Project Controller

About the Company

LIGHTERA boasts one of the longest and most respectable corporate lineages in American business, tracing its roots back to Alexander Graham Bell and the invention of the telephone over a century ago. With a proven track record of industry-first innovations—including application-specific fibers, optical connectors, ribbon cables, erbium-doped fibers, Raman fiber lasers, and fiber gratings—LIGHTERA is dedicated to providing leading optical solutions. Our mission is to design, manufacture, and supply the best optical fibers, fiber cables, components, and devices, delivering exceptional service to create value for shareholders, customers, and employees. We aim to shape the future of communications by applying the best minds to our customers' evolving challenges, with a bold vision to build brighter, more connected communities through cutting-edge optical technologies.

About the Role

The Project Controller serves as the financial co-pilot to the Project Director on large-scale capital investments, bridging the gap between engineering and finance. This role focuses on forward-looking financial oversight, identifying risks, predicting total completion costs, and ensuring strict budget control to prevent overruns.

Responsibilities

• Financial Planning, Budgeting, and Forecasting
  • Establish and maintain the project's original financial baseline and cash flow schedules.
  • Calculate the Estimate-at-Completion (EAC) and Estimate-to-Complete (ETC) based on live site progress.
  • Map out future monthly cash requirements to ensure corporate treasury can fund heavy equipment payments.
• Cost Control and Variance Analysis
  • Monitor actual spending against budgeted lines, highlighting cost variances early.
  • Financially evaluate all proposed project modifications, scoping out their dollar impact before approval.
  • Blend schedule progress with actual costs to measure the project's real efficiency using Earned Value Management (EVM).
• Vendor, Contract, and Contingency Management
  • Review milestones, payment terms, and invoices for major Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractors.
  • Manage the project’s emergency fallback funds, ensuring contingency draws are fully justified.
  • Lead regular physical and financial audits of material deliveries and vendor billing records.
• Reporting and Governance
  • Prepare clear monthly financial health reports for the Project Steering Committee.
  • Maintain the financial risk register, assigning dollar impacts to potential supply chain or construction delays.

Requirements

• Education & Experience
  • Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Engineering, or Construction Management.
  • 5 to 8 years of cost control or project accounting experience, specifically managing large-scale ($50M+) capital infrastructure or industrial projects.
  • Certification as a Certified Cost Professional (CCP), Project Management Professional (PMP), or CMA/CPA is highly preferred.
• Technical Skills
  • Mastery of project management tools such as Primavera P6, Deltek, or specialized ERP project modules (SAP PS, Oracle Projects).
  • Expert-level Excel capabilities (including macros, index/match, and Power Query) or Power BI dashboard building.
  • Deep knowledge of Earned Value Management (EVM) principles (CPI, SPI, and variance metrics).
• Behavioral Skills
  • Assertive communication with the confidence to challenge project directors and engineering leads when spending deviates from the plan.
  • Cross-functional fluency to read engineering milestones and translate technical delays into concrete financial risks.