Cillian O'Brien · Dublin

Graduate Quantity Surveyor · Project Management

Cillian O'Brien

QS graduate with client-side experience on US pharmaceutical and data centre builds. Now studying project management at UCD Smurfit.

Get in touch LinkedIn
Portrait of Cillian O'Brien
$4.1bnPharmaceutical plant, Clayton NC
~$2bnData centre, Charlotte NC
2.1BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying, MTU
5 yrsRetail, promoted to supervisor

About

I'm a Quantity Surveying graduate from MTU, now studying for an MSc in Project Management at UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.

On placement with Soben, I worked client-side on two large projects in North Carolina. I assessed contractor pay applications and design variations, and sat in on weekly work package meetings between the client's project manager and the contractor's. Seeing cost and programme pull against each other in those meetings is what moved me toward project management.

My dissertation looked at the cost impact of sustainable construction on Irish and UK building projects, and why a smaller economy is slower to adopt sustainable methods. That's the area I want to build a career in, and I'm working toward SCSI chartership.

Experience

Mar 2025 – Sep 2025

Quantity Surveying Intern

Soben, part of Accenture

Pharmaceutical manufacturing plant

Clayton, North Carolina
  • Value $4.1bn
  • Area 1.4m sq ft (≈130,000 m²)
  • Role Client-side QS
  • Assessed contractor pay applications on behalf of the client.
  • Reviewed and assessed design variations.
  • Attended weekly work package meetings with the client's and contractor's project managers, covering the schedule, delays, variations and milestone completions.

Data centre

Charlotte, North Carolina
  • Value just under $2bn
  • Package Groundworks
  • Assessed groundworks and contractor pay applications.
Cillian in hard hat and hi-vis on a groundworks site in North Carolina
On site, North Carolina
Summer 2026

Caddy

Aquidneck Club, Newport, Rhode Island

  • Looked after members and guests on the course during rounds and tournaments.
  • Learned to read a situation and keep morale up when the pressure was on.
2018 – 2023

Retail Supervisor

O'Briens Service Station, Bishopstown, Cork

  • Promoted from sales assistant to supervisor over five years.
  • Ran shifts and kept the team on track in a high-footfall store.
  • Barista trained.

Research

BSc dissertation · MTU · April 2026

Assessing the Impact of Sustainable Construction Practices on Cost in Irish and UK Building Projects

Does building sustainably cost more, and does it pay back? I reviewed the literature and surveyed 14 construction professionals, 7 in Ireland and 7 in the UK, from senior QSs and directors to a modular manufacturer.

Read the dissertation (PDF)

50 pages. Respondent names removed in this web version.

~10%Average upfront premium reported (range 5–30%)
12 of 14Said sustainable methods cost more upfront
12 of 14Agreed contractors hold back because of cost
7 of 7UK respondents had used lifecycle costing, against 5 of 7 in Ireland

What I found

Education

2026 – present
UCD crest

MSc Project Management

UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School

2022 – 2026
MTU crest

BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying · 2.1

Munster Technological University, Cork

Dissertation: Assessing the Impact of Sustainable Construction Practices on Cost in Irish and UK Building Projects. See the findings

Skills

Core skills

  • Pay application assessment
  • Design variations
  • Schedule and milestone tracking

People

  • Team supervision
  • Client and contractor meetings
  • Customer-facing work

Outside work

  • Gaelic football and hurling
  • Gym and running
  • Hiking

Software

Get in touch

Open to graduate QS and project management roles. Email is the best way to reach me, or connect on LinkedIn.