Principal Project Controller - Remote, USA

Enel North America; United States; On-site; USD 123,838 - 206,397; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401k with match

Paid time off

Professional development

Health insurance

Job summary

Enel North America is seeking a Principal Project Controller to lead the integrated control framework for major renewable energy projects. You will align cost, schedule, risk, scope, and performance across engineering, procurement, and construction phases.

The role requires directing standards, validating assumptions, and driving performance improvements while ensuring governance compliance throughout the project lifecycle.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, or related technical discipline (mandatory).
• Minimum 7+ years of experience in project controls, project management, or equivalent roles for large-scale or multi-project portfolios.
• Demonstrated leadership in managing integrated cost, schedule, and risk functions.
• Strong technical background and familiarity with engineering drawings, construction processes, and EPC contract structures.
• Experience working in a global matrix organization and leading cross-functional project teams.
• Travel as required (domestic and international).
• Valid driver’s license.
• Proven ability to lead project controls functions across large multidisciplinary teams.
• Advanced capability in interpreting engineering documents and integrating technical considerations into project forecasts.
• Strong influencing skills at all organizational levels, including executive leadership.
• Expertise in cost control, schedule analysis, earned value management, and integrated performance measurement.
• Excellent analytical, communication, and negotiation skills.
• Strong ability to drive accountability and decision-making across project teams.
• Able to perform effectively in a complex global matrix environment.
• Proficient in MS Office, MS Project/Primavera, ERP systems (SAP preferred), SharePoint, Power BI.
• Fluent in English; Spanish or Italian is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead the implementation of project controls methodologies across assigned projects, ensuring consistency with global PPC&RM standards.
• Act as the primary decision-maker for cost, schedule, and risk control matters, advising Project Directors and senior leadership on performance strategies.
• Ensure all technical, contractual, and execution assumptions supporting baselines are validated and documented.
• Mentor and guide project controllers and analysts, promoting capability development and best practices.
• Approve and maintain integrated cost baselines, ensuring alignment with engineering deliverables and contractual scopes.
• Direct the monitoring of project expenditures, commitments, and forecasts; validate cost-to-complete and earned value assessments.
• Identify cost optimization opportunities and drive cost-effective solutions with engineering, procurement, and construction teams.
• Ensure timely reporting of cost deviations and corrective action plans.
• Oversee development of integrated project schedules, including engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and energization activities.
• Validate the critical path, logic ties, resource allocations, and milestones for accuracy and feasibility.
• Lead schedule performance reviews, variance analysis, and scenario planning for mitigation and recovery strategies.
• Lead the development and maintenance of project risk registers and mitigation plans.
• Facilitate structured risk workshops with engineering, safety, procurement, and construction leaders.
• Identify opportunities for schedule acceleration, cost optimization, and design efficiency improvements.
• Ensure risk-adjusted forecasts are incorporated into project decision-making and reporting.
• Provide executive-level dashboards integrating cost, schedule, risk, engineering progress, and construction performance.
• Ensure accurate, timely reporting to Project Directors, Leadership, and corporate functions.
• Provide strategic recommendations backed by analytical and technical assessments.
• Ensure alignment between engineering design packages, procurement timelines, logistics, and construction sequences.
• Support procurement in supplier evaluations, bid alignment, and commercial negotiations through cost/schedule insights.
• Ensure project controls compliance with corporate governance, contract management processes, and audit requirements.
• Capture lessons learned from project execution and lead initiatives to implement improvements in processes, templates, and tools.
• Drive adoption of digital tools and analytics to enhance project performance monitoring.

Skills

Leadership

Cost control

Schedule analysis

Earned value management

Risk management

Cross-functional collaboration

MS Office

Power BI

MS Project/Primavera

SAP / ERP systems

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Construction Management or related

Tools

MS Project/Primavera

Power BI

SAP

SharePoint

MS Office

Job description

Description and Requirements

If you want to shape the future of energy, we are looking for a Principal Project Controller to join our Engineering and Construction team!

Who You Will Work With

The Principal Project Controller leads the integrated control framework for major renewable energy projects, ensuring full alignment across cost, schedule, risk, scope, and performance. This senior role provides strategic oversight, governance, and direction to project teams, acting as the key authority for project performance management across engineering, procurement, and construction phases.

The position requires a strong technical and engineering background, the ability to influence multidisciplinary stakeholders, and the capability to guide project teams toward cost‑effective, schedule‑reliable, and risk‑controlled execution. The Principal is accountable for establishing project control standards, validating assumptions, driving performance optimizations, and ensuring compliance with corporate governance throughout the project lifecycle.

What You Will Do

• Lead the implementation of project controls methodologies across assigned projects, ensuring consistency with global PPC&RM standards.
• Act as the primary decision‑maker for cost, schedule, and risk control matters, advising Project Directors and senior leadership on performance strategies.
• Ensure all technical, contractual, and execution assumptions supporting baselines are validated and documented.
• Mentor and guide project controllers and analysts, promoting capability development and best practices.
• Approve and maintain integrated cost baselines, ensuring alignment with engineering deliverables and contractual scopes.
• Direct the monitoring of project expenditures, commitments, and forecasts; validate cost‑to‑complete and earned value assessments.
• Identify cost optimization opportunities and drive cost‑effective solutions with engineering, procurement, and construction teams.
• Ensure timely reporting of cost deviations and corrective action plans.
• Oversee development of integrated project schedules, including engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and energization activities.
• Validate the critical path, logic ties, resource allocations, and milestones for accuracy and feasibility.
• Lead schedule performance reviews, variance analysis, and scenario planning for mitigation and recovery strategies.
• Lead the development and maintenance of project risk registers and mitigation plans.
• Facilitate structured risk workshops with engineering, safety, procurement, and construction leaders.
• Identify opportunities for schedule acceleration, cost optimization, and design efficiency improvements.
• Ensure risk‑adjusted forecasts are incorporated into project decision‑making and reporting.
• Provide executive‑level dashboards integrating cost, schedule, risk, engineering progress, and construction performance.
• Ensure accurate, timely reporting to Project Directors, Leadership, and corporate functions.
• Provide strategic recommendations backed by analytical and technical assessments.
• Ensure alignment between engineering design packages, procurement timelines, logistics, and construction sequences.
• Support procurement in supplier evaluations, bid alignment, and commercial negotiations through cost/schedule insights.
• Ensure project controls compliance with corporate governance, contract management processes, and audit requirements.
• Capture lessons learned from project execution and lead initiatives to implement improvements in processes, templates, and tools.
• Drive adoption of digital tools and analytics to enhance project performance monitoring.

What You Will Bring

The minimum requirements for this role are:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, or related technical discipline (mandatory).
• Minimum 7+ years of experience in project controls, project management, or equivalent roles for large‑scale or multi‑project portfolios.
• Demonstrated leadership in managing integrated cost, schedule, and risk functions.
• Strong technical background and familiarity with engineering drawings, construction processes, and EPC contract structures.
• Experience working in a global matrix organization and leading cross‑functional project teams.
• Travel as required (domestic and international).
• Valid driver’s license.
• Proven ability to lead project controls functions across large multidisciplinary teams.
• Advanced capability in interpreting engineering documents and integrating technical considerations into project forecasts.
• Strong influencing skills at all organizational levels, including executive leadership.
• Expertise in cost control, schedule analysis, earned value management, and integrated performance measurement.
• Excellent analytical, communication, and negotiation skills.
• Strong ability to drive accountability and decision‑making across project teams.
• Able to perform effectively in a complex global matrix environment.
• Proficient in MS Office, MS Project/Primavera, ERP systems (SAP preferred), SharePoint, Power BI.
• Fluent in English; Spanish or Italian is a plus.

Why join us?

The pay range for this position is $137,597.73 - $206,396.59 annually. The base pay actually offered will be based on several factors, including job‑related knowledge, skills, work experience, education, and internal equity. At Enel, base pay is one part of your total compensation package. Please see below for additional information on Enel North America rewards.

• Enel North America offers its regular full‑time employees affordable, quality healthcare for you and your family, life insurance and disability benefits to provide security, and retirement benefits to help you plan for your financial future. In addition, we offer an array of other benefits such as flexible spending accounts, tuition reimbursement and professional development allowance.
• Benefits are effective as of day one!
• Some additional perks to working with Enel North America include:
• 401k with match fully vested as of day one. Enel‑NA matches 100% of the first 4% that you contribute up to set IRS limits.
• Generous PTO that supports work/life balance including: 4 weeks annually of vacation as well as personal days, volunteer days, your birthday off, paid holidays, and sick time. Proration may apply during first year of employment.
• Paid leave programs
• The opportunity to grow and develop your career with the support and mentorship of senior leaders.
• The opportunity to work for one of the world’s most recognizable and respected brands in the energy industry that believes by working together we can create a new energy era in which the world can become more sustainable.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and the Selection Process

Enel North America is dedicated to providing equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information. We will not discriminate, in any employment decision, against any individual or group on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, or veterans/national guard/military reserve status. This shall be done in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws in every location in which Enel North America has facilities. Enel North America maintains a drug‑free workplace and performs pre‑employment substance abuse testing and background checks, where permitted by law. Accessibility – If you require accessibility assistance applying for open positions please contact [e-mail].

The selection process includes an initial introductory interview with the Recruiting team, followed by an interview with the relevant business line. If your profile matches the requirements of the role, we will contact you to share all the details of the next steps.

Enel North America is committed to providing a fair and transparent hiring process for all job seekers. We will never ask you to pay money or provide sensitive information, such as your social security number or bank account number, as part of the application process. We only hire through our official channels, which include our website and LinkedIn page. If you receive a job offer that did not come through one of those channels, it is likely a scam, and we suggest reporting it to the authorities.

We are looking for individuals who embody our values: trust, respect, innovation, proactivity, and flexibility.

Do you want to be a part of change? Apply now and join the Enel team to help drive the energy transition with us!