Principal/Associate Cost Manager

Job Description

AECOM’s Program, Cost Consultancy team is seeking a Principal Quantity Surveyor / Associate to join our Sydney team.

We are looking for an experienced leader to deliver and oversee complex projects across sectors such as Building Services, MEP Infrastructure, Data Centres, Healthcare, Energy Infrastructure, and other high-profile engineering projects. This role is pivotal in driving strategic growth, delivering exceptional project outcomes, and mentoring our high-performing team.

How you'll make a difference

• Lead quantity surveying and cost management services for NSW’s and Australia’s most iconic infrastructure projects
• Develop and manage cost planning, estimating, risk assessment, and value engineering strategies
• Provide high-level strategic advice to clients, ensuring optimal commercial outcomes and project success
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams locally and nationally, fostering knowledge sharing and integration
• Mentor and develop junior staff, ensuring technical excellence and team growth
• Drive business development by identifying opportunities, supporting bids, and building client relationships.

Qualifications

The qualities that help you thrive

• Extensive experience as a Principal QS/Senior or Associate Cost Manager in a consulting environment, with expertise in Australian standards across major sectors.
• Proven leadership in cost planning, procurement, construction phase cost management, and client advisory services.
• Strong team management and mentoring skills, with a focus on collaboration and innovation.
• Relevant tertiary qualifications and professional accreditation (AIQS, RICS, or equivalent).
• Advanced proficiency in CostX and the MS Suite, with a strategic mindset for business growth.

Join AECOM to shape the future of Australia’s most iconic projects while leading a dynamic and talented team.

Additional Information

At AECOM, we are committed to maintaining a secure and trustworthy recruitment process and take any fraudulent hiring activity seriously. To support this commitment, all newly hired employees are required to attend an in-person Day 1 onboarding at an AECOM office location as a condition of employment.

AECOM acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we, our clients and our communities live and work around Australia. We pay our respects to their cultures and to their Elders — past, present, and emerging. We are committed to connecting to Country in our work through meaningful engagement with First Nations peoples and businesses.  Find out more about our Australian Reconciliation Action Plan here: https://aecom.com/au/our-vision-for-reconciliation/.

About AECOM

AECOM is the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, new energy and the environment, our public- and private-sector clients trust us to solve their most complex challenges. Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivaled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of $16.1 billion in fiscal year 2025. See how we are delivering sustainable legacies for generations to come at aecom.com and @AECOM.

Freedom to Grow in a World of Opportunity 

You will have the flexibility you need to do your best work with hybrid work options. Whether you’re working from an AECOM office, remote location or at a client site, you will be working in a dynamic environment where your integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and pioneering mindset are championed.

You will help us foster a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion – a safe and respectful workplace, where we invite everyone to bring their whole selves to work using their unique talents, backgrounds and expertise to create transformational outcomes for our clients.

AECOM provides a wide array of compensation and benefits programs to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. We also provide a robust global well-being program. We’re the world’s trusted global infrastructure firm, and we’re in this together – your growth and success are ours too.

Join us, and you’ll get all the benefits of being a part of a global, publicly traded firm – access to industry-leading technology and thinking and transformational work with big impact and work flexibility. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person’s potential, and we’ll help you reach yours.