Cost Engineer - Life Sciences Construction

Turner & Townsend • Elkton, VA

1d

About The Position

Turner & Townsend is seeking a Cost Engineer to provide cost management support across complex construction programs in the Life Sciences sector. The role focuses on cost controls, payment application review, forecasting, change management, and commercial assurance throughout the project lifecycle. Projects may include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, laboratory, manufacturing, and research facilities. The Cost Engineer works with project management, procurement, contract management, and commercial teams to support financial performance, reporting, and cost governance across project delivery.

Requirements

• At least 3 years of experience in cost engineering, quantity surveying, project controls, or cost management on large-scale construction projects.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Quantity Surveying, Finance, Economics, or a related discipline.
• Experience supporting GMP, reimbursable, target cost, or lump sum contracts, including payment application review, cost reconciliation, and change management.
• Working knowledge of cost reporting, forecasting, budgeting, change management, and commercial governance processes.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and experience with cost management, project controls, ERP, or reporting platforms.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills, including the ability to work in a client-facing, multidisciplinary team environment.
• Ability to review, analyze, and clearly communicate complex cost information to a variety of stakeholders.
• Experience working on fast-paced, highly technical construction programs.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic project environment.
• Collaborative mindset and ability to build effective working relationships across project teams and stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

• Experience supporting large-scale commercial, industrial, mission-critical, semiconductor, life sciences, or data center construction projects.
• Professional certifications such as CCP, CEP, PQS, MRICS, or equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Support review, validation, and audit of GMP payment applications from general contractors and subcontractors.
• Assist in developing and maintaining detailed project budgets for labor, materials, equipment, and services.
• Perform cost analysis, forecasting, earned value assessment, and variance analysis to support cost control and risk management.
• Support review and validation of change orders, potential change notices (PCNs), and claims for alignment with contract requirements and project budgets.
• Review and validate contractor and consultant cost estimates, bid submissions, and budget updates for accuracy, completeness, and commercial reasonableness.
• Identify potential commercial and financial risks and support mitigation strategies.
• Prepare cost reports, dashboards, forecasts, and progress updates for internal teams and clients.
• Collaborate with project management, procurement, and contract management teams on cost planning and cost control.
• Assist in identifying cost efficiencies, value engineering opportunities, and cost-saving initiatives.
• Support management of third-party quantity surveyors and validation of construction cost estimates.
• Maintain historical cost data, benchmarking information, and lessons learned for future project planning and estimating.
• Support monthly cost reporting, forecasting activities, and performance metric tracking.
• Adhere to applicable SOX control responsibilities.

Benefits

• Employees may be eligible for bonuses and a comprehensive benefits package.
• Flexible working environment that supports work-life balance.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level