development Plans, and Career Path resources and tools. You will be surrounded by exceptional talent who will support your development as both a world‑class engineer and a highly effective leader. Feel like you're on the path to becoming a Director but you're not quite there yet? We'd love to connect with you to see if we can take you from where you are today and grow you into a BW Design Group Consultant. #LI-BH1 At Barry-Wehmiller we recognize that people come with a wealth of experience and talent beyond just the technical requirements of a job. If your experience is close to what you see listed here, please still consider applying. We know that our differences often can bring about innovation, excellence and meaningful work—therefore, people from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply to our positions. Please let us know if you require reasonable accommodations during the interview process. ​ Barry-Wehmiller is an equal opportunity employer. M/F/D/V This organization uses E-Verify. Applicants may be subject to pre-employment screening which may include drug screening, reference checks, employment verifications, background screening and/or skills assessments. Company: Design Group