Project Engineer

The Kraft Group & Affiliates; Montville (CT); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The Kraft Group & Affiliates is seeking a Project Engineer to lead capital and major maintenance initiatives in a manufacturing setting. You will develop scopes, manage budgets, and track progress using Maximo while collaborating with production, technical, and facility teams.

The role requires hands-on CAD work, strong analytical skills, and the ability to negotiate contracts and oversee safety compliance. Some travel and after-hours work may be required in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• BS in Mechanical Engineering preferred; Chemical or Electrical engineering degrees will be considered.
• Minimum of 5 years of engineering experience in an engineering or manufacturing environment; paper industry experience strongly preferred.
• Knowledgeable in operation of pumps, piping, valves and other system components, preferably in paper mills.
• Computer savvy with CAD, MS Project, Outlook, Word and Excel; experience with Maximo a plus.
• Good writing and communication skills.
• Ability to negotiate price and terms on project purchases.
• Knowledge and application of safe work practices and OSHA equipment requirements.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, planning and problem solving/troubleshooting skills.
• Comfortable in a manufacturing environment.
• Ability to work independently and effectively on teams.
• Demonstrate respect, ownership, cooperation and responsibility.
• Willing to work nights, weekends, weekend call duty and shutdowns as required.
• Limited travel required.

Responsibilities

• Develop scopes of work and detailed cost estimates for capital and major maintenance projects.
• Work within the Maximo system to set up projects, obtain authorization, and track projects to completion.
• Administer project details and ensure spending is within the amount authorized.
• Track actual spending on all capital and major maintenance projects versus the annual budget and publish routines.
• Utilize Computer Aided Design software to design equipment modifications and modify existing drawings.
• Implement process and equipment improvement projects to reduce cost, improve reliability and production.
• Effectively interface with production team, technical manager, facility manager and others as needed.
• Interface with the legal department to form purchasing contracts on larger purchases.
• Negotiate with contractors to ensure that project spending and terms are optimized and risks are mitigated.
• Interface with contractors to ensure the project scope covers all details and projects are installed as intended, ensuring the timeline is understood and agreed to, avoiding change orders that would impact project cost overruns.
• Manage the inventory of engineering drawings.
• Maintain an organized work area and equipment staging areas.
• Utilize training to assist team in resolving production, safety, quality and reliability problems.
• Handle special projects and assignments as business dictates.
• Responsible for the maintenance, creation and control of all personally identifiable information or any other information protected by any Confidentiality or Privacy Standards or Company Policies with which you have access or knowledge, including any state or federal regulations such as HIPAA.

Skills

CAD

MS Project

Outlook

Word

Excel

Maximo

Written & verbal communication

Negotiation

Safety practices

Analytical thinking

Independent work

Education

B.S. in Mechanical Engineering

Chemical or Electrical Engineering degree considered

Tools

CAD

MS Project

Outlook

Word

Excel

Maximo

Job description

Overview

The Project Engineer utilizes engineering methodology to implement capital and process improvement projects. They use CAD to create basic designs and modify existing engineering drawings, administer capital estimates, and ensure project spending remains within authorized limits. This role ensures process capability and reliability of new installations of production equipment and reports to the Engineering Manager.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop scopes of work and detailed cost estimates for capital and major maintenance projects.
• Work within the Maximo system to set up projects, obtain authorization, and track projects to completion.
• Administer project details and ensure spending is within the amount authorized.
• Track actual spending on all capital and major maintenance projects versus the annual budget and publish routines.
• Utilize Computer Aided Design software to design equipment modifications and modify existing drawings.
• Implement process and equipment improvement projects to reduce cost, improve reliability and production.
• Effectively interface with production team, technical manager, facility manager and others as needed.
• Interface with the legal department to form purchasing contracts on larger purchases.
• Negotiate with contractors to ensure that project spending and terms are optimized and risks are mitigated.
• Interface with contractors to ensure the project scope covers all details and projects are installed as intended, ensuring the timeline is understood and agreed to, avoiding change orders that would impact project cost overruns.
• Manage the inventory of engineering drawings.
• Maintain an organized work area and equipment staging areas.
• Utilize training to assist team in resolving production, safety, quality and reliability problems.
• Handle special projects and assignments as business dictates.
• Responsible for the maintenance, creation and control of all personally identifiable information or any other information protected by any Confidentiality or Privacy Standards or Company Policies with which you have access or knowledge, including any state or federal regulations such as HIPAA.

Skills and Qualifications

• BS in Mechanical Engineering preferred; Chemical or Electrical engineering degrees will be considered.
• Minimum of 5 years of engineering experience in an engineering or manufacturing environment; paper industry experience strongly preferred.
• Knowledgeable in the operation of pumps, piping, valves and other system components, preferably those used in paper mills.
• Computer savvy, experienced with CAD, MS Project, Outlook, Word and Excel; experience with Maximo a plus.
• Good writing and communication skills.
• Ability to negotiate price and terms on project purchases.
• Knowledge and application of safe work practices and OSHA equipment requirements.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, planning and problem‑solving/troubleshooting skills.
• Comfortable in a manufacturing environment.
• Ability to work independently and effectively on teams.
• Demonstrate respect, ownership, cooperation and responsibility.
• Willing to work nights, weekends, weekend call duty and shutdowns as required.
• Limited travel required.

Physical Demands

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Work Environment

• Able to work in hot, humid, cold and noisy industrial environments.
• Willingness and ability to work in confined spaces and at heights.
• Willingness and ability to wear safety glasses, earplugs, hard hat, steel-toed boots and any other required PPE (Personal Protective Equipment).

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

This company is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics.