Director, Project Controls

Johnson & Johnson • New Brunswick, PA

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

Engineering & Property Services (E&PS) is recruiting for a Director, Project Controls. This role is accountable for leading the development, governance, validation, and continuous improvement of capital project estimating practices across the project lifecycle. The position ensures estimates are robust, transparent, benchmarked, and aligned with J&J Worldwide Procedures, E&PS delivery requirements, internal cost structures, and applicable industry best practices. The candidate will require deep expertise in preconstruction planning, conceptual estimating, detailed construction estimating, cost validation, procurement strategy, contractor engagement, and risk-based contingency development. This role will be part of the Global Project Controls & Assurance team and is responsible for driving consistent estimating standards from early ideation through definition, execution, and assessment phases. Key relationships include collaborative working relationships with J&J Project Delivery, Project Controls, Engineering, Procurement, Finance, Design, Construction Management, Facilities Management, external estimating partners, contractors, key stakeholders, and business leaders. This role will also ensure alignment with E&PS functional partners and support consistent application of estimating governance, estimating practices, and capital cost reporting expectations.

Requirements

• B.S. in Engineering, Construction Management, Architecture, Quantity Surveying, Business or related discipline from an accredited institution or equivalent required
• Minimum 15+ years of estimating, project controls, construction management or related capital project experience supporting major capital programs.
• Extensive knowledge of capital project preconstruction, estimating, cost validation, procurement strategy, construction execution, and project controls integration.
• Prior experience leading or supporting complex capital projects greater than $100MM in Supply Chain, R&D, Pharma, MedTech, advanced manufacturing or similarly regulated environments.
• Demonstrated ability to translate business needs, design intent, and project scope into clear estimate strategies, cost assumptions, basis of estimate documentation, and capital funding recommendations.
• Track record of developing and maintaining highly collaborative partnerships with project delivery, engineering, finance, procurement, contractors, design partners, and senior stakeholders.
• Strong listening, facilitation, and problem-solving skills when aligning scope, cost, schedule, risk, and commercial assumptions across diverse project teams.
• Full working knowledge of estimate classification, estimate development, benchmarking, cost breakdown structures, escalation, contingency, risk-based cost analysis, and change impact evaluation.
• Familiarity with multiple contract types, procurement models, construction delivery strategies, and commercial risk allocation approaches.
• Experience leading estimate reviews, contractor reconciliations, bid analysis, value engineering, target value design / delivery, and preconstruction decision support.
• Proficient in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, estimating platforms, benchmarking tools, cost databases, project controls systems, and risk / Monte Carlo analysis tools.
• Fluency in written and spoken English is required.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with J&J Project Management approaches, including FPX and the IDEA Project Delivery Process.
• Professional certification such as CEP, CCP, CPE, PMP, RICS, or equivalent preferred.
• Experience with web-based project management systems, estimating databases, cost benchmarking platforms, Autodesk construction cloud and Planswift.
• Experience in an FDA regulated industry or similarly complex regulated capital project environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead estimating governance for all projects, ensuring early cost strategies are aligned with project scope, business objectives, funding requirements, and decision milestones.
• Provide guidance on Front End Loading / early estimating by aligning project definitions, scope assumptions, basis of estimate, key quantities, procurement strategy, execution approach, and estimating methodology.
• Support the implementation of the IDEA Project Delivery Process with a focus on cost predictability, estimate maturity, risk-informed contingency, scope alignment, and compliance with key financial procedures.
• Work with project teams to develop and align Capital Appropriation Request estimates, estimate basis documentation, cost breakdown structures, and estimating deliverables to support seamless project approval.
• Establish estimating tools, templates, checklists, and review processes that support consistent deliverables, transparent assumptions, benchmark validation, and clear alignment to the 21-Tab / ESR structure.
• Create and manage estimating methods, techniques, and supporting guidance that add depth, consistency, and defensibility across all 21-Tab / ESR categories, ensuring estimates address the full capital cost structure beyond Tabs 1 through 3.
• Oversee and manage all benchmarking activities, including internal J&J historical cost data, project performance metrics, estimate outcomes, cost drivers, lessons learned, as well as external industry, market, regional, contractor, and third-party benchmarking sources.
• Establish benchmarking governance to ensure benchmark data is current, normalized, comparable, documented, and appropriately applied to estimate validation, cost challenge sessions, funding recommendations, and leadership decision support.
• Lead independent estimate reviews, reconciliations, and challenge sessions to validate scope coverage, inclusions and exclusions, quantities, labor assumptions, productivity, unit rates, escalation, markups, indirect costs, and contingency.
• Evaluate external estimating, AE, Construction Management, and contractor deliverables for completeness, accuracy, alignment to J&J requirements, and adherence to agreed estimating standards.
• Support project teams in evaluating cost trends, change impacts, market conditions, constructability considerations, procurement packages, and forecast implications during preconstruction and execution.
• Create and manage procedures for change order review, using estimating techniques to validate pricing, quantities, labor productivity, unit rates, markups, indirect costs, schedule impacts, supporting documentation, and overall commercial reasonableness before approval or negotiation.
• Review construction estimate trend reports, bid packages, subcontractor pricing strategies, and cost validation documents prior to major commercial commitments or contract award recommendations.
• Lead development and review of project estimates across estimate classes, including analysis of scope definition, design maturity, assumptions, unit rates, subcontractor costs, fees, markups, indirect costs, general conditions, and escalation.
• Partner with Procurement and Project Delivery to evaluate subcontract procurement plans, package strategy, bid coverage, market capacity, long-lead equipment considerations, and alignment with target dates.
• Review costs and schedules for major subcontracts prior to award and validate alignment with approved budgets, estimate assumptions, commercial strategy, and project risk profile.
• Develop and evaluate contingency strategies using estimate maturity, risk exposure, market uncertainty, scope definition, and execution complexity; monitor contingency usage and provide guidance on drawdown governance.
• Support payment application and cost validation reviews when required to confirm progress alignment, commercial compliance, and consistency with approved estimate assumptions.
• Maintain and support 21-Tab / ESR estimate information that accurately reflects approved funding, current estimate position, and target schedule assumptions, identifies key estimate drivers, cost risks, opportunities, assumptions, and areas requiring leadership attention, tracks forecasted cash flow, escalation, procurement timing and major cost movements against plan, and supports transparent communication of estimate confidence, contingency position, and cost exposure.
• Lead DTV process to align with internal engineering processes.
• Integrate estimating planning with engineering, design deliverables, procurement strategy, construction management planning, IT / automation scope, commissioning and qualification, operational readiness, process validation, and technology transfer requirements.
• Ensure cost and schedule assumptions are integrated, with clear identification of critical cost drivers, long-lead items, phasing constraints, constructability risks, and mitigation strategies required to support reliable capital decisions.
• Support teams in developing programmatic and project-specific preconstruction and procurement strategies that improve cost certainty, schedule confidence, market competitiveness, and owner value.
• Identify cost opportunities, estimate risks, and commercial exposures, and recommend courses of action that enable project teams and business leaders to make timely, informed, and value-focused decisions.

Benefits

• Vacation –120 hours per calendar year
• Sick time - 40 hours per calendar year; for employees who reside in the State of Colorado –48 hours per calendar year; for employees who reside in the State of Washington –56 hours per calendar year
• Holiday pay, including Floating Holidays –13 days per calendar year
• Work, Personal and Family Time - up to 40 hours per calendar year
• Parental Leave – 480 hours within one year of the birth/adoption/foster care of a child
• Bereavement Leave – 240 hours for an immediate family member: 40 hours for an extended family member per calendar year
• Caregiver Leave – 80 hours in a 52-week rolling period
• Volunteer Leave – 32 hours per calendar year
• Military Spouse Time-Off – 80 hours per calendar year
• Employees are eligible to participate in the Company’s consolidated retirement plan (pension) and savings plan (401(k)).
• This position is eligible to participate in the Company’s long-term incentive program.

What This Job Offers

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