Principal Business Analyst – Project Controls Estimating

Aiken, South Carolina, USA

COMPA Industries is searching for qualified candidates for an onsite Principal Business Analyst – Project Controls Estimating position supporting the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility and NNSA Capital Projects mission at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina.

Pay: $110–$120 per hour
Location: Aiken, SC – Onsite
Schedule: Monday–Thursday, 6:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Estimated Hours: 2,080 straight-time hours and up to 600 overtime hours annually
Contract Duration: One year, with two optional one-year extensions
Project Supported: Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility
Interview Process: Microsoft Teams
Citizenship: U.S. Citizenship Required
Submission Deadline: August 3, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Mandatory Experience Requirement – Read Before Applying

Candidates must meet one of the following education and experience combinations:

• A master’s degree in business, construction management, engineering, a technical discipline, or a related area and at least five years of practical experience.

• A bachelor’s degree in business, construction management, engineering, a technical discipline, or a related area and at least seven years of practical experience.

• An associate degree and at least 11 years of practical experience.

• A high school diploma and at least 15 years of relevant experience.

Candidates must also demonstrate:

• A minimum of 10 years of experience in engineering, construction, operations, estimating, scheduling, project controls, proposal development, project management, or a combination of these areas.

• At least five years of experience demonstrating knowledge of the applicable subject-matter area.

• Expert proficiency with automated accounting, cost-management, scheduling, and estimating systems.

• Comprehensive knowledge of project management and tactical-level cost and schedule control.

• Knowledge of operations, maintenance, project startup, or construction.

• The ability to review work for completeness against project specifications and scope definitions.

• Strong problem-solving, analytical, interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.

• The ability to work onsite at the Savannah River Site.

Applicants who do not meet the required senior-level project-controls and estimating experience will not be considered.

Position Overview

The Principal Business Analyst – Project Controls Estimating will provide senior-level project-controls, estimating, scheduling, and financial-analysis support for complex NNSA capital projects at the Savannah River Site.

This position is responsible for the organization, development, implementation, maintenance, and accountability of project-control, financial-analysis, scheduling, and estimating applications used to manage cost, schedule, funding, forecasting, and financial performance throughout the lifecycle of highly complex or unique projects and programs.

The selected candidate will work under very limited supervision and serve as a key interface among project management, engineering, construction, procurement, scheduling, estimating, operations, maintenance, and financial organizations.

The position will support the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility and assist the NNSA Capital Projects mission through comprehensive evaluation of project scopes, cost estimating, scheduling, management planning, and development of procedures and processes that support integration with engineering and procurement functions.

Responsibilities

The Principal Business Analyst will:

• Organize, develop, implement, maintain, and manage project-control, financial-analysis, scheduling, and estimating systems.

• Prepare business and financial plans, forecasts, spend plans, and periodic or ad hoc management reports.

• Develop and maintain cost and schedule baselines, milestone schedules, work breakdown structures, spend plans, and resource forecasts.

• Establish effective utilization plans for equipment, labor, funding, facilities, and other project resources.

• Apply advanced project-control concepts and provide technical leadership in the development of complex project-control applications.

• Guide project-controls personnel in multi-project integrated analysis, problem identification, and corrective-action development.

• Participate in project cost reviews, schedule reviews, estimate reviews, and management meetings.

• Develop and implement change-management processes for engineering and construction work.

• Analyze cost and schedule performance against approved plans and baselines.

• Identify the causes of cost and schedule variances and communicate recommended mitigation strategies to management.

• Perform variance analysis, statistical analysis, scenario analysis, trend analysis, and other financial evaluations.

• Prepare comprehensive monthly financial reports, forecasts, analyses, and spend plans.

• Evaluate funding limitations and recommend appropriate project cost controls.

• Identify productivity, financial, and business-process issues.

• Develop integrated financial controls and cost-effective processes that improve productivity.

• Develop costing rates and explain rate structures during the budget process.

• Maintain applicable costing rates in PeopleSoft.

• Analyze assigned overhead and service-pool variances.

• Define requirements and develop models for complex business and financial systems.

• Develop test plans and scenarios for system enhancements.

• Oversee implementation of system improvements and monitor system effectiveness.

• Initiate and direct special studies addressing complex business and project-performance issues.

• Translate senior-management concepts and strategic objectives into executable operating plans.

• Assemble, analyze, and interpret complex project, financial, estimating, and scheduling information.

• Develop innovative solutions to complex project-control and business issues.

• Provide leadership, technical direction, training, and mentoring to project-controls personnel.

• Apply applicable Cost Accounting Standards and Federal Acquisition Regulation principles.

• Review work for completeness and compliance with project specifications and scope definitions.

• Provide guidance to management regarding classification requirements and compliance.

• Provide guidance regarding DOE critical-decision processes and required deliverable formats.

• Review and provide input to specifications for engineered equipment and subcontracts.

• Review and provide input regarding labor and other-than-labor resources required to execute project scope.

• Provide schedulers with input regarding sequence, duration, logic, dependencies, and resource requirements.

• Provide management with input regarding risk-informed schedules used to establish milestones and performance-based incentives.

• Provide engineering, estimating, and scheduling organizations with constructability, maintainability, operability, startup, and commissioning input.

• Provide input to technical writers preparing Bases of Estimate, Bases of Schedule, and work breakdown structure dictionaries.

• Maintain effective coordination among project management, engineering, procurement, estimating, scheduling, construction, and operations organizations.

Required Education and Experience

Candidates must meet one of the following education and experience combinations:

• Master’s degree in business, construction management, engineering, a technical discipline, or a related area and at least five years of practical experience.

• Bachelor’s degree in business, construction management, engineering, a technical discipline, or a related area and at least seven years of practical experience.

• Associate degree and at least 11 years of practical experience.

• High school diploma and at least 15 years of relevant experience.

In addition, candidates must demonstrate:

• A minimum of 10 years of experience in engineering, construction, operations, estimating, scheduling, project controls, proposal development, project management, or a combination of these disciplines.

• At least five years of experience demonstrating knowledge of the applicable subject-matter area.

• Experience reviewing work for completeness against project specifications and scope definitions.

• Expert proficiency in automated accounting, cost-management, scheduling, and estimating systems.

• Comprehensive knowledge of project management.

• Comprehensive knowledge of tactical-level cost and schedule control.

• Knowledge of operations, maintenance, project startup, or construction.

• Experience developing cost estimates, schedules, forecasts, spend plans, and project-control documentation.

• Experience identifying cost and schedule variances and recommending corrective actions.

• Strong computer and data-analysis skills.

• Strong problem-solving and analytical capabilities.

• Strong interpersonal and stakeholder-management skills.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• The ability to work independently under very limited supervision.

• The ability to communicate complex estimating, scheduling, financial, and project-control information to management.

Required Skills

Candidates must have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of:

• Project management.

• Project controls.

• Cost estimating.

• Planning and scheduling.

• Tactical-level cost and schedule control.

• Cost and schedule baseline development.

• Work breakdown structure development.

• Forecasting and spend-plan development.

• Financial analysis.

• Variance analysis.

• Change management.

• Resource planning.

• Construction and project-startup interfaces.

• Operations and maintenance interfaces.

• Automated accounting systems.

• Automated cost-management systems.

• Automated scheduling systems.

• Automated estimating systems.

• Project specifications and scope-definition requirements.

• Technical, organizational, and financial reporting.

The strongest candidates will also demonstrate the ability to:

• Develop and maintain complex cost and schedule baselines.

• Evaluate project scopes and identify missing or incomplete requirements.

• Develop labor, material, equipment, subcontract, and other-than-labor estimates.

• Provide schedulers with activity sequencing, duration, logic, and resource input.

• Develop risk-informed schedules.

• Prepare and review Bases of Estimate and Bases of Schedule.

• Analyze project performance and recommend corrective actions.

• Coordinate effectively with engineering, procurement, construction, operations, and project controls.

• Present complex financial and project-control information to senior management.

• Lead projects and technical activities with minimal direction.

• Train and mentor project-controls personnel.

• Review work for completeness, quality, and compliance.

Preferred Qualifications

Preference will be given to candidates with:

• An active DOE L or Q clearance held within the previous two years.

• Working knowledge of Success Estimating software.

• Experience supporting DOE, NNSA, Department of Defense, nuclear, or other highly regulated capital projects.

• Previous Savannah River Site experience.

• Experience supporting the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility.

• Experience with PeopleSoft or comparable enterprise financial systems.

• Knowledge of DOE critical-decision processes and deliverable requirements.

• Experience preparing Bases of Estimate, Bases of Schedule, and work breakdown structure dictionaries.

• Experience supporting Independent Cost Estimates or External Independent Reviews.

• Experience with risk-informed scheduling.

• Experience with constructability, maintainability, operability, startup, or commissioning reviews.

• Experience with Cost Accounting Standards and Federal Acquisition Regulation principles.

Work Schedule

The anticipated work schedule is Monday through Thursday from 6:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The standard workweek is generally 40 hours. Up to 600 overtime hours may be required annually to meet project schedules, estimating deadlines, reviews, milestones, and critical deliverables.

Overtime will be used at management’s discretion.

The position is onsite at the Savannah River Site. Candidates must be local to the Aiken, South Carolina area or willing to relocate at their own expense.

Contract Information

The initial contract term is one year, with the possibility of two additional one-year option periods.

Option periods are not guaranteed and may be exercised solely at the discretion of the hiring manager.

Security Requirements

U.S. Citizenship is required.

The selected candidate must satisfy all applicable Savannah River Site security, badging, background-investigation, and site-access requirements.

An active DOE clearance is not initially required unless specified for the assignment.

Candidates who have held an active DOE L or Q clearance within the previous two years are strongly preferred.

Final employment is subject to applicable security, badging, background-investigation, facility-clearance, and site-access requirements.

Why Work With COMPA Industries?

COMPA Industries has supported Department of Energy programs for decades by connecting highly qualified project-controls, estimating, engineering, construction, and technical professionals with mission-critical nuclear and national-security projects.

Our employees contribute directly to complex capital projects while receiving competitive compensation, professional support, and the opportunity to work alongside experienced project-management, engineering, estimating, scheduling, and construction professionals throughout the DOE complex.

This position offers the opportunity to support one of the nation’s most important Department of Energy capital-project missions.

COMPA Industries is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any legally protected characteristic.

No third-party recruiting agencies or C2C submissions are needed for this position.

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