Senior Cost Engineer

Help us to make a world of difference. Urenco is a global leader in the production of low carbon energy. We work at the cutting edge of the transition to a sustainable, net zero world.

In this role, you will provide cost engineering leadership as a hands-on practitioner across the full asset lifecycle for Plant Design and Engineering. You will develop and maintain robust cost models, baselines and forecasts, ensuring full alignment with PMO and Finance, compliance with internal policies and regulatory requirements, and clear reporting that supports effective decision making.

You will be the owner of engineering cost modelling and cost control during design phases, working within the governance framework set by Project Controls. You will also own and maintain the engineering estimating standards, templates and underlying data model, acting as the intelligent customer for cost information across SAP and Primavera P6. The role is critical in safeguarding project value through strong cost controls, rigorous change management and proactive stakeholder engagement.

At Urenco we’re committed to giving you opportunities to be your best. If you feel you meet some, but not all of what we’re looking for, please still apply. We believe in embracing the passion and potential of our people, and to achieve this we offer market leading training and development experiences. Along with the opportunity to be mentored and coached by some of the smartest minds in the industry.

What you’ll do:

• Cost Modelling and Design Phase Control: Lead engineering cost modelling and cost control during all design phases, ensuring clear handovers to PMO, Finance and Commercial. Build and maintain robust parametric and analytical cost models that support accurate forecasting. Set and update integrated cost baselines that align scope, schedule and resources across stakeholders.
• Estimating Standards and Data Governance: Own engineering estimating standards, templates and data models, acting as the intelligent customer for cost data across SAP and Primavera P6. Maintain strong data lineage and version control to ensure accuracy and traceability.
• Change Management and Risk Alignment: Work with PMO to manage change, keeping cost and schedule baselines aligned. Quantify risk and opportunity impacts and support recovery or optimisation plans.
• Contract and Commercial Support: Support contract management, including change order reviews, invoice validation and benchmarking. Provide independent cost challenge to protect commercial value.
• Process Ownership and Continuous Improvement: Define and maintain cost control processes, tools and templates. Manage the complexity classification framework and maintain historical cost and labour databases for continuous improvement.
• Labour Estimation and Advanced Techniques: Lead estimation of senior engineering labour across multiple disciplines. Apply probabilistic techniques such as Monte Carlo analysis for contingency setting on high novelty or R&D work.
• Strategic Cost Advisory: Serve as the primary engineering cost advisor at project initiation, funding submissions and gate reviews. Align estimating assumptions across Engineering, Project Controls and Finance.
• Compliance, Assurance and Reporting: Ensure compliance with internal policies, financial standards and regulatory requirements and maintain audit ready documentation. Produce dashboards and concise narrative reports that highlight performance, risks, opportunities and recommended actions for Design Managers and leadership.

What do you need to thrive in this role?

• Education and Professional Credentials: Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Finance, Cost Engineering or a related technical field. Advanced qualifications or professional accreditations such as DACE, ACostE or AACE International (CCP or CCE) are preferred.
• Technical and Digital Skills: Strong capability with SAP S4 HANA, Primavera P6 EPPM and advanced Excel including Power Query, Power Pivot and VBA. Power BI expertise. Experience with tools such as @RISK for Monte Carlo analysis, SAP Ariba and Power Automate is desirable.
• Industry and Functional Experience: Five to eight years of experience in cost engineering, project controls or engineering planning within regulated, asset intensive sectors such as nuclear, energy, defence or heavy industry. Proven ability to build cost models from first principles that are accessible for non-specialists. Demonstrated experience integrating cost and schedule to manage baselines and change.
• Estimating and Labour Modelling: Strong experience estimating specialist senior engineering labour across multiple disciplines and design maturity stages.
• Systems Operation and Governance: Hands on experience using SAP and Primavera P6 to control costs, manage commitments, integrate cost and schedule performance using earned value methods and implement approved baseline changes with full audit trail.

What can you expect from us?

More than just a job, we offer a future. More than just a place to work, we provide an opportunity to prosper. As an employee of Urenco you will receive:

• Generous Annual Leave: Starting at 25 days, increasing by one day every two years (up to 30 days), plus 13 additional flexible days. Option to buy or sell up to 5 holiday days.
• Family-Friendly Policies: A wide range of policies to support work-life balance and family needs.
• Bonus Scheme: A competitive bonus scheme based on company and individual performance.
• Pension Scheme: Defined contribution plan with up to 16% employer contribution.
• Private Medical & Dental Cover: Single coverage with the option to purchase additional benefits.
• Flexible Benefits: Life assurance, income protection, and other options tailored to your lifestyle, with tax and National Insurance savings.
• Training & Development: A focus on continuous learning, with personalised training packages to support your career growth, including mandatory health and safety courses.

Security vetting: Due to the nature of the industry that Urenco operates in, all personnel regardless of employment status working for Urenco are required to obtain security clearance at the level required for their role. Security clearances are assessed in accordance with regulations and official guidance issued by the relevant competent authorities for national security vetting. In certain circumstances, additional enhanced security clearance considerations apply to roles within Urenco owing to the particular activities that the Urenco Group undertakes in relation to uranium enrichment. Successful candidates will need to satisfy security requirements, and all offers of appointment are made subject to the successful approval of all checks initiated.

Creating a diverse and inclusive workforce: We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. As part of this commitment, we are implementing anonymized CV screening. Your CV will be presented without any personal information that could identify you (e.g., name, contact details, age, gender, etc.). This helps us focus on your qualifications and potential, ensuring a fair and unbiased assessment process.

As a truly global company with a presence in the UK, USA, Germany, and the Netherlands, we know that our individual differences make us stronger. Putting people at the heart of our business, we strive to create an open and inclusive workplace that allows every voice to be heard and diversity to thrive. If you require any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process, please let our talent acquisition team know.

Because together, we are one Urenco. We are enriching the world. And enriching your future.