Project Engineer | Job Descriptions | Roles and Responsibilities

The project Engineer takes a hands-on approach to engineering tasks and is the most active executive at the working site.

The Project Engineer is mainly there to support the Project Manager. He is supposed to stay on-site for more than 70% of his duty in general.

They are the one who is going to grow into a Project Manager after some experience.

Project Engineers should have an engineering degree in any faculty like Mechanical, Electrical, Civil, Architectural, etc. To be a project engineer is purely an experience-based job.

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Project Engineer | Roles & Responsibilities

The Project Engineer is responsible for directly managing the front-line workers, supervising the construction works, providing pro-active solutions, coordinating with the project manager and other company executives to keep the project on track.

They are responsible for fieldwork, subcontractor, document submittals, Request for Information’s-RFI’s, Inspection Request’s – IR’s, and, of course, importantly, the procurement.

The project engineer also does paperwork, and day-to-day site works simultaneously. They should escalate any issue to the project manager and not solve it themself. They have direct control over supervisors around the site.

They should be a qualified engineer, and any project management certification like Project Management Professional – PMP^® is highly appreciated for this role.

Job Descriptions – JD’s of a Project Engineer

• Review all the plans, status reports before the management meeting.
• Preparing cost estimates for materials, equipment, and labor
• Contract validation with Client & Contractor
• Supporting the Project Planner for Planning & Scheduling
• A closer look at any scope creep or gold plating activity
• Preparing Shop Drawing, As-built Dawning
• Presenting daily, Weekly, and Monthly reports to Management.
• Quantity Surveying Checks
• Review project deliverables and take corrective actions – if any
• Have a Check on Overall Quality of Work Performed
• Make Sure the Compliance to Applicable Codes, QA/QC policies, Standards, and Specifications.
• Supporting Quality Engineer for Inspection
• Supporting Design Engineers for any Technical issue
• Reviewing any bid for new projects
• Preparing Operational Manuals
• Helping the Surveyors for any Leveling Issue
• Preparing Short-term Schedule and Handover to Site Superintendent for Implementation

Difference to Team Members!

There are many types of engineers working in the construction field, and hence it is always confusing to differentiate between their roles and responsibilities.

Main Team Players on a Project & How They Differ to Project Engineer

I will try to explain the main difference between different engineers about project engineers.

Site Engineers Vs. Project Engineer

The site Engineer is responsible for specific work such as sewerage engineer, bridge works engineer, but the Project engineer has the project’s overall responsibility.

The site engineer’s main focus is physical work, and they are a technically strong person at the site. The Project Engineer’s main focus is on project objectives, work quality, budget, and duration.

The site Engineer validated and made sure that actual work at the site is being done as per approved drawings. He is only responsible for engineering and technical activities at a site.

The site Engineer’s role is limited, and the Project Engineer sees a wider picture.

Superintendent Vs. Project Engineer

They control the short-term schedule at the construction site as instructed by the project engineer or the manager. He is 100% site personal.

Planning Engineer Vs. Project Engineer

The planning Engineer prepares an appropriate plan and suggests appropriate tools for scheduling later on. They prepare the reporting templates that comply with tendering or contracting requirements.

On the other hand, the project engineer is supervising the physical work on site.

A planning engineer is a white-collar guy, and a project engineer is a grey/blue-collar. Both play a vital role and support the project manager—both coordinate with each other.

Project Manager Vs. Project Engineer

The Project Manager is the person who has the project charter to utilize project resources and is accountable for the success and failure of the project. They are responsible for every aspect of a project, not limited to planning, executing, monitoring, controlling, and closing the project.

The Project Engineer is responsible for short-term schedules, pre-planning, and resource forecasting for engineering and technical activities in the project.

There is no comparison between these two. The project engineer is always reported to the project manager & follows instructions. The Project Engineer is to liaise project Manager.

Wrap Up

Project Engineer plays a vital role in the success of any project. He is the one who coordinates with the people on-site and ultimately lessens the pain of their project manager.

Note: This article is written by keeping in view a big project. At a small project, one man can be a Project Manager, Project Engineer, Planner, Quantity Surveyor, Quality Controller, superintendent, etc., at the same time.

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Further Reads

You can read a full article for Project Management Questions

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