PRINCIPAL LEAD ESTIMATOR & COST CONTROLS SME

About the role

Serve as the senior cost estimating, commercial analysis, and project controls subject matter expert for assigned projects, programs, and strategic initiatives. Support investment decisions, budget development, cost governance, forecasting, and execution visibility across the delivery portfolio.

Responsibilities

• Develop and validate conceptual, budgetary, and detailed estimates across various scopes.
• Build and maintain cost models, parametric estimating tools, quantity-based estimates, labor productivity models, benchmarks, and should-cost analyses.
• Lead cost forecasting, trend analysis, variance analysis, escalation analysis, and cost risk identification.
• Perform bid leveling, proposal normalization, commercial evaluations, contractor pricing reviews, vendor pricing validation, and scope gap analysis.
• Prepare Basis of Estimate packages, executive cost reporting, cost dashboards, estimate governance standards, and portfolio cost intelligence reports.
• Support change order evaluations, cost negotiation, cost-related decision support, project controls integration, and cost/schedule analytics.
• Provide portfolio cost visibility by connecting estimating, forecasting, commercial risk, project controls, and field execution data.
• Standardize estimating methodologies, cost reporting practices, and cost management procedures across assigned projects and programs.

Third-Party Quantity Surveying (QS) Governance

Manage external QS partners and cost consultants as integrated extensions of the delivery organization. Define QS scopes of work, service standards, reporting requirements, performance metrics, and accountability measures.

• Review, challenge, validate, and accept QS estimates, forecasts, cost reports, methodologies, assumptions, and recommendations.
• Coordinate multiple QS firms across projects and regions while improving quality, responsiveness, accuracy, and consistency.
• Integrate QS outputs into portfolio reporting, executive decision-making, cost governance, and continuous improvement efforts.

Requirements

• Senior-level cost estimating, cost controls, commercial analysis, project controls, or capital project delivery experience.
• Expertise in conceptual, budgetary, detailed, parametric, and quantity-based estimating methods.
• Strong understanding of multi-discipline construction scopes, contractor pricing, productivity assumptions, quantities, and field execution realities.
• Experience with cost forecasting, budget management, cost variance analysis, change order evaluation, contingency planning, and cost risk management.
• Ability to perform bid leveling, proposal validation, scope reconciliation, should-cost modeling, benchmark development, and commercial challenge.
• Demonstrated ability to manage third-party QS firms, cost consultants, or external estimating partners.
• Strong executive reporting, dashboarding, cost governance, documentation, and data-driven decision support skills.
• Ability to partner with project teams, procurement, construction, contractors, estimators, commercial stakeholders, and executive leadership.
• Strong communication, cross-functional collaboration, consultant oversight, and stakeholder management skills.

Leadership Expectations

Serve as the organization’s subject matter expert for estimating methodologies, cost governance, commercial validation, and owner-side cost leadership. Lead through cost expertise, commercial challenge, consultant oversight, data-driven decision support, and cross-functional collaboration.

• Build trusted relationships with executive leadership, project teams, procurement, construction, contractors, QS partners, and commercial stakeholders.
• Drive continuous improvement in estimate accuracy, forecast reliability, commercial rigor, reporting quality, and cost governance consistency.

Success Measures

• Estimates are accurate, defensible, trusted, and supported by documented assumptions.
• Budget development, cost forecasts, and executive cost reporting improve predictability and decision-making.
• Cost risks, scope gaps, commercial issues, and budget impacts are identified early and mitigated proactively.
• Contractor pricing transparency increases, cost overruns are surfaced earlier, and change order exposure is reduced.
• Benchmarks, cost databases, estimating standards, and reporting practices improve portfolio performance over time.
• QS partners deliver consistent, high-quality work with minimal rework and clear accountability.

Key Performance Indicators

• Estimate accuracy; budget variance; forecast accuracy; cost risk identification speed; bid review cycle time.
• Proposal validation accuracy; change order avoidance; benchmark utilization; cost reporting accuracy; cost savings identification.
• Estimate turnaround time; portfolio cost predictability; QS deliverable accuracy; consultant performance score; cost reporting consistency; change order validation accuracy.

Core Deliverables

• Conceptual, budgetary, and detailed estimates; Basis of Estimate packages; cost models; parametric tools; should-cost analyses.
• Cost forecasts, bid leveling analyses, commercial review reports, cost risk assessments, executive cost dashboards, and cost benchmarking reports.
• Quantity validation reports, change order evaluations, contractor pricing reviews, estimate governance standards, and cost database management plans.
• Portfolio cost intelligence reports, executive recommendation memorandums, portfolio cost performance scorecards, and executive cost governance dashboards.
• QS governance framework, QS performance scorecards, consultant service reviews, estimate quality audits, independent estimate validations, and commercial challenge assessments.

ONSITE Expectations

Maintain approximately 30-50% field/site engagement depending on project phase and estimating activity. Validate estimate assumptions, quantities, productivity, labor utilization, execution methods, and cost forecasts against actual field conditions.

• Participate in contractor reviews, commercial discussions, consultant deliverable reviews, and project team alignment sessions.
• Engage directly with project teams, estimators, procurement teams, contractors, QS partners, and commercial stakeholders.
• Escalate cost risks before budget impacts occur and maintain disciplined estimate documentation.

Role Boundaries

Not responsible for portfolio governance ownership, executive prioritization decisions, final budget approval, final commercial approval, procurement ownership, or contract administration ownership.

• Not responsible for contractor means and methods, construction execution ownership, site-level schedule ownership, commissioning authority, startup acceptance decisions, or direct contractor management.

Qualifications Disclaimer

Certain U.S. based or U.S. customer or client-facing roles may be required to comply with applicable requirements, such as immunization/occupational health mandates, and/or drug testing requirements.

Pay

Range in USD from: $126,200 - $264,100 per year. May be eligible for bonus, equity, and compensation deferral.

Benefits

Oracle US offers a comprehensive benefits package which includes the following: Medical, dental, and vision insurance, including expert medical opinion, Short term disability and long term disability, Life insurance and AD&D, Supplemental life insurance (Employee/Spouse/Child), Health care and dependent care Flexible Spending Accounts, Pre-tax commuter and parking benefits, 401(k) Savings and Investment Plan with company match.

• Paid time off: Flexible Vacation is provided to all eligible employees assigned to a salaried (non-overtime eligible) position.
• Accrued Vacation is provided to all other employees eligible for vacation benefits.
• 11 paid holidays, Paid sick leave: 72 hours of paid sick leave upon date of hire.
• Refreshes each calendar year. Unused balance will carry over each year up to a maximum cap of 112 hours.
• Paid parental leave, Adoption assistance, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, Financial planning and group legal, Voluntary benefits including auto, homeowner and pet insurance.

Schedule

Maintain approximately 30-50% field/site engagement depending on project phase and estimating activity.