Senior Mechanical & Piping Project Engineer - Technical Lead (Freelance possible)

📋 Tasks and responsibilities

This position centres on senior technical project engineering rather than administrative coordination or traditional project management. As Technical Lead on multidisciplinary CAPEX projects, you help develop and deliver solutions that are safe, feasible and maintainable within a controlled project setting.

You will work in an operational brownfield environment where safety, reliability, technical quality and minimal disruption to production are key considerations. The role combines specialist Mechanical & Piping expertise with a broad understanding of engineering, execution and handover activities.

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain the technical basis, design philosophy, project scope and battery limits.
• Coordinate engineering activities across disciplines, with Mechanical & Piping as the core area and close collaboration with process, E&I, automation, civil, safety and infrastructure teams.
• Plan and lead design reviews, assessing solutions against safety, compliance, functionality, reliability, maintainability, constructability and lifecycle value.
• Translate process and project requirements into Mechanical & Piping concepts and oversee the quality of layouts, P&IDs, equipment specifications, piping classes, routing and isometrics.
• Assess technical alternatives in terms of feasibility, safety, reliability and cost-effectiveness.
• Provide technical direction to engineering partners, suppliers and contractors, while critically reviewing their content, quality, planning and completeness of deliverables.
• Support technical decisions, document assumptions and deviations, and keep decisions and follow-up actions traceable.
• Identify technical and project risks and evaluate the impact of changes on scope, schedule, cost, execution and business continuity.
• Contribute to technical specifications, tender packages, bid evaluations, supplier selection and technical clarifications related to contracts.
• Follow up relevant Mechanical & Piping activities, including fabrication, inspections, FAT, delivery, installation, SAT and punch-list management through mechanical completion.
• Provide engineering support during construction, pre-commissioning, commissioning, start-up and handover.
• Assist the Project Manager with clear technical recommendations and transparent reporting to stakeholders.
• Coach engineers and help develop project engineering standards, methodologies, lessons learned and knowledge sharing.

📝 Your profile

• You hold a master's degree in a technical discipline, or have reached an equivalent level through relevant experience. A background in electromechanics or chemical technology is particularly relevant.
• You have extensive experience in technical design and engineering in an industrial or process environment.
• You bring demonstrable specialist knowledge of Mechanical & Piping engineering within the process industry or another heavy industrial environment.
• You have proven experience with multidisciplinary CAPEX projects, from concept and basic engineering through execution and completion.
• You are able to provide technical direction to engineering partners, suppliers and contractors and critically evaluate their deliverables.
• You are familiar with applicable Mechanical & Piping standards and good engineering practices, including PED, ATEX and EN 13480.
• You hold a VCA-VOL certificate or are willing to obtain one before starting.
• Knowledge of AutoCAD Plant 3D is an advantage.
• You can work with project controls covering scope, schedule, costs, risks, changes and stakeholder management.
• You combine technical depth with a broad overview, decisiveness and a pragmatic approach to problem-solving.
• You explain complex technical topics clearly and collaborate effectively with different stakeholders.
• You work in a structured, autonomous and results-oriented way and demonstrate a strong sense of ownership.
• You communicate fluently in Dutch and professionally in English. Other languages are an advantage.

Location

Olen, with 100% onsite presence.

Selection procedure

The selection process includes two interview rounds: an initial interview via Teams, followed by an on-site interview with a business case.

💼 Offer

You will be part of a growing Belgian SME where initiative and personal development are encouraged. We will provide you with an enjoyable work environment with fun colleagues. We will work out a career plan with you, with attention and a budget for extra education/certification. You can count on an attractive salary, supplemented with extra-legal benefits, including a company car.
(Freelance is also possible)