Planning Engineer

Role overview

This role is focused on central project planning and scheduling for large or mid-sized assignments, supporting execution from the concept stage through shop floor activity and dispatch. The position is responsible for creating and maintaining project plans, tracking progress against schedule, and helping ensure timely delivery through analysis, coordination, and corrective action planning.

Core deliverables

• Track project progress, prepare regular reports, and share status updates through management presentations.
• Build MIS reports, support budgeting activities, and coordinate resource planning and allocation.
• Create master schedules along with detailed L-1, L-2, and L-3 plans using tools such as MS Project.
• Continuously compare planned versus actual progress and use forecasting and trend analysis to support project control.
• Monitor the critical path on a daily basis, gather required inputs, and develop catch-up and look-ahead plans.
• Prepare progress measurement procedures and carry out scheduled progress updates to support the project control team.
• Flag resource shortages that could affect execution timelines and recommend schedule revisions when needed.
• Coordinate with internal departments, corporate office teams, and customer-facing stakeholders to keep the project moving.
• Support extension-of-time submissions by providing planning inputs and relevant schedule evidence.
• Identify critical activities, facilitate cross-functional coordination, and assist in resolving planning-related dependencies.
• Review engineering drawings from a manufacturability perspective and help create work-planning procedures aligned with project needs, standards, and good engineering practices.

Key responsibilities

The planning engineer will act as the main owner for central planning and scheduling on the project. The role includes managing the planning function operationally, ensuring project milestones are clearly communicated, and helping the team understand the main durations and critical path activities. The person will monitor project status, detect delays early, propose corrective actions, and make sure planning outputs are delivered on time.

Required background and skills

• Hands-on experience with MS Project and/or Primavera.
• Exposure to planning, scheduling, monitoring, and controlling across the full project lifecycle.
• Experience in resource planning, recovery planning, and crash planning.
• Ability to prepare and maintain schedules, reports, presentations, and backlog analyses.
• Strong analytical, logical, and critical thinking abilities.
• Comfort working under pressure, handling multiple priorities, and meeting deadlines.
• Clear communication and presentation skills for coordination and management reviews.
• Working knowledge of safety protocols relevant to project execution.
• Capability to coordinate with managers, supervisors, and cross-functional teams.

Additional notes

The role requires experience in central planning cycles within medium to large projects, from concept stage through execution. The candidate should have completed at least one project cycle in a central planner capacity and be able to contribute practical lessons learned to improve planning methods and reporting practices.

Working relationships

Internal: related functional departments and their employees.

External: corporate office and customer coordination.

Expected outcomes

• Maintain schedules and progress controls with a strong focus on timeline adherence.
• Support management reviews with accurate reporting and presentations.
• Strengthen project team awareness of milestones, durations, and critical paths.
• Help ensure projects are completed within declared timelines through proactive planning support.