Project Engineer, Operations Management

Project Engineer

The Project Engineer leads the corporate outage program and long-term shutdown strategy across multiple heavy industrial manufacturing facilities. This role develops, implements, and continuously improves standardized outage governance, processes, and best practices to ensure safe, efficient, and predictable shutdown execution. The Project Engineer partners closely with Operations, Maintenance, Reliability, and Engineering teams to define outage scopes, manage budgets and sustaining capital forecasts, and oversee detailed planning and execution.

The position also manages contractor and stakeholder performance, drives continuous improvement in outage performance and asset reliability, and supports a multi-plant aluminum casting and extrusion environment supplying the automotive industry.

• Lead the corporate outage program by developing, implementing, and continuously improving standardized shutdown governance, processes, and best practices across all operating facilities.
• Ensure safe, efficient, and predictable outage execution by applying consistent procedures and controls across sites.
• Develop long-term outage strategies by partnering with Operations, Maintenance, Reliability, and Engineering teams to define outage scopes and establish multi-year shutdown plans.
• Prioritize outage work based on business risk, asset condition, safety considerations, and operational requirements.
• Manage outage budgets by developing annual outage budgets and maintaining long-term sustaining capital forecasts.
• Monitor outage expenditures and support the corporate capital planning process to ensure alignment with financial and operational goals.
• Oversee outage planning and execution by ensuring detailed planning, resource coordination, contractor readiness, and effective scheduling.
• Provide execution oversight to manage scope, schedule, cost, and operational risks throughout each outage.
• Lead contractor and stakeholder performance by managing strategic contractor relationships and coordinating cross-functional teams.
• Foster collaboration among Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, Procurement, and Finance to achieve successful shutdown outcomes.
• Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) for outage performance and asset reliability.
• Conduct post-shutdown reviews, benchmark performance, and capture lessons learned to drive continuous improvement.
• Implement improvements that enhance future outage execution, reliability, and overall operational performance.
• Support the installation, inspection, adjustment, and repair of equipment such as furnaces, extruders, robotics, saws, palletizers, and yard equipment including haulers, skid loaders, and forklifts.
• Respond quickly to equipment failures to meet all safety standards and production needs in a heavy industrial environment.
• Collaborate with plant leadership and functional stakeholders to align outage activities with production schedules and customer requirements in an automotive supply context.

• PMP certification.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Maintenance Management, Industrial Technology, or a related discipline.
• 5–8 years of maintenance, reliability, engineering, or outage management experience within heavy industrial manufacturing.
• Experience in steel or heavy industrial manufacturing environments.
• Strong knowledge of shutdown planning, cost development, budget management, and execution oversight.
• Demonstrated project management experience in complex industrial settings.
• Mechanical engineering or maintenance background with exposure to large industrial equipment.
• Proficiency with Primavera for project and outage scheduling.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Project for planning and tracking project activities.
• Experience in steel or aluminum manufacturing, particularly in outage management and reliability improvement.
• Ability to manage multiple outages and projects across different facilities while maintaining consistent standards.
• Strong analytical skills to interpret performance data, KPIs, and budget information.
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage strategic contractor relationships.
• Commitment to safety and adherence to…