Principal Engineer-Project Manager (Construction & Utility Systems)

Location: Hershey, PA

What you’ll be doing –

The Principal Engineer-Project Manager reports to the Director of Construction & Utility Systems Engineering group and will primarily be based out of the Technical Center in Hershey, PA when not on a site location.

The Principal Engineer-Project Manager will be responsible for initiating and executing capital projects of varying complexity, delivering the capital plan on time and budget. This role requires indepth experience and knowledge of developing large scale greenfield  and brownfield sites including Geotechnical, Site/Civil, Architectural,Structural, Mechanical, and Electrical Engineering. This individual will be considered a subject matter expert in the field of large scale industrial construction. The position requires proficiency in conceptual estimating with a quick turn around based on a limited scope

The candidate must be experienced in the vast array of project delivery methods including Design/Build with GMP and CM at Risk with GMP as well as Design/Bid/Build Lump Sum. In addition, the PM will be responsible for promoting and implementing the best use of technology, and developing solutions to complex engineering problems to meet the company's current and/or future business needs. The successful candidate will always display a sense of urgency while maintaining attention to detail. Responsible to model leadership, ethical values and instruction to engineers, plant staffs, technical resources, contractors, and others. Will be responsible for all phases of large projects or programs, from project development through close-out. An environmentally sustainable mind set is required to conserve energy and water.

Travel expectations for this role –

• Flexibility to travel is a requirement of this position. This role will require travel to various manufacturing site locations, usually in U.S., very minimal international travel (Canada, Mexico, Brazil, China).
• When not on a site location, individual is expected to be in Hershey, PA for 2-3 days out of the week.

Specific focus areas in this role –

• Leverages’ engineering knowledge, judgment, creativity and experience to lead multiple disciplined engineering initiatives of high complexity and long duration.
• Develops the business case, technical feasibility, and plan for customer (plant) acceptance.
• Provides technical direction to multiple teams in the development of sound engineering alternatives (cost estimates, feasibility, specifications, and interpretation of requirements) and recommendations.
• Provides leadership for all phases of a capital project to include project development, project execution, and production start-up and project close out.
• Accountable for developing and implementing multiple capital projects simultaneously.
• Demonstrates negotiation skills to "sell" project through the capital approval process.
• Develops a process to assure accuracy of monthly spending forecasts
• Establishes new procedures & technology when appropriate, identifies new industry trends and possesses a continuous improvement mindset.

You will interact and partner with these teams –

• Technical and professional employees within Global R&D and Tech Center Operations
• Plant Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, and Quality Assurance
• Other Corporate Engineering functions (Project Management, Electrical, Packaging, Civil, Utilities)
• Quality and Regulatory Compliance
• Procurement
• Marketing
• Operations Business Development
• Manufacturing Alliances
• External Vendors

The ideal candidate for this role would possess –

• Extensive background in industrial / commercial construction.
• Multi-disciplined knowledge in site, civil, electrical, mechanical, utility, operations, and architectural areas.
• Large capital budget management.
• Strong interpersonal skills.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Must be open to and comfortable with change.
• Must be able to execute projects in a timely manner.

To qualify for this role, you must possess –

• Bachelor’s and/or Master's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Chemical,  Civil / Structural, Construction, Electrical, or other similar technical degree)
• With a Bachelor's degree, 8-10 years; with Master's degree, 5-8 years managing projects between $80 to $150 million
• Professional Engineers license and/or PMP Certification preferred