Project Engineer

Job Title: Project Engineer

Job Description

The Project Engineer manages and executes capital equipment and manufacturing improvement projects that support significant new product growth and increased production capacity. This role focuses on capital project management, equipment procurement, manufacturing process development, plant layout optimization, and production launch readiness. The engineer independently leads projects from initial concept and justification through equipment specification, vendor selection, installation, validation, and final handoff to production.

Responsibilities

• Lead capital equipment projects from concept through full production, including developing project scope, defining equipment specifications, preparing RFQs, creating capital justifications, overseeing procurement, and managing installation, commissioning, and final acceptance.
• Develop and manage detailed project budgets, schedules, milestones, risk registers, and action plans to ensure projects meet cost, quality, and timing requirements.
• Manage equipment suppliers, integrators, and contractors by conducting design reviews, approving drawings, overseeing equipment runoffs, and coordinating installation and commissioning activities.
• Assess and evaluate manufacturing equipment and process solutions to improve capacity, productivity, quality, safety, and overall manufacturing cost.
• Perform capacity analyses, time studies, and process evaluations to determine equipment, labor, floor-space, and process requirements for current and future production needs.
• Develop and maintain plant and equipment layouts that support new equipment installations, efficient material flow, appropriate inventory levels, and future capacity expansion.
• Prepare capital expenditure justifications that clearly document capacity needs, labor savings, cost reductions, outsourcing avoidance, safety improvements, and project payback.
• Support new product launches and capacity expansion by ensuring equipment, tooling, utilities, processes, layouts, and documentation are fully production-ready.
• Coordinate projects across Manufacturing, Quality, Maintenance, Tooling, Production, Engineering, and external suppliers, providing clear status updates and driving open actions to timely completion.
• Manage multiple concurrent projects, typically handling 2 to 6 initiatives at a time, while maintaining strong communication and documentation throughout the project lifecycle.
• Troubleshoot issues on the production floor and provide technical support to ensure successful implementation and sustained performance of new equipment and processes.

Essential Skills

• At least 3 years of manufacturing engineering experience.
• Strong project management experience, including planning, execution, and delivery of manufacturing-related projects.
• Hands-on experience with capital expenditure (CAPEX) projects, including justification, procurement, and implementation.
• Experience developing and optimizing plant layouts to support efficient material flow and capacity expansion.
• Background in equipment and plant improvements, including process design and implementation.
• Ability to perform capacity analyses, time studies, and process evaluations.
• Proficiency in coordinating cross-functional teams and external suppliers to achieve project objectives.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills applied to manufacturing environments.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills for reporting, documentation, and stakeholder updates.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in Engineering is preferred.
• Experience using Gantt charts and project management tools such as Microsoft Project.
• Programming skills or experience with automation-related programming are preferred.
• Familiarity with manufacturing engineering disciplines such as process improvement and equipment design.
• Ability to interpret technical drawings and specifications for equipment and plant layouts.
• Experience working in environments that involve airflow performance testing, structural resonance testing, sound testing, or dynamic strain-gage testing is beneficial.
• Interest in gaining hands-on experience managing major facility upgrade projects.

Work Environment

The role is based in a manufacturing setting that produces blower wheels, backward-curved impellers, blower assemblies, propellers, elevator fans, and custom air-moving products. The engineering environment includes capabilities such as airflow performance testing, structural resonance testing, sound testing, and dynamic strain-gage testing. Approximately 80% of the work involves desk-based project activities such as planning, design, documentation, and coordination, while about 20% of the time is spent on the production floor troubleshooting issues and supporting project implementation. The typical schedule is 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM with a 1-hour lunch break. The Project Engineer manages roughly 2 to 6 projects at a time in a dynamic environment that balances office-based engineering work with hands-on engagement in the manufacturing facility.

This is a Contract position based out of Cleveland, OH.

The pay range for this position is $48.00 - $55.00/hr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your 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 the following: Medical, dental & vision Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital 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)

This is a fully onsite position in Cleveland,OH.

This position is anticipated to close on Oct 13, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email View email address on click.appcast.io for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.