Construction Project Controls Lead - Transit & Rail

GFT • New York, NY

1d

About The Position

GFT is seeking a Senior Project Controls Lead to support a major transit and rail project in New York. This senior, client-facing leadership role integrates cost, schedule, change, risk, and construction progress to give the client an independent view of project performance and emerging impacts. The role requires a strong background in construction cost estimating and/or cost controls on major infrastructure projects valued at $120 million or greater, preferably rail or transit projects.

The successful candidate will serve as a primary project-controls interface with the client, its Owner’s Representative, and the Design-Builder/General Contractor. Working in a matrixed environment with scheduling, risk, change management, commercial, construction, and technical resources, the lead will connect individual control functions into a clear assessment of overall project performance. The position is based in New Rochelle, NY / New York, NY, with core business hours of 8:00 AM–5:00 PM.

Requirements

• 15+ years of project controls, cost controls, construction estimating, or related major infrastructure experience.
• Demonstrated cost-estimating and/or cost-controls experience on projects exceeding $120 million.
• Strong understanding of construction estimating, cost forecasting, productivity, quantities, labor/equipment, and cost development.
• Demonstrated understanding of change orders and their relationship to cost, schedule, sequencing, risk, and project completion.
• Working knowledge of CPM scheduling/Primavera P6 sufficient to assess schedule impacts and direct and collaborate with professional schedulers.
• Ability to integrate information across cost, schedule, risk, change management, and construction rather than manage each function independently.
• Experience interacting directly with contractors, owners, Owner’s Representatives, construction teams, and project leadership.
• Exceptional verbal communication and executive presentation skills, including the ability to lead difficult, fact-based discussions with contractors and communicate complex cost and schedule issues to senior leadership.
• Strong analytical judgment, negotiation skills, professional presence, and owner-side mindset.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with track, signals, catenary/OCS/traction power, substations, and testing/commissioning.
• Previous Amtrak, MTA, Metro-North, LIRR, NYCT, NJ Transit, or comparable railroad experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead GFT’s integrated project-controls interface with the client, project stakeholders, and the Design-Builder/General Contractor.
• Evaluate contractor performance, quantities, production assumptions, resource requirements, forecast impacts, and emerging cost exposure using cost-estimating and cost-controls experience.
• Integrate cost, schedule, change, risk, and construction progress into an independent owner-side assessment of project status.
• Work in a matrixed structure with project schedulers and risk management, change management, commercial, construction, and technical discipline leads.
• Evaluate change orders and emerging changes for potential cost, schedule, resource, sequencing, and project-control impacts.
• Engage directly with the contractor to understand proposed work plans, forecasts, schedule changes, resource requirements, constraints, and recovery strategies.
• Review schedule information with the scheduling team to understand critical-path movement, milestone impacts, sequencing, constraints, and recovery opportunities, without serving as the project’s primary scheduler.
• Support evaluation of railroad construction impacts involving track, catenary/OCS, signals, substations, Force Account resources, track outages, temporary works, and ROW access.
• Identify disconnects among contractor-reported cost, schedule, progress, change, and risk information, and drive issues toward measurable actions and resolution.
• Translate complex project-control information into concise assessments covering what changed, why it matters, potential cost and schedule exposure, mitigation options, responsible parties, and required decisions.
• Prepare and deliver project-controls briefings and recommendations to the client and executive leadership.
• Support development of a disciplined, schedule-driven management approach to improve accountability, forecasting, decision-making, and contractor engagement.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits package including wellness programs, parental leave, and pet insurance, in addition to medical, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance.
• Tax-deferred 401(k) savings plan.
• Competitive paid-time-off (PTO) accrual.
• Tuition reimbursement for continued education.
• Commitment to professional development, access to internal and external training programs, and support of active participation in professional organizations.
• Incentive compensation for eligible positions.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed