WHAT DOES A PROJECT ENGINEER DO?
Updated: Jun 12, 2025 - The Project Engineer designs and manages mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems while overseeing project drawing reviews and installations. This position collaborates with various departments to implement new products, enhance efficiencies, and improve facility capabilities. The engineer also develops documentation, troubleshoots technical issues, and optimizes production machinery, equipment, and automated control systems.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Project Engineer
1. Project Engineer Accountabilities
- Project Management: Manage the delivery of a work package associated with a project or a small material supply project, with minimal supervision.
- Invoicing Management: Set up project timesheet and invoicing and work with finance to issue purchase orders.
- Documentation Management: Determining documentation requirements for projects.
- Technical Report Preparation: Preparation of technical report writing, site report writing, and FAT procedures and reports.
- Vendor Site Inspections: Attend third-party vendor sites for quality/FAT inspections.
- Risk Assessment: Preparation of site acceptance test procedures, risk assessments, and method statements.
- Project Issue Resolution: Participate in meetings and help to resolve client, engineering, and project issues.
- Query Resolution: Provide ad hoc support on general queries relating to projects, engineering, and software.
- Travel for Project Support: Regular travel to provide project support (including offshore).
- Company Representation: Act as an ambassador for the Company, always conducting oneself following Deepwater Corrosion Australasia's expectations.
2. Project Engineer Details and Accountabilities
- Drawing Creation: Create drawings, engineering documentation, calculations, and other engineering requirements for each project.
- Sales Collaboration: Collaborate with the Sales Department to ensure customer technical requirements are fulfilled.
- Product Design: Support new product design activities within the product portfolio.
- Project Support: Support the project manager to ensure the project deliverables are on time and within the prescribed budget.
- Technical Support: Provide technical support to production personnel in troubleshooting, problem-solving, and process improvements.
- Product Maintenance: Maintain and revise current filtration products including component drawings, literature, and marketing materials.
- Cost Analysis: Analyze, provide recommendations, and implement component and product cost efficiencies.
- Industry Awareness: Maintain awareness of industry advances in the engineering field through formal education, technical seminars, and/or product design exhibitions.
- Cultural Practices: Regularly communicate and demonstrate the Eaton best practices, ethics, values, and philosophy such that these cultural attributes are incorporated throughout the organization.
- Goal Setting: Foster an environment that promotes Eaton’s goals and philosophy, encourages continuous improvement, and builds customer relationships.
- Global Adaptability: Work in a fast-paced global environment, dealing with diverse viewpoints and cultures, with a focus on process-driven continuous improvement.
3. Project Engineer Role Purpose
- Project Management: Effectively manage projects, including establishing detailed and defined scopes, bid packages, and timelines.
- Accountability: Identifying key accountabilities and providing guidance to keep projects on track and within budget.
- Design Leadership: Lead design and engineering of major projects using third parties to fulfill objectives.
- Plant Consultation: Consult with and obtain plant agreement on the final design.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Consult with other functions, internal and external, such as safety, accounting, quality, insurance, etc., concerning engineering phases.
- Documentation: Provide design documentation for equipment and control systems before, during, and after project implementation.
- Process Control: Manage plant process control strategy, architecture, and systems.
- System Integration: Lead integration efforts to implement standardized control systems.
- Equipment Selection: Evaluate, select, and purchase major equipment, consulting firms, and construction contractors.
- Function Coordination: Coordinate functions ranging from initial design, purchasing, outside engineering, material expediting, and construction.
- Scheduling: Schedule with plant operations to minimize production losses and meet project deadlines.
- Contractor Management: Manage contractors throughout the construction and commissioning process.
- Technology Awareness: Keep informed on new technology and equipment for new projects and facility improvements.
4. Project Engineer Key Accountabilities
- Hazard and Safety Reviews: Complete Hazard reviews (PHA’s) and Safety reviews for new and existing projects.
- Regulatory Compliance: Complete adherence to Elementis health, safety, and environmental rules and regulations.
- Engineering Interface: Contracted engineering interfacing to assure comprehensive and effective design, utilizing Elementis engineering standards where possible.
- Process Equipment Support: Provide problem-solving and support of plant process equipment including process control systems.
- Project Objective Development: Develop project objectives by reviewing project proposals and plans and conferring with management.
- Regulatory Compliance: Maintain product and company reputation by complying with federal and state regulations.
- Team Contribution: Contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results.
- Cost Estimation: Develop and assemble project cost estimates and drive decisions most fitting for the business case.
- Contract Development: Facilitate the development of contracts and agreements by coordinating with the legal department.
- Risk and Safety Assessment: Lead and facilitate project risk, reliability, and safety assessments.
- Project Reporting: Prepare project status reports by collecting, analyzing, and summarizing information and trends and recommending actions.
- Funding Requests and Forecasting: Prepare and present project funding requests and develop and control spending forecasts.
5. Project Engineer Details
- Project Design Leadership: Lead the project design delivery involving multidisciplinary items for substation, E-House, and Mobile S/S projects (Primary, Secondary, Mechanical, etc.).
- Design Interface Management: Proactively manage the design interface between all design disciplines and oversee and coordinate internally and externally sourced designs.
- Site and Engineering Studies: Conduct site visits/engineering studies to collect necessary input information for the design.
- Design Calculation Review: Prepare and/or review design calculations for equipment/cable/earthing/lightning protection, etc., within the targeted financial and schedule constraints.
- Design Review Participation: Participate in design review/technical clarification meetings with the customer, internal departments, and suppliers.
- Customer Approval: Ensure timely approval of the design from the customer.
- Drawing Issuance: Facilitate issuance of IFC drawings concerning customer comments and final as-built drawing submission.
- Bill of Quantities (BOQ): Identify the bill of quantities (BOQ) for ordering items related to primary and secondary engineering.
- Technical Point of Contact: Represent the project as the key point of contact for all technical matters.
- Electrical System Evaluation: Evaluate electrical systems, products, components, and applications by their design and conduct review and brainstorming sessions.
- Subject Matter Expert Coordination: Coordinate subject matter experts for the development of integrated technical solutions to achieve efficient outcomes.
- Customer Requirement Alignment: Ensure designs meet customer requirements and that all areas of design align with project requirements.
- Design Optimization: Ensure optimized design and project delivery by leading the development, implementation, and continual improvement of design coordination processes and standards.
6. Project Engineer Duties
- Technical Studies: Studies with a technical or scientific focus (physics, mechanical engineering, mechatronics, precision engineering, technical optics, or similar).
- Systems Interaction Understanding: Excellent understanding of the interaction of complex components of optics, mechanics, electronics, and control engineering with practical experience in handling such systems.
- Optical Design Prototyping: Ability to prototype and test own optical designs.
- Cross-Disciplinary Problem Solving: Hands-on and willing to cross discipline boundaries to solve a problem.
- Motivation and Organization: High motivation, independence, and organizational skills.
- Optical System Development: Develop optical systems with a focus on imaging of biological samples.
- Component Design: Design corresponding components, and modules, and derive specifications.
- System Improvement: Develop and improve existing optical systems.
- System Requirements Management: Manage challenges such as narrow installation space and complex system requirements.
- Rapid Prototyping: Utilize optical cage systems and 3D printers for rapid prototyping.
- Prototype Setup: Setup prototypes, including characterization and validation.
- Technology Implementation: Implement cutting-edge optical technologies.
- Team Collaboration: Work with dedicated, interdisciplinary project teams across disciplines.
7. Project Engineer Responsibilities
- Project Management: Provide overall management, direction, and accountability on assigned projects.
- Energy Savings Calculation: Calculate energy savings for various system or equipment changes using existing calculation tools, spreadsheets, statistical models, and/or accepted methodologies.
- Client Engagement: Engage with clients at their industrial locations to understand equipment and operations and identify energy efficiency opportunities.
- Client Relationship Management: Foster and grow client relationships and identify opportunities for generating additional work.
- Report Writing: Write energy efficiency feasibility and project reports based on analyses and observations.
- Data Documentation: Document performance through data collection from customer sources or installed data logging equipment.
- Modeling and Optimization: Conduct Excel-based modeling and optimization of industrial systems (refrigeration, compressed air, fans, and pumps).
- Peer Mentorship: Provide peer mentorship through technical discussions and work reviews.
- System Commissioning: Commissioning existing systems or newly installed projects to maximize energy performance.
- Utility Program Participation: Work within various utility and public demand side management programs.
- Recruitment for SEM Programs: Participate in recruiting activities to promote industrial energy efficiency program participation.
- Strategic Energy Management: Assist with the delivery of utility-sponsored strategic energy management (SEM) programs.
- Technical Communication: Discuss or explain complex technical issues with a diverse audience on their level to facilitate understanding and consensus.
- Budget and Performance Tracking: Track program budgets and performance metrics for DSM clients.
8. Project Engineer Job Summary
- Asset Renewal Management: Delivering asset renewal projects, maintenance, and external projects covering general earthworks, formations, bridges, culverts, level crossings, and other rail-associated works.
- Project Monitoring: Monitoring the implementation of projects by applying contractor management principles, maintaining programs and budgets, and coordinating reviews for forecasting and corrective actions.
- Technical Support: Providing technical and engineering support to stakeholders, including investigating, reporting, and documenting work practices and incidents.
- Project Planning: Developing project plans that include cost estimates, resource requirements, activity programs, and cash flow projections.
- Risk and Method Advisory: Providing advice on project planning, risk assessments, and development of construction methods and procedures when required.
- Stakeholder Liaison: Initiating and maintaining on-site liaison and relationships with divisions, various authorities, and members of the public involved with contract works.
- Design Implementation Review: Reviewing the implementation of the design and checking the correct component rates.
- Standardization: Ensuring continuous standardization to promote the reusability of developed technical solutions.
- Tool Cooperation: Cooperating with other teams to ensure the best use of available tools (e.g., software) to enhance efficiency and minimize errors.
- Design Optimization: Continuously optimizing the design to meet updated standards, lower costs, and incorporate new products, components, and functionalities.
9. Project Engineer Additional Details
- System Design Participation: Participate in the design of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems and equipment specifications alongside third-party design professionals.
- Drawing Review Management: Manage project drawing review process for all design, bid, and construction sets.
- System and Equipment Design: Participate in growing system design and installation, packaging equipment design and installation, facility construction, and utilities.
- Cross-Department Collaboration: Collaborate with multiple departments (Operations, Growing, Facilities, IT, Construction, Food Safety, Sustainability) to complete projects introducing new products and improving efficiencies.
- Project Documentation: Provide necessary documentation to end users at project completion, including drawings, SOPs, manuals, etc.
- Machinery Design Improvement: Design modification and improvement of production machinery and equipment to enhance safety, quality, and cost.
- Technical Troubleshooting: Troubleshoot and solve technical problems with production machinery, equipment, regulatory guidelines, and processes.
- PLC Control Systems: Design, build, program, and commission PLC control systems in the automated greenhouse.
- Component Sourcing: Work with the team to specify and source off-the-shelf electrical and pneumatic components.
- Scope Delineation: Effectively delineate furnish and install scope between vendors, contractors, and owner.
10. Project Engineer Responsibilities and Key Tasks
- Product/Process Implementation: Assist with or coordinate various aspects of new or revised product/process/equipment, and system implementation.
- Leadership Role: Perform a leadership role in a project team, providing technical guidance to less experienced engineers and technicians.
- Effective Communication: Communicate effectively with all levels of the organization, particularly internal customers and suppliers.
- Goal Commitment: Demonstrate commitment to meeting and supporting departmental, divisional, and company goals/objectives/strategies.
- Report Preparation: Demonstrate good report preparation, presentation, and listening skills.
- Project Management: Create project plans and successfully manage/oversee projects through completion in a timely fashion.
- Excel Proficiency: Use Microsoft Excel for improving operations, problem-solving, and presentations/project management.
- Respectful Leadership: Demonstrate a high regard for people by treating them with dignity, respect, fairness, and consistency.
- Teamwork Example: Set a good example of behavior, attitude, and teamwork both within and between departments.
- Adaptability: Adapt to changes, show commitment to change, and continuous improvement.