Senior Cost Engineer - Airport Cost Control

Parsons; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 279,000 - 424,000; Full time

Job summary

Parsons Corporation is seeking a Senior Cost Engineer for an airport development program in Riyadh. The role focuses on cost control, budgeting, forecasting, and performance reporting across design, procurement, construction, and closeout phases.

You will integrate cost with schedule, manage change, and provide commercial recommendations to leadership. The ideal candidate will have at least 10 years in cost engineering within large infrastructure, and be proficient with Primavera P6, SAP, Power

Qualifications

• Bachelor degree in Engineering, Quantity Surveying, Construction Management or Cost Engineering.
• Extensive experience in cost engineering, project controls or related field.
• Experience with major airport or large-scale infrastructure programs is preferred.
• Strong cost control, forecasting and reporting skills.
• Proficiency with EVMS, cost forecasting and change management.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain estimates, budgets, cost plans, and Baselines.
• Monitor budget utilization, identify overruns or variances.
• Track costs, accruals, forecasts, and final costs.
• Prepare monthly cost reports, dashboards, and management summaries.
• Coordinate with commercial teams on total project cost exposure.
• Support Earned Value Management analysis and integrated cost-schedule reporting.

Skills

Cost control

Budget management

Forecasting

Earned Value Management

Cost estimation

Power BI

Primavera P6

Primavera Unifier

Oracle Primavera Cloud

Microsoft Excel

SAP

Change management

Contract variation review

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Quantity Surveying/Construction Management/Cost Engineering

Tools

Primavera P6

Primavera Unifier

Oracle Primavera Cloud

SAP

Microsoft Excel

Power BI

Job description

Senior Cost Engineer – Airport Cost Control

Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Industry: Construction

Function: Cost Estimating

Experience: Minimum 10 years

Job Type: Full-time

Parsons Corporation is hiring an experienced cost engineering professional to provide reliable cost intelligence, monitor expenditure and commitments, assess commercial impacts, support risk-based forecasting, and help project leadership maintain financial control from design through final closeout.

Country: Saudi Arabia

City: Riyadh

Industry: Construction

Function: Cost Estimating

Salary: 25000-38000

Estimated salary range based on similar jobs in the job city; please confirm the final offer with the employer.

Gender: Any

Candidate Nationality: Any

Job Type: Full-time

The Senior Cost Engineer will provide detailed financial control across a complex airport development program covering buildings, airfield assets, infrastructure, utilities, roads, MEP systems, ICT, and operational facilities. The role will connect budget information, progress data, approved changes, forecasts, and commercial commitments to provide management with a clear view of current and projected project costs. The position has a direct influence on financial predictability. Accurate forecasting, early identification of cost pressures, disciplined change tracking, and integration of cost with schedule performance will support informed decisions and reduce the risk of unexpected budget overruns.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain project estimates, approved budgets, cost plans, control baselines, and expenditure profiles.
• Align all cost information with the approved project scope, Work Breakdown Structure, control accounts, and work packages.
• Support development of funding requirements and phased expenditure plans for major project components.
• Monitor budget utilization and identify emerging overruns, underruns, or financial variances.
• Track committed costs, actual expenditures, accruals, pending liabilities, forecasts, and anticipated final costs.
• Maintain accurate visibility of cost exposure during design, procurement, construction, commissioning, and project closeout.
• Analyze project cost performance and identify trends, risks, opportunities, and areas requiring corrective action.
• Prepare detailed variance analysis explaining differences between approved budgets, actual costs, commitments, and forecasts.
• Develop mitigation and recovery recommendations where cost performance deviates from approved targets.
• Prepare Estimate at Completion and Estimate to Complete forecasts at package and program level.
• Update periodic forecasts based on verified progress, approved changes, current commitments, and emerging risks.
• Prepare monthly cost reports, expenditure profiles, dashboards, management summaries, and executive presentations.
• Monitor project cash flow and support financial planning and funding reviews.
• Provide accurate cost information to support executive and project-level decisions.
• Evaluate financial impacts arising from design development, variations, scope modifications, and evolving project requirements.
• Review contractor variation proposals, quotations, and change requests from a cost engineering perspective.
• Prepare cost impact assessments and commercial recommendations for management review.
• Maintain comprehensive change registers covering approved, pending, potential, and forecast variations.
• Track variation exposure against approved project budgets and contingency allowances.
• Coordinate with commercial teams to maintain an accurate view of total project cost exposure.
• Provide cost engineering support for passenger terminals, concourses, runways, taxiways, cargo aprons, and aircraft stands.
• Monitor cost performance across roads, utility networks, external infrastructure, MEP systems, ICT, and airport operational facilities.
• Coordinate cost allocation between multidisciplinary work packages and ensure expenditure is charged correctly.
• Work closely with Engineering, Design, Procurement, Construction, Commercial, Quantity Surveying, Finance, Planning, and Project Controls teams.
• Integrate cost and schedule information to provide a consistent picture of overall project performance.
• Support Earned Value Management analysis and performance measurement.
• Verify alignment between cost reports, progress updates, forecasts, and approved project schedules.
• Participate in project controls reviews, cost workshops, commercial meetings, and governance forums.
• Support risk-based forecasting, sensitivity analysis, and cost scenario modelling.
• Assess financial implications of identified project risks and opportunities.
• Monitor contingency usage and ensure approved allowances remain traceable.
• Identify cost recovery opportunities and areas where financial exposure can be reduced.
• Support value engineering initiatives by providing accurate cost comparisons and lifecycle financial information.
• Evaluate potential savings without compromising safety, quality, functionality, or operational performance.
• Collect cost data from contractors, consultants, and internal stakeholders and validate information before reporting.
• Challenge inconsistent or unsupported cost submissions and obtain clarification where necessary.
• Maintain structured records covering budgets, forecasts, approved changes, commitments, commercial decisions, and cost reports.
• Support preparation of final accounts and project financial closeout documentation.
• Assist internal and external audits by providing traceable cost records and supporting information.
• Ensure cost documentation is complete, controlled, and archived in accordance with project requirements.
• Contribute lessons learned and cost benchmarking information to improve estimating and controls on future projects.
• Support development of cost databases and historical cost intelligence.
• Mentor junior cost engineers and contribute to stronger project controls capability across the team.

Ideal Profile

• Bachelor 's degree in Engineering, Quantity Surveying, Construction Management, Cost Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in cost engineering, project controls, commercial management, or a closely related field.
• Proven involvement in major airport, transportation, infrastructure, or large-scale construction programs.
• Strong experience in cost control, budget management, estimating, forecasting, reporting, cash flow analysis, and change management.
• Practical knowledge of Earned Value Management and integrated project performance measurement.
• Experience working within Delivery Partner, PMC, EPC, Design-Build, or client-side project environments.
• Advanced understanding of Estimate at Completion and Estimate to Complete forecasting.
• Strong capability in variance analysis, commitment tracking, contingency management, and risk-based forecasting.
• Ability to integrate cost information with project schedules and progress data.
• Experience reviewing contractor quotations, variations, claims-related cost information, and change requests.
• Strong understanding of commercial management practices and project financial governance.
• Proficiency with Primavera P6, Primavera Unifier, Oracle Primavera Cloud, SAP, or comparable systems.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel capability for cost modelling, analysis, and reporting.
• Experience with Power BI or equivalent reporting and visualization platforms.
• Familiarity with FIDIC contract frameworks and structured change control procedures.
• Strong analytical and numerical ability with high attention to financial accuracy.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for technical reports and executive presentations.
• Strong stakeholder coordination capability across clients, contractors, consultants, commercial teams, and finance personnel.
• Ability to manage multiple reporting cycles and competing priorities within a major project environment.
• Master 's degree in Engineering, Quantity Surveying, Construction Management, Cost Engineering, or a related discipline is advantageous.
• AACE Certified Cost Professional, MRICS, PMP, or equivalent certification is desirable.
• International airport mega-project experience is highly advantageous.
• Familiarity with ICAO, FAA, and aviation infrastructure requirements is beneficial.
• Experience with BIM 5D cost integration and model-based quantity management is advantageous.
• Knowledge of automated cost dashboards and digital project controls is valuable.

Skills Set

• Cost engineering
• Cost control
• Cost estimating
• Budget management
• Project budgeting
• Cost forecasting
• Estimate at Completion
• Estimate to Complete
• Cost variance analysis
• Commitment tracking
• Actual cost tracking
• Accrual management
• Cash flow analysis
• Cost reporting
• Cost dashboards
• Earned Value Management
• Change management
• Variation assessment
• Cost impact analysis
• Change registers
• Contingency management
• Risk-based forecasting
• Sensitivity analysis
• Scenario modelling
• Cost optimization
• Value engineering
• Airport infrastructure costs
• Terminal cost control
• Airfield cost control
• Runway cost management
• Taxiway cost management
• Utility cost control
• MEP cost management
• ICT cost management
• Project controls
• Cost and schedule integration
• Primavera P6
• Primavera Unifier
• Oracle Primavera Cloud
• SAP
• Microsoft Excel
• Power BI
• FIDIC
• Commercial analysis
• Contractor variation review
• Final accounts
• Financial closeout
• Cost benchmarking
• Cost databases
• Executive cost reporting
• Audit support
• Financial risk management

Why Join Us

This role offers the opportunity to influence financial performance across a major airport development where accurate cost information is essential to investment decisions, procurement strategy, construction delivery, and long-term budget control. The assignment provides broad exposure to airfield infrastructure, terminals, utilities, building systems, and multidisciplinary project controls. For an experienced cost engineer in Riyadh, the position offers a strong route toward senior project controls and commercial leadership while developing deeper expertise in integrated cost‑schedule management, airport infrastructure, digital reporting, and major‑program financial governance.

About the Company

Parsons Corporation delivers engineering, infrastructure, aviation, construction management, technology, and program delivery solutions for complex developments worldwide. Its multidisciplinary teams combine cost engineering, project controls, commercial management, technical delivery, and digital reporting to support predictable financial performance across major infrastructure programs.