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About the Role

The Senior Cost Manager will develop and own the cost control function at Keel Infrastructure. This role establishes centralized cost management, building estimating methodology, standards, cost data, and tooling from the ground up, and then operating this service across all data center projects. This is a hands-on delivery role for someone who has personally controlled costs on projects through to close-out and wants to build the function.

Responsibilities

Establish and own the centralized cost control function, defining its scope, service model, and interface with development, project management, scheduling, procurement, and finance.
Serve as the single owner of the cost plan of record for every project, maintaining budgets centrally.
Build the cost management toolset and environment, ensuring cost rolls up cleanly from commitment to portfolio level.
Develop concept, order-of-magnitude, and feasibility estimates for prospective sites, translating limited early information into credible, benchmark-backed cost plans.
Cost model site-specific drivers at concept stage, including utility interconnection, substation and power infrastructure, site works, permitting, and constructability constraints.
Support site selection, capital planning, and investment approval with comparative cost scenarios, $/MW analysis, and sensitivity testing.
Own the project budget and cost report through design, procurement, construction, commissioning, and final account.
Manage commitments, accruals, cash flow forecasts, and cost-to-complete across all packages, contractors, vendors, and consultants.
Review and challenge contractor cost reports, pay applications, schedules of values, and invoices; verify progress claims against installed work and earned value.
Manage contingency and allowance drawdown with clear governance.
Author and roll out cost management processes, procedures, and templates used across the portfolio.
Define cost reporting and commercial requirements for contractor and consultant agreements, and review submissions against those requirements.
Build and own the historical cost database, capturing actual unit rates, package costs, and final account outcomes.
Develop the benchmark set that underpins concept-stage estimating.
Perform variance analysis between benchmark, estimate, tender, and final outcome, and feed findings back into estimating assumptions and procedures.
Lead the change control process end to end, including identification, pricing, assessment, negotiation, approval, and incorporation into the cost plan of record.
Independently price and challenge contractor change order submissions; negotiate commercial settlements and defend the owner's position on entitlement.
Produce portfolio-level cost dashboards, variance analysis, and narrative reporting for project leadership and senior executives.
Own forecast accuracy, maintaining cost-to-complete and estimate-at-completion positions that hold up, with variance explained and quantified.
Integrate cost with schedule to produce earned value, cash flow curves, and time-phased spend forecasts.
Partner with Finance on capitalization, funding drawdown, capital plan alignment, and month-end close.

Requirements

10+ years of cost management, quantity surveying, or project controls experience on large capital construction programs, with demonstrable hands-on delivery.
Direct experience building or substantially rebuilding a cost control function, including processes, standards, tooling, and data.
Proven experience developing concept and preconstruction estimates that informed real capital and site selection decisions.
Experience carrying budgets through the full delivery lifecycle to final account and close-out.
Demonstrated ownership of change management and commercial negotiation on complex, multi-package builds.
Experience on programs of $200M+ in total installed cost.
Data center, mission-critical, hyperscale, HPC, heavy industrial, or utility-scale experience strongly preferred, owner or developer side preferred.
Expert knowledge of earned value management, cash flow forecasting, and cost-to-complete methodologies.
Deep familiarity with contract structures (GMP, lump sum, design-build, CMAR) and their payment, change, and claims provisions.
Data structuring and analytics capability (Power BI, SQL, or equivalent) sufficient to build and query a benchmarking database.
Proficiency with cost management and finance systems.
Understanding of data center design and construction: electrical distribution, power systems, mechanical cooling, structural and civil packages, and their cost drivers.
Sound financial acumen and the ability to interface credibly with senior finance and executive teams.
Builder's mindset — comfortable operating with no existing framework and creating the standard.
Strong commercial judgment and negotiation skills; willing to hold a firm position with contractors and defend it with data.
Drives accountability across internal and external teams without formal authority.
Clear written and verbal communication; able to make a complex cost position understandable to non-commercial audiences.

Skills

Cost Management
Quantity Surveying
Project Controls
Cost Control
Estimating
Cost Planning
Budget Management
Change Management
Commercial Negotiation
Earned Value Management
Cash Flow Forecasting
Cost-to-Complete Methodologies
Contract Structures
Data Structuring
Data Analytics
Power BI
SQL
Cost Management Systems
Finance Systems
Data Center Design
Construction Cost Drivers
Financial Acumen
Communication

Location

New York Office
NYC

Work Type

On-site
Hybrid

Experience Level

Senior
10+ years

Education Level

Bachelor's degree in Quantity Surveying, Construction Management, Engineering, Finance, or a related field.
Professional certifications or memberships related to role are preferred.

Salary/Compensations

$165,000-$205,000 USD

Benefits

Competitive salary, bonus and equity opportunities
Comprehensive health and wellness benefits
Retirement savings with company contribution
Employee referral program

About the Company

Keel Infrastructure is a publicly traded energy and digital infrastructure company that develops and owns data centers and power assets across North America.
At Keel, you’re not just joining a company, you’re helping build the infrastructure behind the future of compute.
We’re at the intersection of energy and technology, two industries transforming in real time.
The work is complex. The pace is fast. The impact is real.
You’ll be part of a team that values: Ownership, Collaboration, Curiosity, Endurance.
Fast-moving, high-growth, and hands-on
Smart, driven people solving real challenges together
Work that directly supports AI and next-generation infrastructure
Room to grow, stretch, and take on more