Project Engineer - Process
Job Title: Project Engineer
Proposed Job Title: Project Engineer - Process
Purpose
Provides Client owner-side project-engineering support to the Process Lead during the Buffer Prep / Buffer Hold (BPBH) brownfield expansion at Barceloneta, within an active 24/7 GMP facility.
Acts as owner's representative for the process equipment installation package - coordinating and overseeing the General Contractor's execution, owning field-level permit-to-work, walkdowns, safety, and coordination, and supporting the Process Lead in reviewing the A/E's process design.
Design authority and responsibility rest with the Process Lead and the A/E; this role actively supports design review and owns owner-side execution oversight.
The incumbent supports the Lead, owns the owner-side coordination of the process package, and develops process-engineering expertise through the project.
Responsibilities
• Serves as Client owner-side representative for the process equipment package (tanks, skids, heat exchangers, transfer panels/manifolds, CIP/SIP) during brownfield construction; provides day-to-day oversight of the General Contractor (GC) and its subcontractors for this scope, monitoring progress, quality, and compliance against the approved design.
• Owns permit-to-work (PTW) coordination and issuance for process construction activities within the active 24/7 GMP facility; enforces construction segregation from live manufacturing and coordinates tie-ins/shutdown windows with site operations.
• Conducts and participates in field walkdowns, inspections, and punch-list development for the process equipment and process-mechanical scope; verifies installed work matches design and site standards before turnover.
• Supports construction safety participates in contractor safety evaluations, supports the site safety plan for process activities, and ensures GC adherence to Client's EHS requirements on an active manufacturing site.
• Acts as liaison and coordination point between the GC, the A/E (Fluor), site operations, and the process Lead; ensure construction activities do not negatively impact ongoing production.
• Supports the process Lead in reviewing A/E design deliverables (drawings, specifications, P&IDs, process control narratives); reviews GC submittals and RFIs for alignment with AbbVie standards. (Design review and support role - design authority and responsibility rest with the Process Lead and the A/E.)
• Maintains as-built documentation and field records for the process equipment and process-mechanical package; tracks open items, field issues, and schedule for the scope and escalates to the process Lead.
• Supports commissioning, turnover, and startup for the process equipment and process-mechanical package; assists the Lead and CQV team with field troubleshooting and system handover to operations.
• Supports the Process Lead during vendor process-equipment installation (buffer tanks, process skids, heat exchangers (HEX), transfer panels, CIP tie-ins); coordinates GC mechanical/process installation and witnesses field activities.
• Supports FAT/SAT and process commissioning activities; assists with field data collection and troubleshooting of newly installed process systems.
Qualifications
Required:
• Bachelor's degree in Chemical, Biomedical, or Mechanical Engineering.
• 3-7 years of experience in pharmaceutical/biotech or industrial capital projects, ideally in an owner's-representative or GC/EPC field-engineering capacity.
• Experience with brownfield construction in an operating facility: permit-to-work systems, field walkdowns, construction safety, and contractor coordination.
• Working familiarity with biologics process systems - buffer prep/hold tanks, process skids, heat exchangers (HEX), transfer panels/manifolds, CIP/SIP tie-ins, and hygienic process piping - sufficient to support the Lead and coordinate the GC (design-level mastery is not required at this level).
• GMP awareness and the ability to coordinate work safely within an active 24/7 manufacturing environment.
Preferred:
• Spanish fluency / bilingual (Puerto Rico site - strong advantage).
• Construction management exposure or coursework; ability to read and interpret construction drawings and specifications.
• Prior commissioning / CQV field-support experience.
