Senior Project Engineer

Gables Search Group; Starkville (MS); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Gables Search Group is assisting a chemical manufacturer in Starkville, Mississippi, to find a Senior Project Engineer who will manage a portfolio of capital projects from concept through commissioning and start-up.

The ideal candidate will hold a bachelor’s degree in Chemical or Mechanical Engineering with 8+ years of project management experience, strong leadership, and the ability to travel to job sites as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical or Mechanical Engineering.
• 8+ years in engineering with a PM focus on capital projects.
• Experience cradle-to-grave managing $1–$15M projects and budgets.
• Hands-on with FEED, P&IDs, and PFDs; equipment/vendor selection and procurement.
• Willingness to travel and operate in a hands-on manufacturing environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead portfolio of projects from concept through commissioning and start-up.
• Coordinate Operations, Environmental, Transportation, Safety, and vendors.
• Provide schedules, cost reports, and technical updates to stakeholders.
• Support plant troubleshooting, improvement work, and pilot facilities as needed.

Skills

Project Management

Capital Projects

Process Design

Mass & Energy Balances

PFDs & FEED

Vendor Selection

Procurement Oversight

Leadership

Communication

Travel

Education

Bachelor's degree in Chemical or Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Microsoft Office

VBA programming

Job description

Our client is a manufacturer of water treatment chemicals and other specialty chemicals. The company’s corporate project group supports capital and improvement projects across several manufacturing facilities in the United States. This Senior Project Engineer will manage an individual portfolio of projects from initial concept through commissioning and start-up.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering or Mechanical Engineering.
• At least 8 years of engineering experience with a focus on project management, plant operations, or process design.
• Experience independently managing capital and improvement projects from cradle to grave, including scope, schedule, budget, and execution.
• Experience with projects typically ranging from $1 million to $15 million, with the ability to support occasional larger projects.
• Hands‑on experience with cost estimating, FEED, preliminary P&IDs and PFDs, equipment and vendor selection, procurement, construction oversight, commissioning, and start-up.
• Strong knowledge of mass and energy balances, hydraulic analysis, equipment sizing, process modeling, and heat‑transfer calculations.
• Ability to provide plant support through process troubleshooting, improvement work, and pilot‑facility activities as needed.
• Proven leadership and decision‑making skills with the ability to coordinate Operations, Environmental, Transportation, Safety, contractors, vendors, and other project stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to provide clear project updates, schedules, cost reports, and technical information.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office; VBA programming knowledge is a plus.
• Strong organization, time management, and adaptability, along with a willingness to travel to job sites and work in a hands‑on manufacturing environment.
• Ability to work around industrial equipment, climb stairs and ladders, wear required PPE, perform prolonged desk and computer work, and lift up to 25 pounds as needed.

This position is located in the Starkville area, part of Mississippi’s Golden Triangle. The area offers a university‑town atmosphere with access to dining, arts, college sports, and outdoor recreation, with Columbus and West Point nearby.