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Cost Engineer (High Speed Rail) – Birmingham
About the Role
Around the world, SYSTRA’s specialists plan, design, integrate, test, commission, project manage and deliver mass transit and mobility solutions that are relied on by more than 50 million people every day.
For over 60 years, the Group has been dedicated to helping cities and regions develop through transport infrastructure that prioritises sustainability, accessibility, and innovation. With over 10,300 colleagues globally and 1,000+ in the UK & Ireland, SYSTRA is growing rapidly and seeks to bring on board the best talent to drive future infrastructure design.
We are currently hiring a Cost Engineer to join our expanding engineering team based in Birmingham.
This role will suit an individual with strong interpersonal skills, commercial awareness, and a passion for contributing to a high-performance, dynamic team, whilst specialising in the design of High Speed Rail infrastructure. You will support multiple Product Lines across the UK and abroad, working as part of a fast-growing team delivering diverse projects for UK clients.
Key Duties & Responsibilities
Working closely with SYSTRA’s management team, designers, and contract partners, the Cost Engineer will be involved in the following core responsibilities:
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- Apply cost management and earned value techniques to ensure financial accuracy.
- Analyse and verify Weekly Actual Cost Reporting, reviewing:
- Accuracy of claimed hours
- Performance against forecasts
- Providing constructively actionable feedback to the DJV Project Team.
- Produce timely, accurate cost reporting—both actual and forecasted—to ensure:
- The Project Financial Position is transparently reported via SPOT.
- All costs are authorised, captured, and correctly reported, including:
- Monthly accrual calculations.
- Regular updates to integrity of financial records.
- Track and analyse scope deviations through trend and change management processes.
- Foster strong relationships with budget stakeholders across all SYSTRA’s specialist disciplines to guarantee correct project cost documentation.
- Assist with intercompany trading transactions, including:
- Interactions among global production centres.
- Assessing entity margins.
- Monitoring regional performance against business targets.
- Represent the Cost department in Progress Meetings, presenting:
- Clear, concise financial data for Project Teams across all SYSTRA regions.
- Participate in SYSTRA Work Package Reviews, including:
- Recording meeting minutes centrally.
- Implementing actions and recommendations.
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Profile & Skill Set
Ideally, the candidate will possess:
Technical & Industry-Specific Experience
- Proven experience in cost engineering, project controls, or commercial management, preferably within the rail, transport, or infrastructure sectors.
- In-depth knowledge of project cost management and earned value principles.
- Familiarity with cost management software and Microsoft Excel (spreadsheet modelling).
- Preferred: Demonstrated experience with:
- Primavera P6
- IFS Application (or other ERP/Project management tools).
- Preferred: Demonstrated experience with:
Soft Skills
- Strong communication skills, particularly in explaining financial information to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Sharp analytical and numerical ability, with a detail-orientated approach.
- Proactive and solution-focused, with the ability to:
- Constructively challenge cost assumptions.
- Quickly identify inefficiencies and recommend improvements.
- High-calibre collaborator, adept at working cross-functionally with:
- Engineering teams
- Commercial units
- Project delivery professionals.
Commitment & Mindset
- Dedicated to driving efficiency, transparency, and value addition in large-scale infrastructure projects.
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