Principal Project Controls Manager - Major Capital Projects (EPC)

KBR Technical Services; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

KBR ISA (Integrated Solutions Americas) seeks a Principal Project Controls Manager to lead enterprise-level cost, schedule, change, risk, and performance management on major capital projects from FEL/FEED through closeout. You will set governance, drive forecast credibility, and challenge commercial positions with senior stakeholders.

The role leads planning, cost, change, risk, and reporting professionals, partnering with project directors, clients, and lenders.

Qualifications

• Senior-level project controls experience on major capital projects.
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders and lead governance processes.
• Proven track record delivering EAC/Cost to Complete with a defensible basis.
• Experience mapping CBS/WBS and integrating with general ledger data.

Responsibilities

• Own cost control baseline and governance; manage contingency and reserve releases.
• Lead schedule oversight; ensure integration of cost and schedule data.
• Own end-to-end change management with documented impacts.
• Maintain risk register and perform quantitative risk analysis (Monte Carlo).
• Define reporting calendar, KPIs, and dashboards for executives and lenders.
• Provide contract/commercial input on schedules, milestones, and variations.
• Own systems, data architecture and governance for project controls toolset.

Skills

Leadership

Cost control

Forecasting

Risk management

Performance analytics

Tools

Primavera P6

SAP

Power BI

Job description

Title: Principal Project Controls Manager - Major Capital Projects (EPC)

At KBR, We Deliver.

KBR ISA (Integrated Solutions Americas) delivers integrated, end-to-end engineering, procurement, and construction management services to the refining, LNG, midstream, chemicals, petrochemicals, oil and gas, power, and industrial infrastructure sectors. Our focus spans proprietary technology, consulting, and energy transition to complete delivery of major capital projects and programs.

KBR is seeking a Principal Project Controls Manager who provides enterprise-level leadership for the integrated cost, schedule, change, risk, and performance management framework on major, complex capital projects, from FEL/FEED through engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and closeout. The role establishes a single, reconciled source of truth on project performance, advises senior project and business leadership, and provides an early, quantified view of where the project is heading-not just where it has been.

This is a principal-level functional leadership position accountable for project controls strategy, governance, assurance, and execution across the full discipline. The role leads and develops senior planning, cost, change, risk, and reporting professionals; influences project directors, clients, partners, and executive stakeholders; and provides independent challenge on forecasts, recovery plans, and commercial positions. Success is measured by the credibility of the forecast, the speed at which deviations surface, the strength of governance and assurance, and the defensibility of the project's position in commercial disputes.

Functional job responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

Cost Control, Budgeting & Forecasting

• Own the project budget architecture: Cost Breakdown Structure (CBS), control accounts, contingency and management reserve structures, and the mapping between CBS, WBS, and the general ledger.
• Establish and maintain the cost control baseline; manage budget transfers, contingency drawdown, and reserve release through formal governance.
• Produce monthly cost reports covering commitments, accruals, actuals, value of work done, and variance against budget by control account.
• Deliver the Estimate at Completion (EAC) and Cost to Complete with a documented, challengeable basis - trend-based, not arithmetic.
• Oversee cash flow forecasting, funding drawdown profiles, and currency and escalation exposure reporting to [Finance / Treasury].

Schedule Oversight

• Set the planning standards and hold the Planning Manager accountable for schedule integrity, critical path credibility, and baseline control.
• Ensure cost and schedule are genuinely integrated - resource-loaded, time-phased, and reconciled to the same scope and progress data.
• Review and challenge forecast completion dates; ensure schedule slippage is translated into cost impact and reflected in the EAC.

Change Management

• Own the project change control process end to end: identification, quantification of cost and time impact, review, approval routing, and incorporation into the baseline.
• Chair or provide secretariat to the Change Control Board; ensure no scope change moves without documented cost, schedule, and risk impact.
• Maintain the trend register; drive early identification of potential changes before they crystallise as variations.

Risk Management

• Maintain the project risk register in partnership with the [Risk Manager / Project Director]; ensure risks are costed and time-impacted, not just described.
• Run quantitative cost and schedule risk analysis (Monte Carlo) to set P50/P80 positions; use the output to size and defend contingency.
• Track risk drawdown against contingency consumption and report divergence.

Performance Reporting & Analytics

• Define the project reporting calendar, KPI set, and dashboard suite for [project leadership / steering committee / JV partners / lenders].
• Implement earned value management: rules of credit, progress measurement, SPI and CPI trending, and performance-based forecasting.
• Produce the monthly project report - integrated, reconciled, and consistent across cost, schedule, and risk narratives.
• Provide ad hoc analysis to support investment decisions, recovery planning, and scope trade-offs.

Contract & Commercial Support

• Provide controls input to tender evaluation, contract schedules and exhibits, milestone payment structures, and incentive and liquidated damages mechanisms.
• Review contractor cost and schedule submissions for contractual compliance; drive resolution of non-compliance.
• Support the assessment and defence of variations, claims, extension of time submissions, and disruption arguments alongside [Commercial / Legal].
• Interface with [Procurement / Supply Chain] on commitment tracking, purchase order status, and vendor payment milestones.

Systems, Data & Governance

• Own the project controls toolset and data architecture - [Primavera P6, SAP, Power BI] - including data integrity, coding disciplin