Job Overview
DAR Engineering is seeking an experienced Senior Planning Engineer to join its engineering and design team in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This role focuses on developing, managing, and monitoring integrated project schedules for multidisciplinary engineering and design projects, ensuring timely delivery from concept design through detailed design and tender documentation.
The successful candidate will work closely with project managers, design discipline leaders, sub-consultants, clients, and the Project Management Office (PMO) to track project progress, forecast resource requirements, analyze schedule performance, and identify potential delays. The role requires a strong understanding of engineering design workflows, project planning methodologies, and scheduling tools such as Oracle Primavera P6 and Microsoft Project.
This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced planning professional to contribute to major engineering and infrastructure projects across Saudi Arabia and the GCC while supporting continuous improvement in project controls and planning practices.
Key Responsibilities
1. Project Planning and Scheduling
- Develop, establish, and maintain integrated design schedules for engineering and consultancy projects.
- Prepare project programmes covering concept design, preliminary design, detailed engineering, and tender documentation.
- Break down project scopes into work packages, activities, deliverables, and milestones using a structured Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
- Establish realistic schedules in coordination with project managers and multidisciplinary design teams.
- Maintain project baselines and update schedules in accordance with approved planning procedures.
- Coordinate design deliverables and dependencies across architecture, civil, structural, and MEP disciplines.
2. Progress Monitoring and Schedule Control
- Track actual project progress against approved schedules and baseline programmes.
- Analyze schedule variances, critical path activities, and potential delays.
- Identify bottlenecks and recommend corrective actions and recovery plans to maintain project timelines.
- Monitor design deliverables, client review periods, consultant approvals, and other schedule-critical activities.
- Provide early warnings to project managers and PMO leadership regarding potential schedule risks.
- Maintain accurate schedule updates, baseline records, and archived programme versions.
3. Resource Planning and Forecasting
- Forecast resource requirements and man-hours in coordination with design discipline leaders.
- Monitor resource allocation and loading against project schedules.
- Identify resource constraints that may affect design productivity or project completion.
- Support project teams in optimizing resources and managing competing priorities across multiple projects.
4. Stakeholder and Design Coordination
- Coordinate with project managers, design engineers, discipline leads, sub-consultants, and clients.
- Collect and validate progress information from different engineering disciplines.
- Manage schedule interfaces between design activities, deliverables, and client review and approval cycles.
- Assess the scheduling impact of design changes, client instructions, and scope variations.
- Support the preparation of time-impact assessments and schedule-related documentation.
5. Reporting and Project Performance Analysis
- Prepare weekly and monthly project progress reports, planning dashboards, and management presentations.
- Communicate schedule performance, milestone status, critical activities, and potential delays to stakeholders.
- Provide reliable planning data to support project management and decision-making.
- Support portfolio-level reporting and planning standardization across engineering and design projects.
- Use reporting tools and performance indicators to improve project visibility and schedule control.
6. PMO Support and Continuous Improvement
- Support the PMO in developing and standardizing planning procedures, templates, and reporting formats.
- Maintain consistency and accuracy across project schedules and planning documentation.
- Capture lessons learned and recommend improvements to scheduling and progress measurement processes.
- Mentor junior planning engineers and share best practices in project planning and controls.
- Promote effective coordination and consistent planning standards across multidisciplinary teams.
Job Requirements and Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from a recognized university, preferably in Architectural, Civil, Structural, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering.
- Preferably 10 or more years of experience in project planning and scheduling within engineering design consultancies or PMOs managing design projects.
- Strong understanding of engineering design stages, deliverables, and coordination between multiple design disciplines.
- Proven experience developing and maintaining integrated schedules for multiple concurrent engineering and design projects.
- Practical experience in progress measurement, schedule updates, variance analysis, and project performance reporting.
- Experience coordinating with clients, consultants, project managers, and multidisciplinary design teams.
- Strong knowledge of project planning techniques, critical path analysis, resource levelling, and Work Breakdown Structures (WBS).
- Excellent analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
- Strong communication and stakeholder coordination abilities.
- Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines while maintaining accurate planning records.
Technical Skills
- Oracle Primavera P6
- Microsoft Project
- Project Planning and Scheduling
- Critical Path Method (CPM)
- Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
- Resource Planning and Man-Hour Forecasting
- Progress Measurement and Schedule Variance Analysis
- Design Deliverable Tracking
- Project Controls and Risk Management
- Microsoft Excel
- Power BI and Project Reporting Dashboards
Preferred Certifications
Professional qualifications such as PMP (Project Management Professional), PMI-SP (Scheduling Professional), or Primavera P6 certification will be an advantage.
Working Hours
The position offers flexible working arrangements, with a structured schedule of up to 48 hours per week, subject to company policies and project requirements.
Salary and Benefits
DAR Engineering offers a competitive employment package that may include:
- Competitive salary based on qualifications and experience.
- Housing and transportation benefits.
- Comprehensive healthcare coverage and wellness support.
- Opportunities to contribute to major engineering and infrastructure projects across Saudi Arabia and the GCC.
- A collaborative, multidisciplinary working environment.
- Professional development and opportunities to share expertise with engineering teams.
- Relocation support for suitable candidates, where applicable.
Job Location
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (KSA)
Riyadh-based candidates are preferred. Relocation support may be available for the right candidate.
Company
DAR Engineering
Equal Employment Opportunity
DAR Engineering is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. All qualified applicants will receive consideration in accordance with applicable employment laws and company policies.
Recruitment Process
After an application is submitted and reviewed, shortlisted candidates may be contacted by the Talent Acquisition team. The selection process generally includes two interview stages, with virtual and in-person interviews depending on the position and candidate circumstances.