Staff)

Deterrence Defense, Inc.•Dallas, TX

8h•Onsite

About The Position

The Project Controls Engineer owns the schedule and cost baseline for the deployment of automated production equipment into a partner manufacturing site. This role builds and maintains integrated engineering–procurement–installation–commissioning schedules, tracks cost performance against budget, runs change control, and gives program leadership a clear, current picture of where every line and cell stands. The ideal candidate has done this on large industrial or manufacturing capital projects, is fluent in Primavera P6 and earned value, and treats the schedule as a tool for decisions rather than a report. We are hiring up to three engineers across levels; some will lean schedule, some cost, and all will cover both.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, or related field, or equivalent experience.
Engineer: 3+ years · Senior: 5+ years · Staff: 8+ years in project controls on large industrial, manufacturing, EPC, energy, or government capital projects.
Hands-on proficiency in Primavera P6; strong Excel (complex formulas, large datasets).
Working command of Critical Path Method and Earned Value Management with a track record of schedule compression and recovery.
Experience with cost structures on large-scale projects: commitments, accruals, forecasting, change orders, invoice validation.
Clear written and verbal communication; comfortable presenting status and risk to senior stakeholders.
Ability to work on-site in the Dallas area and travel to vendor and partner sites as required.

Nice To Haves

Experience on capital equipment or automation programs (as opposed to building-only construction).
Power BI or similar reporting; familiarity with cost management systems and procurement/ERP data.
Experience aligning WBS-based cost tracking with BIM/model quantities.
PMP, PMI-SP, AACE CCP/PSP, or equivalent.
Experience in defense, aerospace, or other regulated programs.

Responsibilities

Develop fully integrated, logically tied, resource-loaded schedules covering equipment design, procurement, fabrication, FAT, shipment, installation, SAT, commissioning, and ramp.
Status schedules weekly with engineering, procurement, vendors, and site teams; analyze and report critical path, float, and overall program performance.
Build 3-week look-ahead schedules for installation and commissioning teams; run what-if scenarios to accelerate, de-risk, or recover.
Own project cost control: budgets, commitments, actuals, accruals, forecast at completion, cash flow, and variance analysis (budget vs. actual vs. forecast).
Maintain WBS, cost codes, and cost breakdown structure; report earned value metrics (CPI, SPI, EAC, ETC) with root causes and corrective actions.
Run change management: log, price, and route change orders and budget adjustments; validate vendor and contractor invoices against scope and progress.
Maintain the program risk register with schedule and cost impacts; escalate early and clearly.
Produce concise management reports and dashboards for program leadership and partner stakeholders.
Support estimating and quantity take-offs for new equipment lines and change scope.