Director of Project Controls

Pacifico Energy; Dallas (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Pacifico Energy seeks a Director of Project Controls to build and lead the Project Controls function within the EPC organization, establishing corporate governance, standards, and systems across planning, scheduling, contract/cost controls, and document controls for its large-scale power generation portfolio.

The role provides portfolio-level leadership for cost, schedule, and reporting integrity and serves as the controls point of credibility for investors, lenders, and customers.

Qualifications

• 15+ years in project controls with 5+ years leading a controls function in power/energy/large EPC
• Track record on GW-scale or $1b+ projects through construction and operation
• Experience building and managing a multi-discipline project controls team
• Deep expertise in scheduling, cost control, contract/change management, and earned value

Responsibilities

• Build and lead the Project Controls function under EPC; define team structure and escalation paths across planning, scheduling, contract and document controls
• Hire, onboard, mentor, and manage controls staff as the portfolio scales
• Lead front-end planning: WBS, baselines, budgets, and execution strategy alignment
• Own integrated project schedules (Primavera P6) and governance standards; manage critical path
• Oversee cost forecasting, budgeting, earned value, and change control through the EPC build phase
• Establish and maintain document control standards and systems (e.g., Procore) and ensure audit-readiness
• Provide portfolio governance and reporting to executives on cost, schedule, and risk
• Coordinate with Development, Finance, Legal, and leadership; support financing and lender reporting
• Drive development-to-EPC handoffs by aligning scope, schedule, cost, and contractual assumptions
• Partner with lenders and Independent Engineer on draws and progress certification

Skills

People management

Executive-level communication

Cross-functional leadership

Strategic planning

Portfolio forecasting

Education

Bachelor’s in engineering/construction management/finance

PMP certification

Tools

Primavera P6

Procore

Job description

We are seeking a Director of Project Controls to build, lead, and manage Pacifico’s Project Controls team within the EPC organization, and to establish the corporate-level governance, standards, and systems for the controls function. This person will provide portfolio-level leadership across the four core disciplines of project controls — planning, scheduling, contract controls (budget and cost controls), and document controls — for Pacifico’s portfolio of large-scale power generation for data centers. They will serve as the central authority for cost, schedule, contract, and reporting integrity, giving executive leadership objective oversight and decision support, and will be the controls point of credibility for investors, lenders, and customers. This role will report to our Head of EPC in our Dallas office.

What you get to do:

Team Build-Out & Leadership

• Build and lead the Project Controls function under EPC; define team structure, roles, responsibilities, and escalation paths across planning, scheduling, contract controls, and document controls.
• Hire, onboard, mentor, and manage controls staff (schedulers, cost/contract analysts, document control specialists, coordinators) as the portfolio scales.
• Set performance standards, workload allocation, and development paths for the team.

Planning

• Lead front-end project planning: work breakdown structures, baseline schedules and budgets, and execution-strategy alignment with Development and EPC.
• Provide planning support from early development through construction and closeout, ensuring consistent methodology across the portfolio.

Scheduling

• Own integrated project schedules (Primavera P6) and manage the critical path across all active projects in the portfolio.
• Establish schedule governance standards, baseline control, progress measurement, and variance/recovery planning.
• Provide schedule risk analysis and scenario planning to support executive decisions.

Contract Controls (Budget & Cost Controls)

• Own cost forecasting and budgeting across the portfolio: earned value, cost-to-complete, contingency management, and variance analysis with corrective-action plans.
• Administer contract controls through the EPC build phase: change-order control, claims and liquidated-damages defense, and commercial compliance with contract terms.
• Support ITC-related schedule and financial compliance by aligning development, engineering, procurement, and construction activities.

Document Controls

• Establish and own portfolio-wide document control standards and systems (e.g., Procore), transmittals, submittals, RFIs, drawing/document revisions, and records management.
• Ensure document traceability, version control, and audit-readiness to support lender, investor, and Independent Engineer reviews.

Portfolio Oversight & Governance

• Provide end-to-end controls oversight across the power generation project portfolio.
• Establish and maintain portfolio-level governance frameworks for planning, schedule, cost/contract, and document controls.
• Ensure consistency, accuracy, and transparency of project data used for executive decision-making.

Development-to-EPC Coordination

• Partner with Development on critical paths, milestones, and execution risks.
• Drive proactive de-risking during development to enable smooth handoffs to EPC/construction.
• Facilitate development-to-EPC transitions by aligning scope, schedule, cost, and contractual assumptions.

Financing / Lender / Investor Interface

• Serve as the controls point of credibility for investors, lenders, and customers in diligence and financing.
• Interface with lenders and the Independent Engineer on draws and progress certification.
• Produce executive- and board-level reporting on cost, schedule, contract status, forecast, and risk.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Serve as the central coordination point across EPC, Development, Finance, Legal, Accounting, and executive leadership; resolve dependencies and manage interfaces.
• Translate complex technical, financial, contractual, and schedule information into clear executive-level insight and recommendations.

Standards, Systems & Continuous Improvement

• Define, implement, and continuously improve controls standards, tools, and reporting frameworks across all four control disciplines.
• Own the controls toolset (incl. Primavera P6, Procore) at the portfolio level; improve systems, processes, and data governance to support scalable growth.

What you bring to the role:

• 15+ years in project controls (incl. 5+ years leading a controls function), spanning planning, scheduling, contract/cost controls, and document controls, in power, energy, infrastructure, or large-scale EPC.
• Track record on GW-scale / $1b+ projects through construction and commercial operation (power generation, or comparable large-scale power infrastructure).
• People-management experience: has built, staffed, and managed a project controls team spanning multiple control disciplines (required).
• Deep expertise in scheduling (Primavera P6), cost control, contract/change management, portfolio forecasting, and earned value.
• Experience with document control systems and standards (e.g., Procore) at a portfolio level.
• Experience supporting project financing and investor/lender/Independent Engineer reporting.
• Strong understanding of EPC delivery models and contract-driven execution.
• Proven ability to partner with Development, Finance, Legal, and executive leadership.
• Bachelor’s in engineering, construction management, or finance;
• PMP / PSP a plus.
• Full-time Dallas presence.