Senior Cost Engineer – Construction Project Accounting
Location: Ballston, VA | Hybrid (4 days onsite, 1 remote)

A privately held and nationally recognized real estate and construction group is seeking a Senior Cost Engineer to join its growing project accounting team. This role plays a critical part in maintaining financial integrity across complex construction projects, with strong exposure to project executives, budgeting processes, and internal controls.

Why This Role:

• Stable team, exceptional leadership, and long-term visibility

• Generous 401(k) match – 5% after one year, 8% after three years

• Free parking, catered team lunch every Tuesday

• Modern, high-impact environment with strong financial backing

Role Overview:
The Senior Cost Engineer will be responsible for internal auditing, financial review, and analysis of ongoing construction project budgets. This individual will act as a strategic partner to project managers, ensuring accuracy in cost projections, supporting compliance, and driving accountability across project financials.

Key Responsibilities:

• Review and maintain monthly project budgets and job status reports for active construction sites

• Conduct internal audits of project cost data and projections to ensure alignment with budgets

• Educate and advise project teams on cost tracking and financial reporting best practices

• Perform budget-to-actual variance analysis and recommend necessary adjustments

• Assist with journal entries and financial reporting adjustments related to job cost accounting

• Lead job status meetings with project teams and executives

• Provide monthly profit projections and cost dashboards to executive management

• Mentor junior cost engineers and contribute to company-wide cost control training

• Support proposal and bid development with cost and financial input

• Reconcile performance metrics using systems like Procore and Timberline (preferred)

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or Construction Management

• 5–7 years of construction or real estate industry experience with a focus on cost control

• Strong skills in Excel, including formulas, pivot tables, and data analysis

• Experience with project accounting software – Procore experience is a major plus

• Excellent communication and presentation skills for working with both finance and project teams

• Strong analytical thinking and a solutions-oriented mindset

• High attention to detail and comfort in a fast-paced, collaborative environment