Lead Project Engineer

About the job: 

Kent is looking for a Lead Project Engineer to be based in our Corpus Christi, TX office.

As a key member of the Project Management team, the Lead Project Engineer is responsible for the management and coordination of all technical aspects of engineering projects. This role ensures that engineering is aligned with corporate goals and is complete, accurate and constructible for all elements of a project's scope.

You will oversee engineering performance and coordinate all contractor and owner's engineering interfaces in addition to ensuring projects are completed according to project requirements and in accordance with project specifications, quality and performance requirements. You will be responsible for coordinating efforts of cross-functional teams and building effective relationships with key internal/external stakeholders, including contractors. The Lead Project Engineer is required to work directly with the Project / Program Manager and Project Controls Specialist to ensure process alignment and compliance.

Responsibilities:

• Act as the accountable engineering delivery lead for assigned major, complex, or strategically important projects and, where required, coordinate a portfolio of concurrent projects from initiation through closeout.
• Lead and integrate multidisciplinary engineering teams, including Project Engineers and Senior Project Engineers, and provide clear direction on priorities, interfaces, deliverables, and performance expectations.
• Serve as the principal engineering interface with the Project / Program Manager, client leadership, operations, licensors, vendors, subcontractors, construction teams, and other key stakeholders.
• Own the overall technical integrity and integration of the project design, ensuring engineering decisions satisfy scope, safety, quality, operability, constructability, maintainability, schedule, and cost requirements.
• Approve the engineering execution plan, discipline delivery plans, key technical decisions, design deviations, major interfaces, and recovery actions within delegated authority; escalate matters requiring higher approval with a clear recommendation.
• Drive cross-discipline design optimization and challenge solutions to improve constructability, modularization, total installed cost, schedule certainty, and lifecycle value without compromising safety or technical integrity.
• Provide engineering input to project financial performance and actively protect margin through scope discipline, efficient execution, early issue resolution, accurate forecasting, and control of rework.
• Lead technical and engineering change management; assess cumulative impacts, define mitigation and approval strategy, and ensure changes are documented, authorized, communicated, and incorporated into project baselines.
• Anticipate and manage systemic, cross-project, and high-consequence engineering risks, opportunities, assumptions, and interfaces; ensure timely ownership, mitigation, and escalation.
• Champion quality and HSSEQ leadership by setting expectations, verifying assurance activities, addressing recurring execution issues, and ensuring lessons learned are embedded across projects.
• Act as a trusted advisor to client and Kent Operations leadership by presenting concise options, consequences, and recommendations and by resolving complex technical, delivery, and stakeholder issues.
• Contribute beyond individual project delivery through proposal and estimate reviews, execution planning, resource strategy, continuous improvement, knowledge sharing, and other strategic business initiatives.

In addition to the responsibilities listed herein, the employee may be required to perform other ad-hoc tasks as needed or directed by the supervisor or management. These tasks will be within the reasonable scope of the employee's skills, capabilities, and role within the organization. The intent of this provision is to allow for flexibility and adaptability in meeting the dynamic needs of the organization, ensuring that operational requirements can be met efficiently. All such tasks will be assigned considering the employee's current workload and with respect to their professional development.

Knowledge/ Qualification/ Training/ Certification: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from an accredited institution required; an advanced technical or business degree is advantageous.
• Professional Engineer registration or equivalent professional credential is preferred.
• Typically, 15 plus years of progressive engineering and project delivery experience in refining, petrochemical, gas processing, chemicals, or a related process industry.
• Typically, 10 plus years in project engineering roles, including demonstrated leadership of Senior Project Engineers and multidisciplinary teams on complex brownfield and/or greenfield projects.
• Proven accountability for engineering execution across multiple disciplines and project phases, from concept or FEL through detailed design, procurement, construction, commissioning, and closeout.
• Strong working knowledge of EPC/EPCM delivery, engineering governance, design assurance, change control, project controls, contracting interfaces, and commercial drivers.
• In-depth understanding of Oil & Gas industry stakeholders, including operators, licensors, EPC providers, engineering companies, vendors, fabricators, construction contractors, and regulatory authorities.
• Demonstrated success in client-facing leadership, executive-level communication, negotiation, conflict resolution, and the timely resolution of complex technical and execution issues.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and relevant engineering review and collaboration tools, such as AutoCAD and Navisworks; ability to use project data to drive decisions and performance.

Communication:

• Excellent command of the English language in both oral and written communication and skills.

Behavior/ Core Competencies:

• Exercises independent judgment and makes timely, risk-informed decisions with project-wide or portfolio-level consequences.
• Leads through influence across disciplines, offices, partners, and client organizations, including situations where direct reporting authority does not exist.
• Translates business and project objectives into clear engineering priorities, accountabilities, and measurable delivery outcomes.
• Demonstrates strong commercial awareness and understands how engineering decisions affect cost, schedule, margin, contractual position, and client value.
• Communicates complex issues clearly to technical and non-technical audiences and provides leadership with concise options and recommendations.
• Creates accountability, constructively challenges performance, resolves conflict, and mobilizes teams around recovery or improvement actions.
• Builds capability in others through coaching, delegation, feedback, and deliberate development of Project Engineers and Senior Project Engineers.
• Operates with minimal supervision and is recognized as the escalation point for complex engineering delivery, integration, and stakeholder issues.

HSSEQ:

The Employee shall observe the Health, Safety, Sustainability, Environment and Quality rules of the Company; it’s clients and the governing authorities of the host country.