Senior Project Planner | Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

Hitachi ABB Power Grids; Petaling Jaya; On-site; MYR 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Hitachi Energy is seeking a Senior Project Planner to serve as the Planning SME for our regional project execution. You will lead integrated schedules, drive planning standards, and influence project teams across engineering, procurement, and construction.

With 8–10 years of experience and advanced Primavera P6/Microsoft Project skills, you will shape planning excellence and ensure transparent, accurate project controls across multiple regional initiatives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Project Management, Construction Management or related field.
• 8–10 years of project planning/scheduling experience in engineering, energy, utilities or EPC environments.
• Proficient in Primavera P6 and Microsoft Project with strong project controls knowledge.
• Experience influencing stakeholders without direct authority; strong communication skills.
• Certifications such as PMP, PMI-SP or AACE are advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Lead development, maintenance, and governance of integrated schedules.
• Establish baselines, monitor progress, forecast, and identify risks.
• Perform critical path analysis and recommend improvements.
• Act as regional Planning SME driving standards and best practices.
• Influence planners across units and provide leadership without direct reporting.
• Engage stakeholders to validate project information and ensure transparency.
• Facilitate schedule reviews, planning workshops, and governance meetings.
• Collaborate with PM, Engineering, Supply Chain, Procurement, and Construction.
• Support schedule performance measurement, forecasting, earned value, and reporting.
• Analyze contractor schedules and develop commissioning and startup timelines.
• Mentor planners and contribute to workforce development within the organization.

Skills

Stakeholder engagement

Leadership

Communication

Scheduling

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Engineering

Tools

Primavera P6

Microsoft Project

Job description

Job Overview

Hitachi Energy is seeking an experienced Senior Project Planner to serve as the Planning Subject Matter Expert (SME) for our regional project execution organization.

This role goes beyond traditional project scheduling. You will play a critical role in driving planning excellence across multiple engineering and infrastructure projects, influencing planners and project teams across the region, and ensuring consistent planning standards, governance, and best practices.

Working closely with Project Managers, Operations Leaders, Engineers, Procurement and Commercial teams, you will provide strategic planning leadership, schedule insight, and project controls expertise to support successful project delivery.

Your Responsibilities

• Lead the development, maintenance, and governance of integrated project schedules using Primavera P6 and other planning tools.


• Establish and maintain schedule baselines, monitor progress, perform forecasting, and identify potential project risks and delays.


• Conduct critical path analysis and provide recommendations to improve project performance and delivery outcomes.


• Act as the regional Planning Subject Matter Expert (SME), driving planning standards, methodologies, and best practices across the project organization.


• Influence and support planners across multiple business units, providing functional leadership without direct line management responsibility.


• Proactively engage stakeholders to gather, validate, and challenge project information, ensuring planning accuracy and transparency.


• Facilitate schedule reviews, planning workshops, and governance meetings with project teams and leadership.


• Collaborate with Project Managers, Engineering, Supply Chain, Procurement and Construction teams to develop realistic and achievable project plans.


• Support project controls activities, including schedule performance measurement, forecasting, earned value analysis, and reporting.


• Analyse contractor and third-party schedules to assess progress, risks, and alignment with project objectives.


• Develop commissioning, startup, and execution schedules for complex projects.


• Mentor and coach planners and project teams on planning principles, schedule management, and project controls best practices.


• Contribute to resource planning, workforce planning, and future capability development within the project execution organization.

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Project Management, Construction Management, or a related discipline.


• Minimum 8-10 years of project planning and scheduling experience within engineering, energy, utilities, industrial, infrastructure, EPC, or large-scale project environments.


• Advanced proficiency in Primavera P6 and Microsoft Project.


• Strong understanding of project controls, critical path methodology, schedule risk analysis, forecasting, and earned value management.


• Experience managing complex project schedules across multiple stakeholders and project phases.


• Demonstrated ability to influence, engage, and gain commitment from stakeholders without direct authority.


• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to extract information, challenge assumptions, and drive alignment across diverse teams.


• Experience establishing or improving planning standards, governance frameworks, and project controls processes is highly desirable.


• PMP, PMI-SP, AACE, or equivalent project management/planning certifications are advantageous.

What Makes This Role Different

This is not a traditional scheduling role focused solely on maintaining project plans.

We are looking for someone who can combine strong planning expertise with stakeholder engagement and functional leadership. As the Planning SME, you will help shape planning excellence across the organization, influence a network of planners and project teams, and drive consistency, quality, and visibility across a growing portfolio of regional projects.

About Us

We are a global leader in electrification, powering the electricity era to meet the energy demands of today, and the next 25 years. As the energy arm of Hitachi Group, over three billion people depend on our pioneering, mission-critical technologies to power their daily lives.

With over a century of innovation, we are addressing the most urgent energy challenge of our time: driving the evolution of the world’s energy system to ensure abundant, secure, affordable, and sustainable power for today’s generation and the next.

With an unparalleled installed base in over 140 countries, we are the grid ecosystem partner across the utility, industry, data center, and transportation sectors. Headquartered in Switzerland, we employ over 56,000 people in 60 countries and generate revenues of around $20 billion USD.