Plant Planning Project Engineer

About Us

Shape the future today. The world is changing. The question is, what will be our contribution to the outcome? We have set the pace in the field of mobility from the very beginning, and we will continue to do so. At Mercedes-Benz Vans, interdisciplinary teams are developing the mobility of tomorrow. Our goal is to make mobility safer, simpler, and more sustainable for people across the globe.

At Mercedes-Benz Vans, we offer an environment for professional and personal growth, with training and career opportunities that help employees expand their skills and strengths. Collaborative work environments encourage game-changing concepts.

Job Overview

Leads complex, high-value plant infrastructure, building, civil, utility, and expansion projects from concept and business case through design, procurement, construction, commissioning, acceptance, and closeout. Serves as the owner-side senior project manager across cross-functional plant stakeholders, architects, engineers, contractors, procurement, legal, finance, authorities, and external consultants.

Accountable for safety, scope, cost, schedule, quality, permitting, contract and change control, risk mitigation, and executive reporting while maintaining continuity of live manufacturing operations. Provides technical and commercial challenge, translates production requirements into executable construction packages, and drives timely decisions and remediation actions.

Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee multiple complex construction and infrastructure projects, including plant expansions, energy and utility systems, warehouses, civil and site work, process foundations, parking and traffic improvements, and modifications to operating facilities, with project scopes ranging from $2,500 to $200 million.
• Develop project scopes of work, execution strategies, work breakdown structures, milestone schedules, budgets, cash-flow and funding forecasts, risk registers, decision logs, and governance reporting from feasibility through handover.
• Coordinate production, maintenance, facilities, logistics, IT, safety, environmental, fire protection, electrical, mechanical, civil, structural, architectural, controls, and quality teams, along with design firms, contractors, and subcontractors.
• Review design documents, drawings, specifications, calculations, layouts, models, submittals, RFIs, shop drawings, commissioning plans, and contractor schedules for constructability, completeness, compliance, interfaces, and operational impacts.
• Prepare and manage RFP and RFQ packages, technical bid evaluations, contractor qualifications, procurement requests, purchase requisitions, purchase orders, contract intake packages, and award recommendations.
• Administer owner-side contracts and commercial controls, including GMP, cost-plus, and lump-sum arrangements, invoices, payment applications, commitments, forecasts, contingencies, allowances, value engineering, changes, claims, notices, and audit support.
• Manage annual forecasts and cost projections for $5 million to $100 million in capital expenditures.
• Control project schedules and critical paths, including contractor baselines and recovery schedules, long-lead equipment, permitting milestones, shutdown windows, process-equipment interfaces, commissioning readiness, and substantial completion commitments.
• Lead construction governance and stakeholder forums, design reviews, award committees, funding reviews, site coordination meetings, and executive project updates.
• Coordinate permitting, zoning, environmental, and authority approvals with design partners and local agencies.
• Monitor field execution through site walks and construction reviews; enforce Mercedes-Benz Vans and OSHA safety expectations, quality requirements, logistics controls, work permits, shutdown coordination, and protection of manufacturing operations, employees, and assets.
• Manage testing, inspections, commissioning, punch lists, defect remediation, training, acceptance, warranty follow-up, as-built documentation, turnover packages, and project closeout.
• Maintain plant planning standards, templates, checklists, technical specifications, lessons learned, reporting tools, document repositories, and project controls.
• Mentor project engineers and coordinate external project-management, design, construction-management, schedule, cost, quality, and document-control resources.
• Provide functional leadership and work direction to project engineers, interns, contractors, consultants, and other assigned external resources. May act as project lead or deputy for the Plant Planning Manager.
• Develop, recommend, control, forecast, and report capital-project budgets and commitments, ensuring expenditures align with approved funding, contractual obligations, governance requirements, and forecast targets.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, Construction Management, Architecture, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Facilities Engineering, or a closely related discipline.
• Minimum seven years of progressive experience managing industrial, commercial, or manufacturing construction and infrastructure projects; ten or more years preferred for candidates without direct automotive manufacturing experience.
• Demonstrated owner-side responsibility for complex, multi-discipline capital projects through design, procurement, construction, commissioning, and closeout.
• Experience coordinating work in active manufacturing facilities, including shutdown planning, operational interfaces, safety controls, and phased turnover.
• Professional Engineer, Project Management Professional, Certified Construction Manager, or equivalent credential preferred but not required.

Knowledge and Skills

• Advanced construction project management, plant and facility planning, civil and site development, building systems, utilities, and multidisciplinary design coordination.
• Knowledge of design-build and design-bid-build delivery, AIA contract documents, cost-plus and GMP contracting, procurement, tendering, change and claims management, and construction audit principles.
• Working knowledge of South Carolina building, fire, plumbing, mechanical, fuel-gas, electrical, energy, accessibility, environmental, zoning, and permitting requirements, including IBC, IFC, IPC, IMC, IFGC, NFPA, and OSHA requirements.
• Ability to review and challenge drawings, specifications, schedules, estimates, cost reports, payment applications, technical proposals, submittals, RFIs, commissioning documents, and contract correspondence.
• Skill in schedule analysis, critical-path management, risk management, value engineering, budget reconciliation, forecasting, executive reporting, and recovery planning.
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 and project controls and reporting tools. Experience with Microsoft Project or Primavera P6, Power BI, Asana, SharePoint, Procore, CAD and model-review tools, and enterprise procurement and funding systems is preferred.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, negotiation, facilitation, escalation, and stakeholder-management skills.
• High judgment, ownership, and attention to detail, with the ability to manage competing priorities, incomplete information, contractual risk, and time-critical decisions in a live industrial environment.

EEO Statement

Mercedes-Benz Vans, LLC is committed to fostering an inclusive environment that appreciates and leverages the diversity of its team. The company provides equal employment opportunity to all qualified applicants and employees without regard to legally protected characteristics.

Benefits

• Mobile phone for employees
• Possible health benefits
• Discounts for employees
• Possible employee events
• Parking

Contact

Mercedes-Benz Vans, LLC
8501 Palmetto Commerce Pkwy
Charleston, SC 29456

MBUSA Talent Acquisition: talent_acquisition@mbusa.com