Maintenance Project Engineer​/Shutdown Planner

Company Description

National Cement Company of Alabama, Inc. has produced high-quality cement products in St. Clair County, Alabama for over a century, operating at its Ragland site since 1910. As part of the Vicat Group of France, the company benefits from global expertise in innovation, environmental stewardship, and operational excellence. The Ragland plant serves a broad customer base across the Southeast, supported by truck, rail, and a network of distribution terminals and ready‑mix subsidiaries.

National Cement of Alabama emphasizes integrity, customer focus, and sustainable progress, and has earned U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR certification for its leadership in alternative fuels and low‑carbon cement technologies. The company is committed to responsible operations, continuous improvement, and contributing to the long‑term health and growth of the communities it serves.

Leads the development and execution of small to medium‑size maintenance and capital improvement projects. Identifies equipment improvement opportunities, develops project scopes, estimates resources, and prepares technical bid packages for contractors and vendors. Plans and coordinates major shutdown activities, including defining scope of work, contractor requirements, schedules, and material needs to support competitive bidding and successful project execution.

• Directs the day‑to‑day operation of equipment that requires outside contractors during the major shutdowns.
• Analyzes equipment failures and determines the necessary modifications, in coordination with the other departments and equipment suppliers.
• Provides the Purchasing Department with the necessary technical information needed to order new parts and/or order outside services.
• Controls and optimizes expenses in order to stay within the budget. Follows‑up on budgetary issues or discrepancies.
• Maintains records for each piece of equipment each time a major repair/modification is performed.

• Identify, evaluate, and develop maintenance improvement projects to enhance equipment reliability, safety, and operational performance.
• Perform field assessments and develop detailed scopes of work for maintenance projects and plant shutdown activities.
• Create technical specifications, drawings, material lists, contractor requirements, and work packages for bidding purposes.
• Collaborate with Purchasing to obtain competitive bids by providing complete and accurate project documentation.
• Review contractor proposals and provide technical recommendations regarding scope compliance, costs, and project execution.
• Develop shutdown work plans, schedules, resource requirements, and contractor coordination plans.
• Track project progress, budgets, and completion status to ensure projects are delivered safely, on schedule, and within budget.
• Verify completed work and maintain documentation of project modifications and repairs.

• Determines the parameters for procedures to ensure the availability and reliability of equipment. Provides technical instructions for these procedures.
• Provides Accounting Department proper information about the nature of expenses and charge out locations when parts or services are used.
• Ensures Maintenance/Engineering records are maintained properly for each piece of equipment.

• Provides the Plant Manager with necessary information about department operations (Monthly Maintenance reports, winter shutdown reports, etc…)

• Minimum 3‑5 years of industrial maintenance, project engineering, reliability engineering, or maintenance planning experience.
• Demonstrated experience developing scopes of work for contractors and outside service providers.
• Experience planning and coordinating plant shutdowns, outages, or turnarounds.
• Experience managing maintenance or capital projects from concept through completion.
• Ability to read and interpret mechanical drawings, specifications, and technical documents.
• Experience working with purchasing departments and contractor bid processes.

• Cement, mining, aggregate, heavy manufacturing, steel, paper, or similar industrial experience.
• Working knowledge of budgeting, contractor management, and project scheduling software.

The successful candidate will be able to independently:

• Develop scopes of work for maintenance projects and plant shutdown activities.
• Define contractor requirements and technical specifications.
• Support Purchasing in obtaining competitive contractor bids.
• Manage multiple small projects from concept through completion.
• Coordinate contractors and internal resources during major maintenance outages.
• Identify equipment improvement opportunities and drive implementation of corrective actions.