Capital Project Development Advisor

Calumet; Indianapolis (IN); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Calumet in Indianapolis seeks a senior Capital Project Development professional to guide early-stage opportunities from screening through scoping. You will translate objectives into executable project scopes and collaborate with operations, engineering, finance, and leadership to shape options.

This role requires a Bachelor's in engineering and 10+ years in capital project development or related fields, with FEL, stage-gate processes, and economic evaluation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or related technical/business field.
• 10+ years in capital project development, project engineering, or evaluation in relevant industries.
• FEL methodology, stage-gate development, and business/economic evaluation experience.
• Experience facilitating cross-functional discussions across operations, engineering, commercial, and finance stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Support early-stage development by defining scope from screening through scoping.
• Translate objectives into potential project scopes for evaluation and advancement.
• Support business case development by assessing portfolio fit, feasibility, cost, schedule, and resource needs.
• Collaborate with SMEs to screen, evaluate, and shape development options for capital opportunities.
• Lead early development discussions with site teams and leadership to align on scope.
• Drive decisions, actions, assumptions, risks, and follow-up items to maintain momentum.
• Apply best practices and tools to improve capital efficiency across the portfolio.
• Ensure projects are well defined and ready for the next phase before hand-off.

Skills

Scope definition

Analytical judgment

Stakeholder engagement

Follow-through

Project development tools

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Tools

Project estimating software

Scheduling tools

Job description

Who are we?

At Calumet we deliver innovative specialty products trusted by companies across the globe. We are the foundation to everyday essential products that help millions of people live and thrive. We are headquartered in Indianapolis and have numerous production locations in the US. We are customer focused and utilize our values of collaboration and entrepreneurship to grow the business. We offer a dynamic, high-performance environment where team members can have real input and impact on our business. If you're ready to roll up your sleeves, treat the business as if it is your own and add value accordingly, come see why we're Calumet Proud!

Purpose

Provides project development support to operating sites, facilitating capital opportunities from initial screening through scoping. Translates business objectives, operational needs, and technical opportunities into well-defined project scopes that are strategically aligned, technically feasible, and ready to advance to the next phase of development. Collaborates with internal and external resources to apply best practices, tools, and systems that improve capital efficiency.

Core Responsibilities

• Support early-stage project development by helping define the potential scope of new capital opportunities from initial screening through scoping.
• Translate business objectives, operational needs, and technical opportunities into potential project scopes that can be evaluated and advanced.
• Support business case development by assessing portfolio fit, strategic alignment, feasibility, cost, schedule, resource needs, and commercial attractiveness.
• Collaborate with subject matter experts to screen, evaluate, and shape development options for capital opportunities.
• Lead and facilitate early development discussions with site teams, operations, engineering, commercial, finance, and leadership stakeholders to build a shared view of scope.
• Drive key decisions, action items, assumptions, risks, and follow-up items to maintain alignment and development momentum.
• Apply best practices, tools, and systems in partnership with internal and external resources to improve capital efficiency across the development portfolio.
• Ensure potential projects are well defined, strategically aligned, technically feasible, and ready for the next phase of development before hand-off.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, or a related technical or business discipline.
• 10+ years of experience in capital project development, project engineering, or project evaluation in petroleum manufacturing or chemical process industries.
• Working knowledge of front-end loading (FEL) methodology, stage-gate project development, and business case / economic evaluation practices.
• Experience facilitating cross-functional discussions across operations, engineering, commercial, and finance stakeholders.

Skills

• Ability to translate business and operational needs into clearly defined, executable project scopes.
• Analytical judgment in evaluating feasibility, cost, schedule, resource requirements, and commercial attractiveness.
• Strong facilitation and stakeholder engagement skills across technical, commercial, and leadership audiences.
• Disciplined follow-through on decisions, assumptions, risks, and action items to sustain development momentum.
• Working proficiency with project development, estimating, and scheduling tools.
• Clear written and verbal communication of options, trade-offs, and recommendations.

Salary and benefits commensurate with experience. We are an equal opportunity employer including disability and veteran and is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals. If you require assistance or accommodation due to a disability, please contact our HR team at . Requests for accommodations will not impact hiring decisions, and all information provided will be kept confidential.

All offers of employment are conditioned upon successfully passing a drug test