Mining Project Engineer

JOB DESCRIPTION

Project Engineer

Project Support — Office and Field

Job Title	Project Engineer	Department	Project Support — Office and Field
Reports To	Project Manager, or the Assistant Project Manager where one is assigned to the scope; day-to-day field coordination through the Superintendent.	FLSA Status	Exempt
Supervises	None. May direct survey crews, technicians, interns or document control staff. Reports to the Project Manager or the assigned Assistant Project Manager.	Travel	Assignment-based; typically assigned full-time to a project site. May require temporary relocation.

 

Typical Scope

One project. On large or multi-service-line projects, more than one Project Engineer may be assigned by area or discipline.

Position Summary

The Project Manager's technical engine, working both the office and the work face. The Project Engineer owns the documents, the data and the measured record of what was actually built: submittals, RFIs, drawings, field layout and grade control, installed quantities, in-progress quality verification, cost coding, procurement support and the turnover package. The Project Engineer produces the information the Project Manager decides with and the evidence the company gets paid on — and does not make the commercial decisions or direct the crews.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Document & Information Control

• Own the RFI log: number, issue, track, chase and distribute responses. All RFIs — office-originated and field-originated — flow through this single log. There is no parallel field RFI process.
• Own submittals and shop drawings: assemble, transmit, track approval status, and distribute approved copies to the field.
• Own drawing and specification control. Ensure the field is working from the current revision and that superseded documents are pulled.
• Interpret drawings and specifications for the Superintendent and Foremen; escalate genuine ambiguity as an RFI rather than allowing a field assumption.
• Maintain the project files so that any document can be produced on demand for a change, claim or audit.

Field Layout & Measurement

• Establish and maintain survey, line and grade control; coordinate third-party survey where used.
• Verify that installed work matches design line, grade, elevation and tolerance before it is covered, backfilled or built upon.
• Measure and log installed quantities as work is put in place — earthwork volumes, cubic yards of concrete, linear feet of pipe, welds made, square feet of liner, feet of cable and conduit.
• Provide the measured basis for percent complete, accruals, billings and change order pricing. Pricing from memory or estimate is not acceptable; this measured record is the company's evidence.
• Photograph and document changed, differing or concealed conditions the moment they are discovered.

Quality Verification

• Perform and document in-progress quality inspections as work is installed, not at turnover.
• Coordinate third-party testing across the service lines on the project: compaction and gradation, concrete cylinders and air, weld NDE, bolt inspection, liner seam testing, hydrostatic and pneumatic testing, insulation resistance and loop checks.
• Set and enforce hold points before work is covered, backfilled, grouted, insulated or energized.
• Identify nonconforming work and route it to the Superintendent for correction; log the nonconformance and verify its closure.
• Maintain the QA/QC documentation package: inspection records, test reports, material and mill certifications, weld maps, welder and fusion qualification records.

Cost & Change Support

• Set up and maintain the cost code structure with the Project Manager.
• Maintain earned-value and percent-complete tracking from measured quantities.
• Flag cost code overruns and quantity trends to the Project Manager early — trend reporting is a Project Engineer duty.
• Immediately report to the Project Manager and Superintendent any direction, condition or drawing revision that appears to fall outside contracted scope.
• Maintain separate cost coding and daily documentation for potential change work from the first hour it is performed.

Procurement Support

• Prepare requisitions and purchase orders for Project Manager signature; maintain the procurement log.
• Expedite materials and equipment; report delivery risk to the Project Manager and Superintendent before it affects the look-ahead.
• Track receiving, storage and material availability against the schedule.
• Assemble subcontractor documentation: insurance, bonds, safety qualification, lien waivers.

Reporting & Closeout

• Maintain as-built redlines continuously throughout construction — not reconstructed at the end.
• Compile the turnover package: as-builts, O&M manuals, warranties, test records and certifications.
• Assemble the weekly and monthly project reports from field and cost data; support punch list tracking to closure.
• Take and publish project meeting minutes with actions, owners and dates.

Authority and Decision Rights

• Purchases up to [$2,500] for project consumables and field or office needs.
• Authority to reject nonconforming work technically; the Superintendent directs the correction.
• Authority to require a hold point before work is covered, backfilled, grouted, insulated or energized.
• No authority to commit the company to a vendor, subcontractor or client. Prepares commitments; the Project Manager signs them.
• Unlimited stop-work authority.

Boundary Lines — What This Role Does Not Own

Listed to prevent overlap. Each item below is a responsibility this role supports but does not own; the accountable role is named.

This role does NOT own…	Accountable role
Commercial decisions, change order pricing approval or client negotiation	Project Manager
Direction, assignment or sequencing of craft crews	Superintendent → Foreman
Means and methods — how a task is physically built	Superintendent
Correcting nonconforming work (the PE identifies it; the field fixes it)	Superintendent
Schedule ownership	Project Manager, with the Superintendent for look-aheads
Answering a client RFI or technical question directly	Project Manager — the PE prepares, the PM sends
Committing to a client field representative that work will be done a certain way	Superintendent, within the PM's contractual authority

Qualifications

Experience, Education and Competency

• 0–6 years' experience; Bachelor's degree in Civil, Mechanical, Mining or Construction Engineering, or Construction Management, or equivalent surveying and technical background.
• Competent with total station, GPS/GNSS rover and machine control concepts; able to compute earthwork volumes and verify quantities independently.
• Competent in the quality verification methods of every service line on the project: compaction and grade, concrete testing, bolt and weld inspection, alignment and grout, hydrotest packages, insulation resistance and loop checks.
• Able to read civil, structural, mechanical, piping and electrical drawings, isometrics, P&IDs and specifications.
• Familiar with the documentation each service line generates: mill and material certifications, WPS/PQR and welder continuity, fusion data logs, concrete batch tickets and cylinder breaks, compaction and liner test reports, megger and loop-check records.
• Willing and able to split time between the project office and the work face; this is not a desk-only role.
• Strong document discipline and comfort with high-volume detail under deadline; proficient in the company's project controls and document management systems.
• MSHA Part 46/48; valid 5000-23; OSHA 30 preferred. EIT / FE certification preferred; a development path toward Project Manager.

Required Site Credentials

• MSHA Part 46/48 training as applicable to the site, with a valid 5000-23 certificate.
• Company and client contractor orientation, and site-specific training, completed before site access.
• Valid driver's license and an insurable driving record where site or company driving is required.
• Ability to pass pre-employment and site-required screening, including fit-for-duty where applicable.

Performance Measures

• Quantity log current daily; zero month-end reconstruction
• RFI and submittal turnaround time; zero expired-response surprises
• Zero instances of field working from superseded drawings
• Rework attributable to layout, grade or missed hold points (target zero)
• Potential changes documented on the day identified
• As-builts current within one week of installation at all times
• Turnover package complete at substantial completion, not 60 days later

Physical Demands and Work Environment

Work Environment

Split roughly evenly between the project office and the work face. Full PPE and current MSHA credentials required. Regular exposure to heat, cold, dust, noise, vibration and moving equipment.

Physical Demands

Sustained field presence. Walking on uneven ground for extended periods, climbing ladders and stairs, working at elevation and around excavations. Carrying survey and measurement equipment. Lifting up to 50 lbs.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this role.

General Provisions

• This description reflects the general nature and level of work performed. It is not an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities or requirements, and does not restrict the company's right to assign or reassign duties at any time.
• Role accountability, authority thresholds and boundary lines are identical across all self-performed service lines — Mechanical, Structural, Civil, Concrete, Piping and Electrical. Service line changes the technical subject matter, not the level of responsibility.
• This description does not constitute an employment contract and does not alter the at-will nature of employment where applicable.
• The company is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status or any other legally protected characteristic.
• Stop-work authority is unlimited for this role, as it is for every employee. No approval is required and no reprisal will follow.