Project Controls Manager

Department: Project & Construction Management

Location: Houston, TX

Compensation: $171K – $216K

Employment Type: FullTime

About Mariana Minerals

Mariana Minerals is a software-first, vertically integrated minerals company on a mission to supply the critical minerals powering modern energy, AI, and defense technologies. We’re reimagining the minerals supply chain by combining deep industry expertise with advanced software, automation, and data-driven decision-making.

Position Summary

We are hiring a Project Controls Manager to drive the systems, processes, and tools that ensure successful delivery of large-scale capital projects across mining and refining. This is a hands-on leadership role at the intersection of cost engineering, scheduling, risk management, and financial governance.

You will partner closely with project executives, managers, engineers, and contractors to establish control frameworks, optimize project performance, and deliver predictable outcomes. This role is central to scaling Mariana’s capital project execution and embedding our software-first mindset into how projects are planned, monitored, and delivered.

What You'll do:

• Develop, refine, and implement project controls systems, processes, and tools (cost, schedule, change, risk, progress) across large-scale mining capital projects.

• Champion improvements in the Capital Project Operating System (Capital Project OS).

• Review, analyze, and manage contractor schedules in Primavera P6; create schedule fragments and what-if scenarios; lead the integrated project master schedule.

• Establish and manage project budgets and forecasts, converting estimates from Class 5 → Class 1 into control budgets and cash flow models.

• Lead monthly job cost meetings and produce clear variance analyses.

• Review and validate contractor progress payment applications; coordinate approvals.

• Support capital funding draw requests and ensure alignment with corporate capex governance.

• Analyze change order requests; assess scope, schedule, cost, and risk implications; recommend negotiation/approval strategies.

• Conduct and maintain cost/schedule risk assessments; drive mitigation plans.

• Collaborate cross-functionally to resolve scheduling conflicts, resource constraints, and interface risks.

• Provide senior management and stakeholders with performance dashboards, deviation analyses, and corrective action recommendations.

• Track adherence to workforce/manpower plans and contractor staffing curves.

• Ensure compliance with MSHA, OSHA, environmental permits, and corporate procurement ethics.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in construction management, Engineering, Business Administration, or related field (or equivalent experience).

• 10+ years of project controls/project management experience on large industrial, mining, or process projects (>$100MM TIC preferred).

• Proficiency in Primavera P6 and project controls systems; ability to build and analyze schedules, critical paths, and what-if scenarios.

• Strong cost estimating, budgeting, and financial management skills.

• Proven ability to conduct variance analyses, risk assessments, and cash flow forecasting.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with contractors, executives, and cross-disciplinary teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience implementing project controls software or integrating digital project delivery tools.

• Familiarity with software-first approaches to capital project governance.

• Background in mining, refining, or heavy industrial projects.

Our culture is built on three principles:

Extreme Ownership – We take full responsibility for outcomes, relentlessly driving toward solutions.

Engineer Out Requirements, then Automate – We simplify, optimize, and then automate for scale.

Share Your Legos – We collaborate openly, share knowledge, and empower each other to build bigger, better solutions.

Join us as we build the future of responsible mineral sourcing and supply.