Remote VP, Data Center Cost Management

JLL; Houston (TX); Remote; USD 139,000 - 201,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) plan with matching

Medical, Dental & Vision Care

Paid parental leave

Paid Time Off

Daily Pay – early access to wages

Job summary

JLL is seeking a VP, Cost Manager specializing in data centers to lead cost planning, estimating, and value engineering for mission-critical facilities. You will guide budgets and procurement strategies for hyperscale, colocation, and enterprise data centers, ensuring cost certainty while supporting 24/7 operations.

You will mentor a team of cost professionals, develop standardized processes, and collaborate with clients, PMO, and design teams to optimize total cost of ownership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in construction management, engineering, quantity surveying, architecture, or related field.
• 12+ years of cost management/estimating experience with data center or mission-critical facilities.
• Expert knowledge of data center construction costs including electrical systems, mechanical cooling, fire suppression, and building envelope.
• Proven experience managing costs for large-scale projects ($100M+ capital value) with complex MEP systems.
• Strong understanding of data center design standards (Uptime Institute Tier, TIA-942, ASHRAE) and their cost implications.

Responsibilities

• Developing comprehensive cost estimates for data center projects from conceptual design through construction documentation.
• Leading value engineering workshops to identify cost savings while maintaining uptime requirements.
• Establishing cost management frameworks, tracking systems, and reporting protocols for complex data center programs.
• Monitoring budgets, analyzing cost trends, and providing early warnings of overruns.
• Presenting cost reports to client leadership and coordinating with design and construction teams.

Skills

Cost management

Estimating

Data centers

MEP systems

Cost modeling

Leadership

Executive communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in CM/engineering/QS/architecture

Advanced degree (MS/DBA/PhD/PM)

Tools

CostX

Bluebeam

RSMeans

Job description

JLL is seeking a VP, Cost Manager specializing in data centers to lead cost planning, estimating, and value engineering for mission-critical facilities. You will guide budgets and procurement strategies for hyperscale, colocation, and enterprise data centers, ensuring cost certainty while supporting 24/7 operations.

You will mentor a team of cost professionals, develop standardized processes, and collaborate with clients, PMO, and design teams to optimize total cost of ownership.