Project Engineer

This is a Contract to Hire position based in Bluffton, IN, operating within a heavy industrial manufacturing environment focused on aluminum casting and extrusion for automotive applications.

About the role

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.

Requirements

• 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.
• PMP certification.

Skills

• Strong knowledge of shutdown planning, cost development, budget management, and execution oversight.
• Demonstrated project management experience in complex industrial settings.
• Mechanical engineering or maintenance background 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.
• Ability to travel regularly between multiple plant locations (Bluffton, IN; Lordstown, OH; Shelbyville, KY; Franklin, KY; Wisconsin Rapids, WI).
• Comfort working with robotics, automated equipment, and yard equipment such as haulers, skid loaders, and forklifts.

Additional 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.
• Background 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.

Work Environment

The role operates within a heavy industrial manufacturing environment focused on processing scrap aluminum, separating it into different alloys, melting it, extruding molten material, and producing 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. 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.

Pay

The pay range for this position is $50.48 - $57.69/hr. Individual compensation offered within this range will depend on qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Benefits

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on 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:

• Medical, dental, and vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital insurance
• 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)

Schedule

This is a hybrid position in Bluffton, IN.