Proposals Engineer

Role Purpose

The Costing Engineer is responsible for developing technically sound and commercially accurate project cost estimates and proposals for minerals processing and materials handling projects. The role integrates preliminary engineering, equipment selection, supplier engagement, and commercial proposal development to support successful project acquisition.

• Act as the primary technical–commercial interface with clients during the proposal and costing phase.
• Engage with clients to extract, clarify, and confirm all technical, commercial, and operational requirements relevant to the project.
• Translate client objectives, constraints, and expectations into a clearly defined scope of work
  , including capacities, design criteria, battery limits, and performance requirements.
• Identify gaps, ambiguities, risks, and assumptions in client-supplied information and proactively resolve them.
• Document scope assumptions, exclusions, and clarifications to ensure alignment between client expectations and the proposed solution.

• Develop basic process concepts for proposed projects in collaboration with process and project engineers.
• Prepare Block Flow Diagrams (BFDs) and basic process descriptions to define scope and plant configuration.
• Draft General Arrangement (GA) layout drawings reflecting equipment arrangement, material flow, access, and footprint requirements.
• Ensure layouts are practical, constructible, and aligned with operational and maintenance considerations.

• Select appropriate equipment based on process duty, capacity, material characteristics, and client requirements.
• Prepare preliminary equipment datasheets and specifications for costing and enquiry purposes.
• Identify long‑lead items and technical risks that may impact pricing or delivery.

• Liaise with equipment suppliers, subcontractors, and service providers to obtain budgetary pricing, technical data, and delivery information.
• Evaluate supplier quotations for technical compliance, scope alignment, and commercial competitiveness.
• Maintain a supplier pricing database to support future estimates.

• Compile capital cost estimates including equipment supply, fabrication, installation, transport, commissioning, and indirect costs.
• Develop cost breakdown structures (CBS) aligned with project scope and proposal requirements.
• Identify cost risks, assumptions, exclusions, and contingencies appropriate to the project development stage.
• Support internal reviews of estimate accuracy and commercial risk.

• Draft formal quotations and technical–commercial proposals in accordance with company standards.
• Define scope of supply, battery limits, technical descriptions, and commercial terms.
• Coordinate inputs from engineering, fabrication, procurement, and project management teams.
• Ensure proposals are clear, professional, and aligned with client expectations and tender requirements.

• Participate in client meetings and technical presentations to explain proposed solutions, layouts, and cost structures.
• Present project concepts, technical approaches, and commercial justifications to clients and stakeholders.
• Respond to technical and commercial clarifications during the tender or negotiation phase.

• Contribute to the development and refinement of standard costing tools, templates, and proposal documentation
  .
• Provide feedback to engineering and management on market trends, pricing benchmarks, and competitor positioning.
• Support post‑award handover to project execution teams.

• Bachelor’s Degree or National Diploma in Mechanical Engineering, Process Engineering, Industrial Engineering
  , or a related technical discipline.
• Strong technical literacy in minerals processing and materials handling systems
  .

• Postgraduate qualification or additional certification in Project Management, Cost Engineering, or Commercial Management
  .
• Formal training in cost estimating, proposal engineering,…