Principal Program Controls Engineer

Principal Program Controls Engineer – Drive Strategic Financial Excellence in Large-Scale Programs

At Parsons, we empower visionaries to shape the future of complex engineering and construction programs. As a Principal Program Controls Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in ensuring financial discipline, risk mitigation, and strategic decision-making across high-impact projects. This position demands a blend of analytical rigor, commercial acumen, and collaborative leadership to optimize program performance, safeguard budgets, and deliver measurable value to stakeholders.

In this dynamic role, you will serve as a trusted advisor to senior management, project teams, and commercial stakeholders, providing expert guidance on cost control, pricing strategy, and change management. Your work will directly influence program success by ensuring alignment between financial realities, contractual obligations, and operational objectives. By leveraging data-driven insights, you will empower decision-makers to navigate challenges proactively, minimize financial exposure, and maximize project outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

Your expertise will be instrumental in the following critical areas:

• Cost Control and Budget Governance
  - Develop and maintain robust program budgets, cost baselines, and financial forecasts to ensure adherence to approved parameters.
  - Monitor real-time financial performance, tracking actual expenditures, commitments, accruals, and remaining budgets against baselines.
  - Identify cost variances, analyze trends, and provide early warnings of potential budget overruns or efficiencies.
  - Prepare comprehensive cost reports, including estimate-at-completion analyses, for senior review and stakeholder communication.
  - Oversee the allocation of contingency reserves, allowances, and management reserves to mitigate financial risks.
  - Collaborate with planning, procurement, and delivery teams to integrate cost data into project-control systems and reporting frameworks.
• Pricing and Commercial Strategy
  - Conduct rigorous evaluations of contractor, consultant, and supplier pricing submissions, assessing labor, materials, overheads, and escalation factors.
  - Develop independent cost estimates for proposed work, variations, and project changes, benchmarking against market rates and historical data.
  - Evaluate the financial implications of design modifications, additional scope, or revised requirements to support informed decision-making.
  - Provide expert pricing analysis for commercial events, including variations, claims, and delay costs, ensuring fairness and alignment with contractual terms.
  - Lead negotiations by delivering data-backed cost analyses to contractors and consultants, advocating for optimal pricing outcomes.
  - Maintain comprehensive records of approved pricing, historical rates, and commercial decisions to inform future engagements.
• Change and Risk Management
  - Lead the program’s change-control process, reviewing and assessing change requests, variations, and claims for their impact on cost, schedule, and scope.
  - Prepare detailed impact assessments for management review, quantifying risks and recommending mitigation strategies.
  - Manage change registers to track the lifecycle of modifications—from evaluation to approval, implementation, and closeout.
  - Ensure transparency in change exposure by categorizing and reporting pending, approved, rejected, and disputed changes.
  - Verify that all authorized changes are accurately reflected in financial forecasts, schedules, and project-control systems.
  - Support the assessment and resolution of contractor variations and claims, aligning resolutions with program objectives.

This role is ideal for a seasoned professional with a proven track record in program controls, financial oversight, and commercial strategy. Your ability to synthesize complex financial data, communicate insights clearly, and collaborate across disciplines will be essential in driving the success of Parsons’ most ambitious programs. Join us in redefining excellence in program delivery—where your expertise directly contributes to the success of multi-billion-dollar initiatives.