Senior Project Engineer

Location: Washington, DC (Onsite)

Employment Type: Direct Hire

Salary: Targeting $150,000 annually, depending on experience

Position Overview

We are seeking a Senior Project Engineer to support the planning, coordination, and execution of complex engineering programs within the maritime and nuclear technology sectors.

This role is responsible for translating engineering objectives into actionable project plans, coordinating multidisciplinary technical teams, managing engineering work packages, and ensuring project deliverables meet quality, safety, regulatory, and schedule requirements.

The ideal candidate brings a strong technical engineering background, experience managing complex projects, and the ability to drive execution across multiple engineering disciplines in a dynamic development environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain project plans, schedules, milestones, deliverables, risk registers, action items, and decision records.
• Coordinate engineering activities across multiple disciplines, including systems engineering, naval architecture, marine engineering, mechanical, electrical, controls, safety, operations, and regulatory teams.
• Plan and manage engineering work packages from initial requirements and planning through execution, technical review, delivery, and closeout.
• Manage technical interfaces, dependencies, and communication between internal engineering teams, suppliers, and external stakeholders.
• Prepare and communicate project status reports, schedules, risk assessments, meeting summaries, and action items.
• Monitor project performance against technical requirements, budgets, schedules, quality standards, and regulatory expectations.
• Identify technical challenges, execution risks, and project roadblocks, developing practical mitigation strategies and recovery plans.
• Support technical decision-making by presenting clear recommendations, alternatives, and associated risks.
• Lead and support change management activities to address evolving project requirements and priorities.
• Maintain accurate project documentation, technical records, and lessons learned.
• Drive continuous improvement of project engineering processes, tools, templates, and reporting practices.
• Collaborate with engineering leadership and cross-functional teams to ensure successful project execution.
• Support projects throughout the full lifecycle, from initial concept and planning through completion.
• Travel periodically to supplier facilities, shipyards, test facilities, regulatory meetings, and partner locations as project needs require.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Naval Architecture, Marine Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a closely related technical discipline.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in engineering, project engineering, technical program management, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating multidisciplinary engineering projects from requirements and planning through execution and delivery.
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects, engineering work packages, or technical workstreams simultaneously.
• Strong understanding of engineering project management principles, including scheduling, risk management, technical interfaces, change management, and deliverable tracking.
• Experience working with cross-functional engineering teams, suppliers, and technical stakeholders.
• Ability to identify technical dependencies, resolve execution challenges, and develop practical solutions to complex engineering problems.
• Strong organizational and analytical skills with the ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present complex technical information to engineering teams, leadership, and external stakeholders.
• Ability to influence and coordinate multidisciplinary teams without direct reporting authority.
• Willingness to travel periodically as required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience within maritime nuclear engineering, naval engineering, nuclear power, or related industries.
• Background supporting complex engineering programs in highly regulated or safety-critical environments.
• Experience with naval architecture, marine systems, shipbuilding, or advanced energy technologies.
• Familiarity with systems engineering principles, requirements management, and technical integration.
• Experience supporting first-of-a-kind engineering or technology development programs.
• Project management certification, such as PMP or an equivalent credential.

Key Skills & Competencies

• Project Engineering Leadership: Ability to establish clear plans, accountability, execution schedules, and visibility across multidisciplinary teams.
• Systems Thinking: Understanding of how technical requirements, interfaces, risks, schedules, costs, safety, and quality interact across complex engineering programs.
• Project Execution: Strong ability to translate technical objectives into actionable plans, track commitments, resolve issues, and deliver results.
• Risk Management: Ability to proactively identify project risks, assess their impact, and implement effective mitigation strategies.
• Technical Communication: Ability to communicate engineering challenges, project status, and technical trade-offs clearly to a variety of stakeholders.
• Collaboration: Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build relationships and coordinate effectively across engineering, program management, and supplier organizations.
• Problem Solving: Ability to navigate ambiguity, evaluate technical challenges, and make practical, risk-informed recommendations.
• Continuous Improvement: Commitment to improving engineering processes, project management practices, and overall execution efficiency.