Project Controls Analyst (Cost and Data Visualization)

Project Controls Analyst (Cost and Data Visualization)

Los Angeles, California, United States; New York, New York, United States; San Francisco, CA

We're seeking Project Controls Analysts (Cost and Data Visualization) at multiple levels to support large, heavy-civil infrastructure programs, including highways, roads, bridges, transit (rail and bus), aviation (international airports), and water projects delivered through both traditional and alternative methods.

These roles sit at the intersection of project controls and modern data analytics. Depending on level and experience, responsibilities may span cost control, financial tracking, and schedule awareness, combined with advanced data structuring and visualization capabilities. Across all levels, the focus is not just on building dashboards, but on working within active programs to help teams understand what the data is actually telling them and where performance is trending.

Team members support cost and financial oversight across publicly funded programs (USDOT, FAA, FTA, and state DOTs), contributing across the full reporting lifecycle. This may include partnering with stakeholders to define reporting requirements, integrating and validating data from multiple systems, structuring datasets, and developing dashboards and reports that support project execution, program controls, and executive decision-making.

At Luster, these are not passive reporting roles. Depending on level, individuals play a key part in shaping how project data is organized, governed, and communicated across complex, multi-stakeholder environments. The expectation across the team is an understanding of both the data and the project context behind it, with the ability to bridge the gap between technical outputs and real-world delivery.

This posting is for future roles and not for a specific opportunity that is available right now. We accept applications and conduct interviews in advance of upcoming hiring needs. When a candidate is selected, their profile is activated in our talent pool for this specialty area. We notify our talent pool candidates first whenever we have a project need.

Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Develop dashboards and reports that support cost, schedule, forecast, progress, change, and performance analysis.
• Create reporting solutions for project teams, program leadership, and executive stakeholders.
• Support analytics related to: budget versus actuals; forecast trends; cost and schedule variance; cash flow and commitments; change management; portfolio and program performance; risk and exposure indicators.
• Help translate project controls data into practical, decision-ready outputs.
• Monitor actual costs vs. budget and analyze variances across multiple funding sources.
• Implement cost control procedures in compliance with federal and state regulations.
• Prepare cost reports and documentation required by agencies such as the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and State DOTs.
• Collaborate with scheduling, procurement, and engineering teams to align cost data with project milestones.
• Support earned value management (EVM) and integrate cost and schedule performance metrics.
• Identify cost-related risks and support mitigation planning.
• Evaluate cost impacts of change orders and scope modifications.
• Interface with government clients, contractors, and internal teams to ensure transparency and accountability.
• Participate in audits, reviews, and funding agency meetings.
• Support reporting deliverables across multiple funding and delivery structures, including traditional and alternative methods.
• Extract, organize, and validate data from client and internal systems, including PMIS platforms, ERP systems, scheduling systems, and operational/financial source systems.
• Support the design and maintenance of data pipelines using SQL, APIs, and Python-based workflows.
• Prepare data for reporting through cleansing, transformation, and modeling.
• Contribute to scalable data structures that support repeatable reporting and analytics delivery.
• Design and build user-friendly dashboards, reports, and visual analytics primarily in Power BI.
• Develop views tailored to different audiences, including executive, management, and operational users.
• Use wireframes and prototypes to align reporting design with stakeholder needs.
• Incorporate best practices in layout, usability, filtering, navigation, and documentation.
• Support paginated and presentation-ready reporting where required.
• Gather and document business requirements from internal teams and external clients.
• Facilitate conversations that clarify reporting goals, success criteria, and data availability.
• Present reporting concepts, draft dashboards, and iterative updates for stakeholder review.
• Provide clear communication to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Support user adoption through training, reference materials, and report documentation.
• Identify opportunities to improve reporting quality, efficiency, and business value.
• Recommend more effective ways to structure, visualize, and interpret data.
• Support innovative uses of modern analytics, automation, and AI-enabled workflows where appropriate.
• Contribute to Luster's evolving internal and client-facing analytics capabilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams and communicate with a range of stakeholder groups.
• Meticulous analyst who spots anomalies quickly and communicates them clearly.
• Comfortable navigating large datasets, cost-control platforms, and Excel pivot tables.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to data quality.
• Excellent multitasking and organizational skills.
• Collaborative mindset that fosters teamwork, trust, and positive relationships.
• Natural curiosity, problem-solving abilities, and a passion for continuous improvement.
• Bachelor's degree in engineering, construction management, finance, business, data analytics, information systems, statistics, computer science, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 5+ years of relevant experience in project controls, cost engineering, business intelligence, data analytics, and/or program or portfolio reporting.
• Familiarity with project controls concepts such as cost, schedule, forecasting, and performance reporting.
• Experience developing dashboards and reports (preferably using Power BI).
• Experience using Python for data transformation, automation, scripting, or API integration.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Power BI, Oracle Cloud Analytics, or other dashboard KPI reporting software.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite/Office 365 (e.g., Outlook, Teams, Word, PowerPoint, etc.).
• Master's degree in engineering, construction management, finance, business, data analytics, information systems, statistics, or computer science.
• Experience supporting infrastructure, transportation, aviation, construction, engineering, or capital program environments.
• Familiarity with tools and platforms such as Primavera P6, Oracle Primavera Cloud, Unifier, Kahua, Procore, e-Builder, Microsoft Fabric, and BI Publisher.
• Experience integrating data from ERP, PMIS, and scheduling platforms.
• Knowledge of dimensional modeling, semantic models, data warehouses, or lakehouse concepts.
• Experience building executive-level reporting for portfolio or program leadership.
• Familiarity with risk analytics, forecasting analytics, or statistical reporting methods.
• Experience working within client-controlled or regulated technology environments.
• Willingness to learn and grow in a fast-paced, innovative team environment, including developing proficiency in financial modeling and reporting and using cost/schedule management tools (e.g., Primavera P6, Deltek, and SAP).

Expected Salary: $89k-$140k/year ($43-$67/hour). Luster provides the salary range that the company in good faith believes it might offer for this position based on the successful candidate's level of experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, education, certifications, licenses, geographic location, etc. Luster reserves the right to ultimately pay more or less than the posted range depending on circumstances not related to any status protected by local, state, and/or federal law.

Just LOOK at the Benefits We Offer!

• Unlimited flexible time off
• Paid holidays
• Paid parental leave
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Flexible spending accounts (healthcare and dependent or elder care)
• Long-term disability insurance
• Short-term disability