Job DescriptionTurner & Townsend is seeking a
Cost Engineer to join our growing
Life Sciences team. This role plays a key part in providing robust cost management support across complex construction programs, with a particular focus on cost controls, payment application review, forecasting, change management, and commercial assurance throughout the project lifecycle.
The successful candidate will support the delivery of large-scale, highly regulated construction projects within the Life Sciences sector, including pharmaceutical, biotechnology, laboratory, manufacturing, and research facilities. The role will work closely with project management, procurement, contract management, and commercial teams to ensure effective financial performance, reporting, and cost governance throughout all phases of project delivery.
Responsibilities:- Support the review, validation, and audit of GMP payment applications from general contractors and subcontractors.
- Assist in the development and maintenance of detailed project budgets covering labor, materials, equipment, and services.
- Perform detailed cost analysis, forecasting, earned value assessment, and variance analysis to support proactive cost control and risk management.
- Support the review and validation of change orders, potential change notices (PCNs), and claims, ensuring alignment with contract requirements and project budgets.
- Review and validate contractor and consultant cost estimates, bid submissions, and budget updates for accuracy, completeness, and commercial reasonableness.
- Identify potential commercial and financial risks and support mitigation strategies.
- Prepare cost reports, dashboards, forecasts, and progress updates for internal teams and clients.
- Collaborate with project management, procurement, and contract management teams to provide cost planning and cost control support.
- Assist in identifying cost efficiencies, value engineering opportunities, and cost-saving initiatives throughout project execution.
- Support the management of third-party quantity surveyors and validation of construction cost estimates.
- Maintain historical cost data, benchmarking information, and lessons learned to support future project planning and estimating efforts.
- Support monthly cost reporting, forecasting activities, and performance metric tracking.
- SOX control responsibilities may be part of this role, which are to be adhered to where applicable.
Qualifications- A minimum of 3 years' experience in cost engineering, quantity surveying, project controls, or cost management on large-scale construction projects.
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Quantity Surveying, Finance, Economics, or a related discipline.
- Experience supporting GMP, reimbursable, target cost, or lump sum contracts, including payment application review, cost reconciliation, and change management.
- Experience supporting large-scale commercial, industrial, mission-critical, semiconductor, life sciences, or data center construction projects preferred.
- Working knowledge of cost reporting, forecasting, budgeting, change management, and commercial governance processes.
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and experience with cost management, project controls, ERP, or reporting platforms.
- Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills, with confidence working in a client-facing, multi-disciplinary team environment.
- Ability to review, analyze, and communicate complex cost information clearly and effectively to a variety of stakeholders.
- Professional certifications such as CCP, CEP, PQS, MRICS, or equivalent are advantageous but not required.
- Experience working on fast-paced, highly technical construction programs.
- Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic project environment.
- Collaborative mindset with the ability to build effective working relationships across project teams and stakeholders.
Additional Information*On-site presence and requirements may change depending on our client's needs.The base salary range for this role is $90K-$110K USD. This range reflects the company's good faith estimate of the base salary for this position at the time of the posting. Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, skills, qualifications, and internal equity. In addition to base salary, employees may be eligible for bonuses and a comprehensive benefits package.
