Cost Engineer

Firmus Technologies

Firmus Technologies is a global leader pioneering the solution to AI’s energy challenge, founded in Australia in 2019 by a visionary team of entrepreneurs. Our mission is to create the most energy-efficient AI infrastructure, combining cutting edge technology with a steadfast commitment to sustainability. 

Through ground-breaking research and development, we invented a verticalized AI Factory - a new class of digital infrastructure that replaces traditional data centres. Built on new approaches to liquid cooling, energy management, water use and modular construction methodology, the Firmus AI Factory delivers low-cost AI tokens across Asia-Pacific.

Firmus AI Cloud

We provide customers access to energy savings via our large-scale GPU cloud, Firmus AI Cloud. Rated Silver in The GPU Cloud ClusterMAX™ Rating System, our cloud empowers developers, enterprise, education and government users to train AI models with unmatched efficiency and cost savings. With an ever-growing list of services and applications, we are committed to building a cloud experience for our customers that is market-leading, proprietary and built to scale. 

Why you’ll love working here

• A fast-paced and dynamic environment working with next-gen technology. You’ll be operating at the intersection of sustainability and artificial intelligence – helping to transform an industry. 
• Working with and access to colleagues who are true innovators and leaders in their field. 
• As an emerging company, we work as a close-knit team. Work with the founders, grow a strong network, and witness the impact you make first-hand as we democratise AI tools for everyone – more sustainably, and more affordably. 
• We believe that people from diverse backgrounds come together to do their best work, be their authentic selves, and build great things. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. 

Role Summary

The Cost Engineer is responsible for project cost control, budgeting, forecasting, commercial tracking, and financial reporting for data center IT fit-out projects. This role supports the Project Manager in monitoring project financial performance across procurement, deployment, logistics, installation, and integration activities.

The position will work closely with procurement, vendors, finance, logistics, and project teams to ensure accurate cost visibility, budget control, and timely reporting throughout the project lifecycle.

Experience in data center, mission-critical, or IT infrastructure environments is advantageous but not mandatory.

Key Responsibilities

Cost Control & Budget Management

- Develop and maintain project cost reports, forecasts, and budget tracking tools.
- Monitor actual costs against approved budgets and committed spend.
- Track project expenditures across procurement, logistics, installation, deployment, and related project activities.
- Support cost allocation across multiple workstreams and project phases.
- Identify budget variances and recommend corrective actions.

Procurement & Commercial Tracking

- Work closely with procurement and project teams to track purchase orders, vendor quotations, and committed costs.
- Review and validate vendor quotations, invoices, and payment applications.
- Track cost movements, freight costs, taxes, duties, and escalation risks.
- Maintain visibility of long-lead procurement items and project commitments.
- Support commercial evaluations and bid comparisons.

Forecasting & Financial Reporting

- Prepare weekly and monthly cost forecasts and cash flow reports.
- Provide financial status updates to the Project Manager and stakeholders.
- Monitor forecast accuracy and update estimates based on project progress.
- Track accruals, committed costs, and pending variations.
- Support project financial reporting and earned value tracking where applicable.

Change Management

- Track project change requests and variation orders.
- Assess commercial impact of scope changes and technical revisions.
- Maintain change logs and ensure approval workflows are followed.
- Support claims analysis and cost impact assessments.

Project Coordination

- Coordinate with project management, procurement, logistics, deployment, and finance teams.
- Support schedule-driven cost planning aligned with project milestones.
- Participate in project review meetings and risk discussions.
- Assist in identifying commercial and supply chain risks affecting project cost.

Vendor & Contract Support

- Monitor vendor commercial compliance and contractual obligations.
- Track delivery milestones tied to payment schedules.
- Support reconciliation of invoices, delivery records, and received goods.
- Assist with contract administration and vendor performance tracking.

Skills & Experience

- 5–10 years of experience in cost engineering, quantity surveying, project controls, commercial management, or related project cost functions.
- Experience in construction, infrastructure, technology, engineering, or fit-out projects.
- Strong experience in budgeting, forecasting, cost tracking, and financial reporting within project environments.
- Experience managing vendor costs, procurement tracking, and change management processes.
- Proficient in Microsoft Excel for cost tracking, forecasting, and reporting.
- Familiarity with ERP and project management systems such as:
  • Procore
  • MS Project
  • NetSuite
- Experience using project cost tracking, procurement, and reporting tools is advantageous.
- Strong analytical and commercial skills.
- High attention to detail and financial accuracy.
- Strong communication and stakeholder coordination skills.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities under tight deadlines.
- Proactive problem-solving and risk identification capability.
- Strong reporting and presentation skills.

Preferred Experience (Advantageous but Not Mandatory)

- Experience in data center, mission-critical, or IT infrastructure projects.
- Good understanding of compute, server, storage, and network environments.
- Familiarity with hardware procurement and deployment lifecycle.
- Exposure to fast-paced project delivery environments.

Key Deliverables

- Accurate project cost reports and forecasts.
- Budget variance analysis and mitigation plans.
- Timely change order and variation tracking.
- Cost visibility across procurement and project activities.
- Financial support to maintain project delivery within approved budget.

Work Environment

- Combination of office and active project site environment.
- Coordination with vendors, logistics providers, and project teams.
- Fast-paced, schedule-driven project environment.

Employment Basis

Permanent full-time

Diversity

At Firmus, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds who are passionate about creating a more sustainable future through innovative engineering solutions.

Join us in our mission to revolutionise the AI industry through sustainable practices and cutting-edge engineering. Apply now to be part of shaping the future of sustainable AI infrastructure.

About Firmus Technologies 

Firmus Technologies is a global leader pioneering the solution to AI’s energy challenge, founded in Australia in 2019 by a visionary team of entrepreneurs and engineers passionate about sustainable computing infrastructure.

Firmus builds and operates AI infrastructure across Asia-Pacific, utilising its proprietary AI Factory platform to deliver transformative cost-effective GPU clusters and AI cloud services for developers, enterprise, education and government users.

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds who are passionate about creating a more sustainable future through innovative engineering solutions.

Join us in our mission to revolutionise the AI industry through sustainable practices and cutting-edge engineering.