Director, Data Center Cost Control Team Lead

AI Gigascale Construction Cost Manager Lead (OCI)

The AI Gigascale Construction Cost Manager Lead (OCI) provides end-to-end cost leadership for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) gigascale construction programs, including hyperscale data center campuses and associated enabling infrastructure. This role blends rigorous cost management and project controls with scaled, time-to-market–focused delivery execution to improve forecast accuracy, accelerate executive decision-making, strengthen early risk detection, and deliver clear, auditable cost transparency across the full project lifecycle.

You will build and lead a cost controls function and team, establishing standardized processes, systems, and reporting that scale across multiple sites and workstreams. You will own the development and maintenance of estimates, budgets, forecasts, cash flow, contingency, and change control, partnering closely with Design & Construction, Procurement/Supply Chain, Finance, Scheduling/Project Controls, and Delivery leadership to drive predictable outcomes and disciplined cost governance.

You will also champion the responsible use of AI and advanced analytics within Oracle construction and engineering productivity suite; creating repeatable models, dashboards, and insights that improve performance (e.g., variance detection, cost risk indicators, productivity signals, invoice/bid anomalies), while ensuring outputs are explainable, traceable, and aligned with enterprise data governance and compliance expectations.

NOTE: Work from home/remote with no less than 50% travel.

Key Responsibilities

• Cost Strategy, Governance & Controls
• Own the cost management strategy across one or more gigascale projects/programs from early design through closeout.
• Build cost governance: WBS/CBS structures, cost codes, control accounts, reporting cadence, and executive dashboards.
• Establish standards for estimating, forecasting, contingency management, and cost risk practices across the program.
• Provide clear cost narratives to leadership: variances, drivers, corrective actions, and forward-looking risk.
• Estimating, Budgeting & Forecasting
• Lead concept-to-definitive estimating aligned to design maturity (e.g., ROM, schematic, DD, CD).
• Develop and maintain the overall project budget, cash flow, and long-range forecast; reconcile to funding and finance requirements.
• Benchmark costs using historical data, market intelligence, and parametric models; validate unit rates and productivity assumptions.
• Drive monthly cost report cycles with disciplined cost-to-complete and earned-value-informed forecasting where applicable.
• Change Management & Commercial Management
• Implement a robust change control process to manage scope, schedule, and cost impacts with strong documentation.
• Evaluate change orders and claims: pricing, entitlement, schedule linkage, and negotiation support.
• Partner with contracts/procurement to align cost controls with contract types (GMP, lump sum, target cost, T&M) and commercial terms.
• Manage contingencies and allowances using risk-based approaches; maintain traceability of drawdowns and releases.
• Develop and govern dashboards (e.g., Power BI/Tableau) that integrate schedule, procurement, and cost data for predictive insights.
• Ensure AI outputs are explainable, auditable, and compliant with data governance and privacy requirements.
• Procurement & Market Intelligence
• Support procurement strategy through cost modeling, bid analysis, supplier benchmarking, and should-cost frameworks.
• Track material and labor indices; assess escalation exposure and recommend mitigation actions (buyouts, alternates, hedging where applicable).
• Coordinate with logistics and construction teams to quantify impacts from lead times, resequencing, and field productivity shifts.
• Stakeholder Leadership
• Serve as a trusted advisor to program leadership, project managers, design teams, construction managers, and finance partners.
• Lead cost reviews with internal and external stakeholders; communicate complex cost topics clearly to non-cost audiences.
• Mentor junior cost engineers/analysts; standardize templates, playbooks, and training for scale and repeatability.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Quantity Surveying, Finance, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 12+ years progressive experience in cost management/cost controls for large capital projects (multi-site or campus-scale preferred).
• Demonstrated expertise in estimating, forecasting, change control, and contract/commercial evaluation.
• Strong working knowledge of construction means and methods, cost drivers, productivity, and sequencing.
• Advanced Excel skills; proficiency with cost systems and project controls tools (e.g., EcoSys, Unifier, Primavera P6, MS Project, SAP/Oracle ERP, or similar).
• Ability to build executive-ready reporting and drive disciplined monthly performance routines.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience on hyperscale/gigascale programs (data centers, semiconductor fabs, EV/battery plants, large infrastructure, energy).
• Experience integrating cost and schedule data (EVMS concepts, production/earned value methods).
• Certifications: CCP (AACE), MRICS, PMP, or equivalent.
• Experience designing cost data models, governance standards, and automated reporting pipelines.

Core Competencies

• Commercial acumen and negotiation support
• Structured problem solving; strong attention to detail with executive-level judgment
• High ownership in ambiguous, fast-moving environments
• Data fluency and a continuous improvement mindset
• Integrity, discretion, and strong governance orientation