Project Engineer (Chicago)

Ashby; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

HSA

Dependent care FSA

401(k) match

Paid time off

Tuition reimbursement

Wellness incentives

Parental leave

Referral bonus

EAP services

Disability insurance

Gym reimbursement

Gift matching

Mentorship program

Job summary

Skender in Chicago is seeking entry-level Project Engineers to join our Operations team upon graduation in the Summer of 2027. You’ll help administer, document, and organize project information under the Project Manager, and you’ll gain hands-on exposure to real-world construction management.

The role emphasizes collaboration, attention to detail, and a willingness to learn. You’ll review contract documents, prepare submittals and drawings, and assist with schedules, bids, and scope development

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Civil Engineering, Architecture, or related field; or equivalent with 2 years construction experience.
• Strong communication and documentation management skills.
• Knowledge of contracting language in construction and lean principles.

Responsibilities

• Assist in administration, documentation and organization of the Operations Department as directed by the Project Manager.
• Examine contract documents for submittal requirements and identify scope gaps.
• Review shop drawings for compliance and coordination with contract documents.
• Prepare, maintain and distribute document control entities (submittals, RFIs, drawings/specifications, meeting minutes, punch list).
• Submit shop drawings to architect/engineer and coordinate approvals to avoid delays.
• Assist in phase schedules and deliver weekly project schedule updates.
• Support scope development, subcontractor bid review and award.

Skills

Effective communication

Documentation

Contract language

PM & scheduling software

Building construction knowledge

Bidding process knowledge

Take-offs & coordination

Lean production principles

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Construction Mgmt / Civil Eng / Architecture

Job description

Hey! We’re Skender, nice to meet you.
At our core, we are builders — of communities, relationships, dreams, and careers. If you asked us to describe Skender, we’d say we’re ambitious, humble, and compassionate. We’re focused on building lasting partnerships with the right people. Our success starts and ends with our people. That’s why we seek out dynamic, high-energy teammates who are eager to learn, ready to take ownership of their careers, and excited to have fun along the way.

Hey! We’re Skender, nice to meet you.
At our core, we are builders — of communities, relationships, dreams, and careers. If you asked us to describe Skender, we’d say we’re ambitious, humble, and compassionate. We’re focused on building lasting partnerships with the right people. Our success starts and ends with our people. That’s why we seek out dynamic, high-energy teammates who are eager to learn, ready to take ownership of their careers, and excited to have fun along the way.

Who is Skender?

About 70 years ago, Skender got its start in the basement of our founder’s family home. Now, Skender has two locations, our Chicago headquarters and our Indianapolis office, with over 400 employees helping us raise the bar year after year.

From humble beginnings to now, Skender has become one of the nation’s top 100 construction firms building dream spaces for many of the world’s leading brands. In more recent history, we’ve won 30 best-place-to-work awards from three different organizations, each based on comprehensive workplace evaluations and employee input.

Our Team Is Driven By Three Core Values

• Proactive: You’ve got the eye of a tiger and the drive of a Ferrari. You are self-motivated, a hard-worker, and are ready to learn.
• Refreshing: Teamwork makes the dream work, right? Your success is your team’s success. You don’t shy away from giving credit where it’s due.
• True Partner: You jump at opportunities to collaborate/knowledge-share, you like to ask questions and actively listen, and you stay actively engaged with your team.

If our values align with yours, this could be a great match. We love meeting new people, so we can’t wait to hear about you!

Who are you?

We are currently seeking entry level Project Engineers to join our talented group of employees upon graduation in the Summer of 2027. Do you enjoy creating, maintaining, and distributing project-related documentation? Great. Are you someone with a team-first attitude who will identify project gaps or inefficiencies and seek to improve them? Even better.

What will you do as a Project Engineer?

Our Project Engineers are pivotal players in our Operations team. You’ll be responsible for assisting in the administration, documentation and organization of the Operations Department as directed by the Project Manager.

• Examining contract documents for submittal requirements, checking for scope gaps and overlaps.
• Reviewing shop drawings for compliance with contract documents, accuracy, and coordination of interfacing materials.
• Preparing, maintaining, and distributing various document control entities. Examples include: submittals, RFIs, drawings/specifications, meeting minutes, punch list/closeout, and issue logs.
• Submitting shop drawings and samples of all pertinent materials and equipment to the architect or engineer, expediting approval, coordinating the distribution of shop drawings and accelerate delivery as necessary, to avoid project delays.
• Participating in the preparation of phase schedules and delivering weekly project schedule updates to the team.
• Identifying changes in the contract documents that may result in added cost or time of construction and ensure that proper documentation is provided to preserve a contract change.
• Assisting in scope development, subcontractor bid review and award.

What education and experience are required?

We’d like you to have a four-year bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Civil Engineering, Architecture, or another construction‑related field. We will also consider candidates with equivalent combinations of relevant technical training and at least two years’ experience in a construction‑related field.

What skills will we require?

• Effective communication skills to keep internal and external stakeholders looped into project progress.
• Strong aptitude for keeping up with project documentation.
• Understanding of contract language as it pertains to construction activities and planning.
• Ability to use project management and scheduling software for estimating and project management.
• Fundamental knowledge of building construction and systems for conceptual budgets.
• Basic knowledge of the bidding process based on contract documents.
• Strong understanding of quantity take-offs, qualification of subcontractor bids, scheduling, and general conditions, as well as project constraints or coordination issues.
• Interest in using production management principles based on Lean philosophies.

What's included in our Employee-First Benefits package?

• Skender pays 100% of the premium for health insurance (medical, dental, & vision)
• Annual deposit into health savings account
• Dependent care FSA
• Retirement with 100% match up to 5% of gross earnings
• Flexible vacation and sick time
• Tuition reimbursement for continued learning opportunities
• Wellness incentives
• Parental leave for mothers and fathers
• Generous employee referral bonus program
• Free employee assistance program services
• Free short- & long-term disability insurance
• Gym reimbursement
• Charitable gift matching and volunteer events
• New hire mentorship program

EEO

At Skender, our values guide our behavior and shape our actions. Our promise is an authentic commitment to equality, opportunity, and a respectful work environment for all. We embrace individuality and listen to diverse voices. We believe that hiring those with different experiences and backgrounds, ultimately enhances our expertise as an organization. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This statement applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.