Senior Planning Engineer - AI Optimisation

Laing O'Rourke; Ipswich; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Akordi, a subsidiary of Laing O'Rourke, is seeking an Optimisation Manager (Planning) to join its Services team. Based Ipswich with 5/6 days onsite monthly, you will blend traditional planning with AI-driven analytics, simulation modelling and advanced optimisation tools to improve certainty and reduce risk on major infrastructure programmes.

You will work with industry experts, data specialists and client teams to influence delivery decisions, produce insightful reports, and drive continuous

Qualifications

• Experience delivering construction or infrastructure projects, ideally within major UK or Australian programmes.
• Practical planning experience gained on site or within a project environment.
• Strong ability to develop, analyse and optimise complex master schedules.
• Advanced proficiency in Primavera P6 and solid understanding of other scheduling tools.

Responsibilities

• Use simulation, modelling and optimisation techniques to support project staging, sequencing, scheduling and re-baselining.
• Analyse complex project schedules using Akordi’s AI-enabled platform to identify opportunities across time, cost, risk and resource optimisation.
• Assess project performance, extracting lessons learned and identifying opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Identify critical schedule risks and work with delivery teams to develop practical mitigation strategies.
• Produce clear, evidence-based reports, dashboards and visualisations for stakeholders.
• Facilitate planning workshops, schedule reviews and technical discussions with clients and project teams.
• Collaborate with Service Design & Delivery team and global specialists to improve services and products.
• Ensure assessments align with UK delivery frameworks (NEC, PACE, GRIP/GRIP Lite).

Skills

Primavera P6

Scheduling experience

Data analysis

Job description

Optimisation Manager (Planning)

Location: Flexible - Requirement to be Ipswich based 5/6 times a month.

Join Akordi and help transform the future of infrastructure delivery

At Akordi, we’re redefining how major infrastructure projects make critical decisions.

As a rapidly growing technology business and subsidiary of Laing O'Rourke, we combine deep construction expertise with advanced AI and optimisation technology to help clients deliver complex projects with greater certainty. Our decision intelligence platform enables project teams to better manage risk, optimise schedules and make smarter, data-driven decisions throughout the project lifecycle.

Working across rail, highways, energy, utilities and major capital programmes, we partner with government organisations, developers and tier‑one contractors to solve challenges that traditional planning tools simply can’t.

With continued growth across Australia and the UK, there’s never been a better time to join our team.

The Opportunity

We’re looking for an experienced Optimisation Manager (Planning) to join our growing Services team.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced construction planner who wants to move beyond traditional planning and into the future of project optimisation.

You’ll combine your planning expertise with AI-driven analytics, simulation modelling and advanced optimisation tools to help some of the world’s most complex infrastructure programmes improve certainty, reduce risk and deliver better outcomes.

Working alongside industry experts, data specialists and senior client teams, you’ll provide strategic insights that influence major delivery decisions across large-scale infrastructure projects.

What You’ll Be Doing

As an Optimisation Manager, you will:

• Use simulation, modelling and optimisation techniques to support project staging, sequencing, scheduling and re-baselining.
• Analyse complex project schedules using Akordi’s AI-enabled platform to identify opportunities across time, cost, risk and resource optimisation.
• Assess project performance, extracting lessons learned and identifying opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Identify critical schedule risks and work collaboratively with delivery teams to develop practical mitigation strategies.
• Produce clear, evidence-based reports, dashboards and visualisations for a wide range of stakeholders.
• Facilitate planning workshops, schedule reviews and technical discussions with clients and project teams.
• Collaborate with our Service Design & Delivery team and global specialists to continuously improve our services and products.
• Ensure all assessments align with recognised UK delivery frameworks, including NEC, PACE and GRIP/GRIP Lite.

What We’re Looking For

We’re interested in people who combine strong planning expertise with curiosity and a passion for innovation.

You’ll ideally have:

• Experience delivering construction or infrastructure projects, ideally within major UK or Australian programmes.
• Practical planning experience gained on site or within a project environment.
• Strong capability in developing, analysing and optimising complex master schedules.
• Advanced proficiency in Primavera P6 and a solid understanding of other scheduling and project controls tools.
• The ability to interpret engineering drawings, construction methodologies and delivery strategies.
• Excellent analytical, presentation and communication skills, with the ability to explain complex information clearly.
• A proactive, organised approach and the confidence to work independently while contributing to a collaborative team.
• A genuine interest in emerging technologies, AI and innovative approaches to project optimisation.

About Us

Laing O'Rourke are an international engineering and construction company delivering state‑of‑the‑art infrastructure and buildings projects for clients in the UK, Middle East and Australia.

We harness the power of our experience, stretching back over a century and a half to deliver certainty for our clients.

As part of the Disability Confident scheme, we would like to enable access to candidates with long term conditions and disabilities through the ‘Offer an interview scheme’. This supports applicants that meet the essential criteria by offering an interview for the advertised position. Please let us know if you would like to opt in to this scheme and let us know if you require any adjustments for the interview process.

We want to ensure our recruitment process is accessible to all. If you need the application form in an alternative format or would like to know more about our recruitment process, please email [e-mail].