Senior Project Engineer

Senior Project Engineer

The Senior Project Engineer will lead the technical development of conveyor, sortation, pallet handling, retrofit, and custom equipment projects from concept through execution. This role converts customer objectives into manufacturable, installable, maintainable, and commercially sound solutions.

This position is ideal for an experienced engineer who brings strong design capability, an engineering review mindset, and the ability to identify weak assumptions before they become field issues. The right candidate will prefer proven, simple, maintainable solutions unless added complexity creates measurable value.

Key responsibilities include:

• Lead project engineering for layouts, equipment concepts, technical scope, RFQs, vendor coordination, and design reviews.
• Evaluate product flow, throughput, accumulation, transfers, merges, diverts, ergonomics, maintenance access, installation constraints, and commissioning risk.
• Develop solutions that balance safety, customer requirements, physics, reliability, simplicity, maintainability, schedule, and total installed cost.
• Support proposals, budgets, basis-of-design documents, customer reviews, and internal handoffs with clear assumptions, exclusions, risks, and next steps.
• Coordinate mechanical, controls, fabrication, installation, and startup activity to reduce rework and protect project execution.
• Work directly with customers and internal teams to understand application needs, propose practical solutions, and support project handoff and execution.
• Prepare and review technical proposals, layouts, supporting documentation, vendor RFQs, installation considerations, and commissioning plans.
• Communicate clearly with customers, vendors, installers, manufacturing, sales, estimating, project management, controls teams, and technicians.

Skills required include:

• Senior-level engineering experience with conveyor, sortation, automation, distribution, fulfillment, parcel, pallet handling, or related industrial systems.
• Ability to read, review, and challenge layouts, drawings, RFQs, specifications, vendor quotes, and customer requirements.
• Strong technical communication with customers, vendors, installers, manufacturing, sales, estimating, project management, and technicians.
• Practical problem-solving skills with the ability to identify risks, weak assumptions, and likely points of failure under real operating conditions.
• Ability to support technical proposals, equipment scopes, budgets, design reviews, customer reviews, and internal project handoffs.
• Ability to work with layout and project tools used in conveyor and automation environments, such as AutoCAD, Microsoft Office, project schedules, vendor documentation, and related engineering tools.

Knowledge required includes:

• Strong working knowledge of material flow, product behavior, equipment selection, installation realities, and project risk.
• Knowledge of conveyor, sortation, pallet handling, retrofit, custom equipment, warehouse automation, and systems integration projects.
• Practical familiarity with controls architecture, preferably Allen-Bradley / Rockwell Automation, Ethernet/IP, distributed I/O, VFDs, MDR, sensors, barcode readers, and safety devices.
• Understanding of technical proposals, vendor RFQs, equipment scopes, controls concepts, and startup support plans.
• Knowledge of manufacturable, installable, maintainable, and commercially sound engineering solutions.
• Engineering degree or equivalent practical experience in mechanical, industrial, manufacturing, systems, or controls engineering preferred.

Ability to implement includes:

• Translate customer objectives into practical equipment concepts, layouts, scopes, and project execution plans.
• Balance customer needs, safety, reliability, simplicity, maintainability, schedule, and total installed cost when developing solutions.
• Lead technical discussions, challenge assumptions, and identify risks before they impact manufacturing, installation, startup, or customer outcomes.
• Coordinate across mechanical, controls, fabrication, installation, and startup teams to reduce rework and protect project execution.
• Support projects from concept through startup, including proposals, budgets, design reviews, vendor coordination, internal handoffs, and customer communication.
• Take ownership, follow through, and contribute effectively in an interdependent team environment.

Preferred experience includes:

• Conveyor manufacturing, custom equipment, retrofit projects, warehouse automation, or systems integration.
• Technical proposals, vendor RFQs, equipment scopes, controls concepts, and startup support plans.
• Experience with distribution, fulfillment, parcel, pallet handling, ecommerce, warehousing, logistics, or high-volume unit handling environments.
• Experience collaborating with sales, software/controls engineers, third-party suppliers, end users, project managers, and installation teams.

Travel required:

Yes. 10-20% as necessary to customer locations and manufacturing facilities.