Posted 1d ago

Project Services Cost Lead

@ Talos Energy
Houston, Texas, United States
HybridFull Time
Responsibilities:developing baseline, leading cost close, coordinating governance
Requirements Summary:10+ years cost engineering on capital projects; oil and gas operator experience preferred; lead cost engineer with IQ in budgeting, forecasting, and reporting; Omega 365 experience helpful; strong Excel and data reconciliation.
Technical Tools Mentioned:Omega 365, P6, COUPA, BOLO, EFM, SiteView/WellView, OneStream, Power BI
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Job Description

Role Summary: 

The Project Services Cost Lead (Lead Cost Engineer) provides cost engineering leadership for major capital projects across Facilities and project portfolios, accountable for establishing and maintaining cost baselines/control budgets, commitments, actuals, accruals (VOWD), and forecasts (ETC/EAC/FTC) from FEL through closeout. The role integrates cost, schedule, and risk insights to deliver decision-ready reporting, leads close and reconciliation routines with Accounting/Finance, supports disciplined change control, and interfaces with Project Management, Engineering, Construction, Supply Chain, IT/system owners, and EPC/contractors. The position also supports implementation of Omega 365, including governance-ready reporting packs, cutover and hypercare support, data ownership (RACI), and KPI-based data quality and adoption controls.

Key Responsibilities

  • Develop and maintain the project cost baseline/control budget for Facilities and Pipeline major projects, aligned to approved AFE scope, WBS/CBS, estimate basis, and contract strategy.
  • Establish and govern cost coding structures (WBS/AFE/cost elements) and reporting standards to enable consistent rollups across projects and portfolio views.
  • Own cost performance management for assigned projects: commitments, actuals, accruals/VOWD, estimate-to-complete (ETC), estimate-at-completion (EAC), and forecast-to-complete (FTC), with traceability between baseline, current, and forecast.
  • Lead monthly cost close routines and reconciliations (Accounting/Finance): validate accruals, confirm costs reflect work performed (not invoice timing), reconcile source systems, and maintain audit-ready documentation.
  • Partner with GOA Operations to support turnover/handover readiness and cost closeout: align on operability/maintainability inputs, validate cost impacts of operations-driven requirements, and ensure closeout documentation supports transition to operations.
  • Develop time-phased forecasts and cash flow projections (including partner cash calls where applicable); identify funding risks, trends, and EAC drivers; recommend corrective and recovery actions.
  • Perform cost variance and trend analysis against baseline and prior forecasts; produce concise narratives explaining drivers (scope, productivity, quantities, rates, market escalation, execution changes) and quantify remaining risk exposure.
  • Support change management and claims/avoidance: evaluate cost impacts, maintain change logs, validate contractor change orders, and ensure approved changes are incorporated into budgets and forecasts.
  • Validate EPC/contractor cost reports, progress claims, and backup documentation; ensure alignment to contract terms, payment milestones, and agreed coding and reporting requirements.
  • Coordinate with Supply Chain to manage commitments and contract exposure (POs, contracts, change orders), and with Engineering/Construction to validate progress measurement and remaining work.
  • Integrate cost and schedule insights with Planning (P6) and Risk Management to improve forecast accuracy, establish early-warning indicators, and support scenario planning.
  • Omega 365 implementation & governance: support solution design and rollout for cost management and establish governance-ready reporting and controls, including:
    • Define required structures and workflows, reporting packs and narratives, and audit/traceability requirements.
    • Lead data readiness (WBS/AFE mapping, data cleansing), pilot loading, and reconciliation.
    • Coordinate SIT/UAT and role-based training.
    • Develop and execute cutover plans (data freeze/cut-off rules, cutover checklists, communications, and go-live readiness).
    • Support hypercare stabilization with triage, defect prioritization, and release planning.
    • Establish data ownership and RACI (data stewards, approvers, and system admins) and BAU operating model/runbooks (owners, cadence, controls, exception handling).
    • Define and track KPIs (data quality, close timeliness, reconciliation exceptions, user adoption) with ongoing governance routines.
  • Cost controls documentation & governance artifacts: prepare and maintain cost control documentation (cost basis/narratives, assumptions and constraints log, change and trend logs, reconciliation sign-offs, meeting minutes/action registers) and ensure controlled handoffs for approvals, baselines/forecasts, and closeout archives to keep cost deliverables audit-ready.
  • System integration stewardship: partner with IT, system owners, and the Omega 365 implementation team to define, test (SIT/UAT), and stabilize integrations and reconciliations (e.g., P6, COUPA, BOLO, EFM, SiteView/WellView, and OneStream if applicable), including refresh cadence, cut-off rules, mapping logic, reconciliation packs, and data quality controls.
  • Coach and mentor cost engineers/analysts; standardize templates, dashboards, and reporting packs; capture lessons learned to improve Facilities and Pipeline cost management practices.

      Required Qualifications

      • Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Construction Management, Finance, Accounting, or a related discipline; equivalent experience considered.
      • Minimum 10 years of cost engineering experience on capital projects, turnarounds, or integrated project portfolios.
      • Minimum 5 years of experience within an oil and gas operator organization (Owner/Operator environment preferred).
      • Minimum 1-2 years in a Lead Cost Engineer (or equivalent) role, providing functional guidance and coordination across planning resources.
      • Significant experience in cost engineering/cost control for major capital projects, including Facilities and/or Pipeline scopes (EPC, construction, fabrication/installation, commissioning/start-up).
      • Major project experience across subsea, facilities, and mega projects, including complex interfaces, long-lead procurement, and multi-contractor execution.
      • Demonstrated competency in establishing control budgets, time-phased forecasts, accruals/VOWD, and ETC/EAC forecasting with clear basis and traceability.
      • Proficiency with cost management and reporting tools (Omega 365 preferred) and advanced Excel skills; ability to manage, validate, and reconcile cost data across multiple source systems.
      • Working knowledge of contract/commercial fundamentals (POs, progress payments, change orders, invoice validation, contract exposure) and change management controls.
      • Strong facilitation and stakeholder management skills; able to drive alignment on cost coding/structures, challenge assumptions, and present cost insights to leadership.

        Preferred Qualifications

        • AACE certification (CCP/CEP), PMP, or equivalent professional credential.
        • Hands-on experience implementing and governing Omega 365 (or similar cost management system), including configuration workshops, data migration/loading, integration testing (SIT/UAT), training, cutover planning and execution (data freeze, reconciliation sign-offs, go/no-go criteria), hypercare support and stabilization, definition of data ownership/RACI and controls, and KPI development/tracking for adoption, close performance, and data quality.
        • Experience with systems integrations and reconciliation controls across scheduling, procurement, accounting, and accrual systems (e.g., P6, COUPA, BOLO, EFM, SiteView/WellView, OneStream).
        • Experience with earned value management (EVM) and performance-based forecasting (CPI/SPI trending) for major projects, where applicable.
        • Experience performing cost risk analysis, contingency development, and estimate assurance/reviews (FEL/stage-gate, peer/assurance reviews).
        • Experience developing management reporting and dashboards (e.g., Power BI) and automating recurring reporting packs for portfolio governance.

          Working Conditions & Travel

          • Primarily office-based with regular engagement with project teams, contractors, and fabrication/offshore execution stakeholders (including virtual coordination across time zones, as required).
          • Travel may be required to support project needs, including site/fabrication yard visits and execution readiness reviews (travel level dependent on assignment).
          • Must be able to meet applicable safety training, medical, and fitness-to-work requirements for field/offshore access, as required by assignment.
          • Employee must be able to sit for extended periods of time and have use of arms and hands in repetitive motion. A fair amount of standing and walking is also required for the position.

          Key Interfaces

          • Project Manager / Project Engineer and Facilities & Pipeline Engineering lead
          • Accounting/Finance (close, accruals, cost allocations, audit support)
          • Supply Chain Management / Contracting & Procurement
          • Construction and Operations (progress validation, field activity alignment)
          • GOA Operations (handover alignment, operability/maintainability inputs, and cost closeout support)
          • Planning/Scheduling and Risk (integrated forecasting, change, and risk integration)
          • IT and system owners (P6, COUPA, BOLO, EFM, SiteView/WellView, OneStream) and Omega 365 implementation partners
          • Contractors and vendors (cost reporting, invoicing, change orders)

          Success Measures

          • Cost baselines established on time and maintained with clear change traceability to approved AFEs for Facilities and Pipeline major projects.
          • Accurate, timely forecasts (FTC/EAC) with well-supported assumptions and early warning on emerging overruns.
          • High-quality accruals and cost close performance; reconciled and audit-ready cost records.
          • Consistent, decision-ready reporting clearly explains variances, drivers, and mitigation actions.
          • Omega 365 cost management implemented and operating effectively: standardized structures/workflows in place, integrations reconciled, users trained, cutover completed with documented go/no-go criteria, hypercare stabilization achieved, and BAU runbook/governance cadence established with defined data ownership (RACI) and KPIs for adoption, data quality, and close performance.
          • Contractor cost reporting and invoice validation completed efficiently with minimized disputes and timely issue resolution.