Senior Project Engineer

Job Juncture; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Job Juncture seeks a Senior Project Engineer to lead capital projects from concept to commissioning. You will drive safety, schedule, and budget compliance while mentoring engineers and ensuring governance standards are followed across complex programs.

Responsibilities include developing scopes, managing budgets, coordinating vendors, and delivering projects with a data-driven, risk-managed approach in regulated manufacturing environments.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of engineering and capital project management experience in manufacturing, pharmaceutical, consumer products, food & beverage, or related industries.
• Experience leading complex capital projects from concept through commissioning.
• Experience managing multi-million-dollar capital investment programs.
• Demonstrated experience mentoring and developing engineers.
• Experience in regulated manufacturing environments preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage capital projects from initiation through commissioning and closeout.
• Develop project scopes, business cases, cost estimates, schedules, and resource requirements.
• Manage project budgets, forecasts, and capital expenditure approvals.
• Ensure projects are delivered safely, on time, within budget, and meet business objectives.
• Coordinate internal and external engineering resources, contractors, consultants, and vendors.
• Identify and mitigate project risks throughout the project lifecycle.
• Lead project review meetings and provide regular status updates to stakeholders and leadership teams.
• Oversee equipment procurement, installation, qualification, startup, and commissioning activities.
• Manage project change control processes and ensure proper approvals.

Skills

Project leadership

Capital project management

Regulatory compliance

Cross-functional leadership

Data-driven decisions

Communication skills

Mentoring engineers

GMP knowledge

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Engineering

PM Certification beneficial

Job description

The Senior Project Engineer is responsible for leading, planning, and executing capital projects from concept through commissioning and handover. This role provides technical leadership for complex and strategic capital investments while ensuring compliance with site and corporate capital project management standards, governance requirements, and engineering best practices. In addition to delivering projects safely, on time, and within budget, the Senior Project Engineer serves as a mentor and coach to Engineering team members, driving consistency in project execution and continuously improving capital project methodologies, planning processes, systems, and standards. The role is accountable for ensuring all project phases, stage-gate requirements, deliverables, and documentation are completed in accordance with established capital project processes.

REQUIREMENTS:

10+ years of engineering and capital project management experience in manufacturing, pharmaceutical, consumer products, food & beverage, or related industries.

Proven track record leading complex capital projects from concept through commissioning.

Experience managing multi-million-dollar capital investment programs.

Demonstrated experience mentoring and developing engineers.

Experience working in regulated manufacturing environments preferred.

Preferred Certifications:

Project Management Professional (PMP)

Certified Project Management Professional (or equivalent)

Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt

PE (Professional Engineer) registration where applicable

Education:

Bachelor's Degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Chemical Engineering).

Project Management Certification will be beneficial, but not necessary.

Skills:

Strong technical aptitude in chemical product development with the ability to translate real-world repair/maintenance needs into performance requirements and test plans.

Proven project management capability, including scope, timeline, resources, risk, and cost management, using a stage-gate or equivalent governance model.

Working understanding of downstream environments across industrial maintenance, automotive repair, and consumer/hardware retail use cases.

Ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence without authority; comfortable running structured gate reviews and executive updates.

Strong analytical skills with a data-driven mindset for prioritization, decision-making, and continuous improvement.

Knowledge of regulatory and compliance considerations relevant to chemical products, including SDS/HazCom, labeling, VOC constraints, and transportation/packaging requirements.

Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills; able to create clear technical documentation and enablement materials.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Lead and manage capital projects from initiation through commissioning and closeout.

Develop project scopes, business cases, cost estimates, schedules, and resource requirements.

Manage project budgets, forecasts, and capital expenditure approvals.

Ensure projects are delivered safely, on time, within budget, and meet intended business objectives.

Coordinate internal and external engineering resources, contractors, consultants, and vendors.

Identify and mitigate project risks throughout the project lifecycle.

Lead project review meetings and provide regular status updates to stakeholders and leadership teams.

Oversee equipment procurement, installation, qualification, startup, and commissioning activities.

Manage project change control processes and ensure proper approvals.

Capital Process Governance & Continuous Improvement

Maintain and continuously improve the site's Capital Project Management Methodology.

Ensure capital project planning processes remain relevant, effective, and aligned with business requirements.

Establish and maintain project templates, standards, tools, and best practices.

Ensure all project phases, deliverables, and stage-gate requirements are completed and documented.

Conduct post-project reviews and capture lessons learned.

Drive continuous improvement initiatives to increase project execution efficiency and effectiveness.

Ensure compliance with engineering standards, quality systems, environmental regulations, and safety requirements.

Strategic Planning

Support development of the site's capital expenditure roadmap and long-term facility strategy.

Partner with Operations, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, Maintenance, EHS, and Finance to identify and prioritize capital investments.

Develop project portfolios and support annual capital planning cycles.

Evaluate emerging technologies and engineering solutions to improve operational performance.

Technical Leadership & Mentorship

Mentor, coach, and develop Project Engineers and junior engineering staff.

Provide technical guidance on project management principles, engineering design, risk management, and execution strategies.

Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and project excellence.

Support competency development and succession planning within the engineering organization.

Lead project management training and best practice sharing across engineering teams.

Safety, Quality, and Compliance

Champion a zero-harm safety culture on all projects.

Ensure compliance with GMP, regulatory, environmental, safety, and company engineering standards where applicable.

Lead project risk assessments, design reviews, HAZOPs, and safety reviews.

Ensure contractor safety performance meets site requirements.

Verify all validation, qualification, and documentation requirements are completed before project handover.

Successful delivery of capital projects meeting approved scope, schedule, budget, and quality targets.

Comprehensive capital project portfolio management and reporting.

Accurate project planning, forecasting, and resource allocation.

Consistent application of capital project methodology and governance.

Updated and effective capital project management processes, standards, and templates.

Completion of all project phase-gate requirements and documentation.

Successful commissioning and operational handover of projects.

Reduction in project risks, delays, and cost overruns.

Development and mentoring of project engineering talent.

Continuous improvement initiatives that enhance project execution performance.

Travel & Work Schedule Requirements

Ability and willingness to travel up to 10% to support or lead capital projects, startup activities, and project review initiatives at other company facilities.

Provide engineering support to Operations based on business priorities when the need arises.

Flexibility to work weekends, extended hours, and non-standard schedules as required to support project execution, equipment installation, commissioning, startup activities, plant shutdowns, and critical business needs.

Ability to respond to urgent project-related issues when necessary to ensure safe and successful project delivery.