Plant Project Controls Specialist

Position Summary

The Plant Project Control Specialist supports Sonic Telecom's network expansion and infrastructure projects by providing cost analysis, initial schedule setup, budget oversight, and coordination across teams. This role partners closely with project teams, engineering, construction crews, contractors, and internal stakeholders to help deliver fiber and telecom projects safely, on time, and within budget.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Business Administration, Finance, or a related field preferred; equivalent experience in telecom or infrastructure projects will be considered.
• Experience with estimating, scheduling, budgeting, or project support within telecom, fiber, or construction environments.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel and familiarity with project management tools (e.g., SAP, Jira, MS Project).
• Experience with construction project estimating; fiber experience is a plus.
• Working knowledge of cost forecasting, project tracking, and performance management practices.
• Understanding of contracts, change management processes, and project financials.

Core Competencies

• Strong organizational, analytical, and communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Effective communication and teamwork
• Problem-solving and adaptability
• Strong time management and prioritization

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain cost estimates for fiber deployment, network upgrades, and telecom infrastructure projects.
• Build preliminary project schedules and upload into the tracking systems.
• Facilitate the formal handoff of approved projects to the execution team, ensuring readiness for implementation.
• Monitor budgets, forecasts, and actual expenditures, identifying variances and recommending corrective actions when needed.
• Coordinate with project management, engineering, field operations, and contractors to develop bid packages, support vendor selection, and facilitate contract awards.
• Track costs related to labor, materials, equipment, and contracted services throughout the project lifecycle, ensuring alignment with invoicing.
• Assist with scope reviews, change management, and financial reporting for active projects.
• Analyze risks, budget variances, and communicate insights to project manager and PMO leadership.
• Ensure alignment with Sonic Telecom's standards, safety practices, and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Prepare reports and dashboards to provide visibility into project status, costs, and schedule performance.
• Contribute to process improvements that enhance estimating accuracy, scheduling efficiency, and cost control.
• Conduct post-project financial/estimate to actual retrospectives to evaluate performance, capture lessons learned and drive continuous improvement across future projects.

Work Environment & Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is consistently required to sit; key/type, talk, hear, use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.