Project Engineer

Job Title: Project Engineer

Job Description

The Project Engineer leads the corporate outage program and long-term shutdown strategy across multiple heavy industrial manufacturing facilities. This role develops, implements, and continuously improves standardized outage governance, processes, and best practices to ensure safe, efficient, and predictable shutdown execution. The Project Engineer partners closely with Operations, Maintenance, Reliability, and Engineering teams to define outage scopes, manage budgets and sustaining capital forecasts, and oversee detailed planning and execution. The position also manages contractor and stakeholder performance, drives continuous improvement in outage performance and asset reliability, and supports a multi-plant aluminum casting and extrusion environment supplying the automotive industry.

Responsibilities

• Lead the corporate outage program by developing, implementing, and continuously improving standardized shutdown governance, processes, and best practices across all operating facilities.
• Ensure safe, efficient, and predictable outage execution by applying consistent procedures and controls across sites.
• Develop long-term outage strategies by partnering with Operations, Maintenance, Reliability, and Engineering teams to define outage scopes and establish multi-year shutdown plans.
• Prioritize outage work based on business risk, asset condition, safety considerations, and operational requirements.
• Manage outage budgets by developing annual outage budgets and maintaining long-term sustaining capital forecasts.
• Monitor outage expenditures and support the corporate capital planning process to ensure alignment with financial and operational goals.
• Oversee outage planning and execution by ensuring detailed planning, resource coordination, contractor readiness, and effective scheduling.
• Provide execution oversight to manage scope, schedule, cost, and operational risks throughout each outage.
• Lead contractor and stakeholder performance by managing strategic contractor relationships and coordinating cross-functional teams.
• Foster collaboration among Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, Procurement, and Finance to achieve successful shutdown outcomes.
• Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) for outage performance and asset reliability.
• Conduct post-shutdown reviews, benchmark performance, and capture lessons learned to drive continuous improvement.
• Implement improvements that enhance future outage execution, reliability, and overall operational performance.
• Support the installation, inspection, adjustment, and repair of equipment such as furnaces, extruders, robotics, saws, palletizers, and yard equipment including haulers, skid loaders, and forklifts.
• Respond quickly to equipment failures to meet all safety standards and production needs in a heavy industrial environment.
• Collaborate with plant leadership and functional stakeholders to align outage activities with production schedules and customer requirements in an automotive supply context.

Essential Skills

• PMP certification.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Maintenance Management, Industrial Technology, or a related discipline.
• 5–8 years of maintenance, reliability, engineering, or outage management experience within heavy industrial manufacturing.
• Experience in steel or heavy industrial manufacturing environments.
• Strong knowledge of shutdown planning, cost development, budget management, and execution oversight.
• Demonstrated project management experience in complex industrial settings.
• Mechanical engineering or maintenance experience with exposure to large industrial equipment.
• Proficiency with Primavera for project and outage scheduling.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Project for planning and tracking project activities.
• Experience in steel or aluminum manufacturing, particularly in outage management and reliability improvement.
• Ability to manage multiple outages and projects across different facilities while maintaining consistent standards.
• Strong analytical skills to interpret performance data, KPIs, and budget information.
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage strategic contractor relationships.
• Commitment to safety and adherence to industrial safety standards in heavy manufacturing environments.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Master's degree in Project Management preferred.
• PgMP, CAPM, and/or comparable project management certifications.
• Experience working in aluminum casting, extrusion, or similar metallurgical operations.
• Experience in automotive supply chain environments, particularly tier 2 or tier 3 suppliers.
• Familiarity with reliability-centered maintenance and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills to align diverse teams and functions.
• Ability to travel regularly between multiple plant locations.
• Comfort working with robotics, automated equipment, and yard equipment such as haulers, skid loaders, and forklifts.

Work Environment

The role operates within a heavy industrial manufacturing environment focused on aluminum casting and extrusion for automotive applications. The facility processes scrap aluminum, separates it into different alloys, melts it, extrudes molten material, and produces aluminum billets and logs as a tier 2/3 automotive supplier. The Project Engineer splits time between office-based planning and analysis and plant-floor activities around furnaces, extruders, robotics, saws, palletizers, and yard equipment including haulers, skid loaders, and forklifts. The position requires approximately 50% onsite presence at the Bluffton facility and 50% travel between plants located in Bluffton, Indiana; Lordstown, Ohio; Shelbyville, Kentucky; Franklin, Kentucky; and Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. The work environment emphasizes strict adherence to safety standards, timely response to equipment issues, and coordination across multiple sites and functions. Employees benefit from a performance-driven culture with multiple bonus opportunities, including production-based gain sharing, safety bonuses for completing monthly safety courses and maintaining a recordable-free environment, and additional gain share bonuses when the plant operates under monthly budget targets.

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Fort Wayne, IN.

The pay range for this position is $50.48 - $57.69/hr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following: • Medical, dental & vision • Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital • 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available • Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) • Short and long-term disability • Health Spending Account (HSA) • Transportation benefits • Employee Assistance Program • Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

This is a hybrid position in Fort Wayne,IN.

This position is anticipated to close on Sep 8, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.

Salary : $50 - $58