Senior Project / Cost Controls Engineer (Commercial/ Internal)

About the Role

Parsons Corporation is seeking a Senior Project / Cost Controls Engineer (Commercial/ Internal) to join its team in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, covering both Jeddah and Makkah. This full-time role requires over 10 years of experience and focuses on providing comprehensive project controls support across various financial and operational aspects of projects.

Role Overview and Responsibilities

The Senior Project / Cost Controls Engineer will manage cost, schedule, risk, revenue, margin, cash flow, and change management. The position involves establishing reliable project baselines, converting operational data into accurate forecasts and P&L insights, and supporting timely risk management decisions throughout the project lifecycle. This role operates with a high degree of independence while ensuring compliance with contractual requirements, internal governance, and established project controls processes.

• Develop and maintain project budgets, cost breakdown structures, and Work Breakdown Structures (WBS), aligning them with scope, schedule, procurement strategy, resource plans, and contractual deliverables.
• Prepare monthly forecasts including estimate to complete (ETC), estimate at completion (EAC), revenue, gross profit, margin, cash flow, and headcount assumptions, explaining material variances.
• Track commitments, actual costs, accruals, and forecast costs, identifying unfavorable trends and recommending corrective actions.
• Apply Earned Value Management (EVM) principles and other performance-measurement techniques to evaluate cost and schedule performance.
• Support appropriate revenue recognition methods, prepare and validate accruals, and ensure accurate monthly reporting.
• Interpret contractual and subcontract terms affecting revenue, margin, billing, cash collection, and risk allocation, escalating material commercial exposure.
• Identify, quantify, document, and track client and internal changes, ensuring reflection in project forecasts, risk registers, budgets, and schedules.
• Facilitate identification and assessment of project risks and opportunities, maintaining risk registers and monitoring contingency.
• Interpret payment terms, support accurate invoicing, forecast collections, and monitor accounts receivable and unbilled balances.
• Interpret project schedules, progress data, critical milestones, and resource requirements, assessing cost and commercial impact of schedule movement.
• Prepare concise dashboards and management reports covering cost, schedule, revenue, margin, cash, risks, opportunities, and changes.
• Partner with Project Directors, Project Managers, technical leads, Finance, Commercial, Contracts, and Procurement teams.
• Reconcile revenue, gross profit, final costs, commitments, and changes during project closeout.

Required Skills and Qualifications

Candidates must possess a strong foundation in project controls and financial acumen, coupled with analytical and communication abilities.

• Technical Project Controls: Strong knowledge of cost control, forecasting, budgeting, EVM, change control, risk management, cash flow, and performance reporting.
• Financial and Commercial Acumen: Ability to understand project P&L, revenue recognition, margin drivers, accruals, working capital, contract terms, and financial consequences of project decisions.
• Data and Systems: Advanced Microsoft Excel capability and practical experience producing clear Power BI dashboards. Working knowledge of project controls, scheduling, ERP, and cost-management systems is preferred.
• Analytical Thinking: Ability to interpret complex data, challenge assumptions, identify trends and root causes, and translate analysis into clear actions.
• Accuracy and Governance: Strong attention to detail, disciplined documentation, and commitment to reliable, auditable, and timely reporting.
• Communication and Influence: Clear written and verbal communication, with the confidence to explain financial and project-control issues to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Desired Attributes

• Collaboration: Ability to work effectively across project, technical, commercial, finance, and leadership teams while maintaining constructive challenge and accountability.
• Prioritization and Adaptability: Ability to manage competing deadlines, respond to changing project conditions, and maintain reporting quality in a demanding environment.
• Problem-Solving: Practical approach to resolving complex project-controls issues, closing data gaps, and developing proportionate recovery or mitigation actions.

Work Environment

This is a full-time position based in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, with responsibilities extending to projects in Jeddah. The role involves close collaboration with various internal and external stakeholders, requiring a proactive and independent approach to project controls.