Assistant Financial Controller Jobs in Mercer Island, WA

The Project Controller supports SSA Marine's centralized Engineering Department by providing project controls, including estimating, cost management, planning and scheduling, trend and change management, progress and performance measurement, and project reporting oversight, and governance support across the capital project portfolio. The role is designed to evolve into a core owner and administrator of the Engineering PMO, responsible for maintaining project controls procedures, standards, tools, and reporting frameworks aligned with SSA Marine's FEL stage-gate model and capital governance processes and recommending continual improvement where required.

This position works across multiple projects and initiatives, supporting early-stage development (FEL 1-3), setup planning, execution readiness, and lifecycle reporting, while enabling consistent decision-making, cost discipline, and schedule transparency.

• Develop, maintain, and monitor cost, schedule, and progress controls across the Engineering project portfolio.
• Support preparation and review of project budgets, estimates, and schedules.
• Track project performance against approved baselines and identify variances, trends, and emerging risks.
• Actively participate in the risk identification and mitigation process.
• Support implementation of trend and management of change processes.
• Assist Project Managers and Engineering leadership with monthly reporting, dashboards, and executive summaries.
• Support implementation and ongoing use of the FEL (Front-End Loading) model within the Engineering Department.
• Maintain schedule and deliverable maturity tracking aligned with FEL stage-gates.
• Liaison with the Financial Controller for cost tracking and reporting.
• Support development and upkeep of stage-gate checklists, readiness metrics, and decision support materials.
• Assist with preparation of materials for internal governance reviews (setup, monthly performance, stage-gate-scaled in accordance with project complexity and size), investment approvals, and executive forums.
• Serve as a key contributor to the establishment, maintenance, and continuous improvement of the Engineering portfolio management process.
• Help define and standardize project controls processes, templates, reporting cadence, and data structures.
• Support administration of engineering tools (scheduling, cost tracking, reporting platforms).
• Maintain portfolio-level visibility of engineering workload, priorities, and resourcing.
• Maintain accurate and auditable project controls data across projects.
• Develop standardized reports and dashboards for leadership review.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, consistency, and data quality across the Engineering department.
• Support lessons learned and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Other duties as assigned.

• Professional degree, BA, in Engineering, Construction Management, or related disciplines.
• 5+ years of experience in project portfolio controls, estimating, cost control, scheduling, or PMO support, in a capital project portfolio. or infrastructure environments required.
• Experience supporting multi-project and portfolio environments required.
• Certification in project controls or planning (e.g., PMI-SP, AACE, PMP) preferred.
• Working knowledge of FEL / stage-gate project development frameworks.
• Experience in the establishment of reporting standards, formats, and frequency.
• Proficiency with project controls and reporting tools (e.g., Primavera P6, MS Project, Excel, Power BI or similar).
• Proven track record in developing and managing integrated schedules (Primavera P6 or equivalent).
• Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills.

Pay Range: $140,000 - 175,000 per year

The posted compensation range is based on the applicable geographic market for the position and may vary depending on factors such as related experience and skill set. Final compensation will be determined based on these items and other relevant factors.

We are Equal Opportunity Employer