Senior Manager of Capital Cost Management

Overview

A leading organization in advanced nuclear energy is seeking a Senior Manager of Capital Cost Management. This role involves designing, implementing, and scaling capital project budgeting and cost architecture capabilities across first-of-a-kind (FOAK) and subsequent fleet (NOAK) nuclear power plants, fuel fabrication facilities, recycling complexes, radioisotope production assets, and supporting infrastructure.

The position will establish foundational cost structures, standards, and systems to enable cost transparency, disciplined capital allocation, and sustained FOAK-to-NOAK cost curve improvements across a portfolio of capital projects.

Responsibilities

• Develop, scale, and implement standardized cost breakdown structures (CBS), work breakdown structures (WBS), and portfolio-wide capital cost taxonomies to ensure clean, decision-grade cost data across projects and business units.
• Strengthen owner-side cost visibility and control maturity to support evolving commercial vendor strategies.
• Collaborate closely with Engineering, Product, Construction, Supply Chain, Regulatory, Finance, and Business Development teams to align cost architecture with scope definition, procurement strategy, and capital deployment planning.
• Ensure consistent application of budgeting standards across projects and business units.
• Partner with project controls teams to align actuals, forecasts, and reporting with defined cost structures and methodologies.
• Establish cost data governance standards to ensure traceability of budgets, commitments, change orders, and actuals.
• Develop and institutionalize a cost improvement framework, capturing cost learnings across projects and maintaining internal and external benchmarking.
• Embed cost improvements into future project budgets and capital planning cycles to drive FOAK-to-NOAK cost reductions.
• Define methodology, cost- and work breakdown structures, and governance frameworks for detailed project budgets.
• Drive development of detailed project budgets ensuring alignment with cost estimates, scope, resources, and timelines.
• Assess and strengthen owner-side cost control maturity to enable strategic evolution in vendor contracting structures (e.g., T&M vs Firm Price).
• Partner with legal, supply chain, and deployment teams to align cost structure maturity with contracting strategies.
• Define and implement requirements, processes, and standards for integration of project financial planning and reporting systems with project management and ERP systems.

Requirements

• Minimum 7 years of experience in capital project budgeting, cost architecture, or project controls leadership within large-scale power, energy, infrastructure, industrial, or nuclear sectors.
• Proven experience designing cost breakdown structures and capital cost taxonomies for large capital portfolios, including projects valued at $100M or more.
• Strong knowledge of project cost systems, job costing methodologies, ERP integration, and capital governance frameworks.
• Experience supporting large-scale EPC or construction projects with a strong understanding of owner-side cost control maturity.
• Demonstrated expertise in portfolio cost optimization, benchmarking, and structured cost learning systems.
• Ability to analyze large datasets to identify cost drivers and structural improvement opportunities.
• Proven ability to work cross-functionally with engineering, construction, procurement, finance, and executive leadership.
• Excellent communication skills, including experience with executive and Board-level reporting.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with nuclear or other FOAK energy infrastructure projects.
• Familiarity with DOE, NRC, EPA, and OSHA regulatory environments.
• Experience structuring cost systems to support Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Investment Tax Credit (ITC) eligibility and compliance tracking.
• Experience working in startup or high-growth company environments.

Competencies

• Passionate about advancing nuclear energy.
• Quick learner with the ability to think creatively and critically.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, highly iterative startup environment.
• Able to propose novel and creative solutions to complex problems.
• Strong verbal communication skills for technical content and results.
• Self-motivated and enthusiastic team player.
• Detail-oriented with excellent grammar and spelling for clear communication.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary range: $185,000 - $205,000, dependent on experience.
• Flexible time off.
• Equity participation.
• Competitive pay.
• 401(k) plan.
• Health insurance.
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA).
• Flexible work hours.

Location & Travel

• Remote position with required travel to headquarters in Santa Clara, CA twice per quarter for team meetings, off-sites, and company events.
• First two weeks of onboarding require in-person attendance at headquarters in Santa Clara, CA.

Additional Information

• Employment may be contingent upon successful completion of a drug screening.
• Employees may be subject to drug testing in accordance with company policy and applicable laws.

Candidates should be cautious of recruitment fraud and verify that all legitimate communications come from official company email addresses. The organization will never request sensitive personal information, payments, or account credentials during the hiring process.