Senior Mechanical & Piping Lead Project Engineer (Employed or freelance)

📋 Tasks and responsibilities

This position is a senior technical project engineering role rather than an administrative coordination or traditional project management function. You act as the technical lead within multidisciplinary CAPEX projects and help ensure that safe, feasible and maintainable solutions are delivered in a controlled project setting.

You work in an operational brownfield environment where safety, reliability, technical quality and minimal disruption to production are essential. The role combines deep Mechanical & Piping expertise with a broad multidisciplinary view across engineering, execution and handover.

Responsibilities

• Define and safeguard the technical basis, design philosophy, project scope and battery limits.
• Lead and integrate engineering activities across disciplines, with Mechanical & Piping as the core domain and close interaction with process, E&I, automation, civil, safety and infrastructure.
• Organise design reviews and evaluate solutions for safety, compliance, functionality, reliability, maintainability, constructability and lifecycle value.
• Translate process and project requirements into robust Mechanical & Piping concepts and oversee the quality of layouts, P&IDs, equipment specifications, piping classes, routing and isometrics.
• Assess technical options for feasibility, safety, reliability and cost-effectiveness.
• Provide technical direction to engineering partners, suppliers and contractors, and challenge them on content, quality, planning and completeness of deliverables.
• Facilitate technical decision-making, document assumptions and deviations, and ensure traceable decisions and follow-up actions.
• Identify technical and project risks and evaluate the impact of changes on scope, schedule, cost, execution and business continuity.
• Support the preparation of technical specifications, tender packages, bid evaluations, supplier selection and contractual technical clarifications.
• Follow up Mechanical & Piping activities where relevant, including fabrication, inspections, FAT, delivery, installation, SAT and punch-list management through to mechanical completion.
• Provide engineering support during construction, pre-commissioning, commissioning, start-up and handover.
• Advise the Project Manager through clear technical recommendations and transparent reporting to stakeholders.
• Coach engineers and contribute to standards, methodologies, lessons learned and knowledge sharing within project engineering.

📝 Your profile

• You hold a master's degree in a technical discipline, or you have built 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 within an industrial or process environment.
• You bring demonstrable specialist knowledge of Mechanical & Piping engineering in the process industry or another heavy industrial setting.
• 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 to assess their deliverables critically.
• You are familiar with applicable Mechanical & Piping standards and good engineering practices, such as PED, ATEX and EN 13480.
• You hold a VCA-VOL certificate or are willing to obtain it before the start.
• Knowledge of AutoCAD Plant 3D is an asset.
• You can work with project controls, including 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 communicate effectively with different stakeholders.
• You work in a structured, autonomous and results-oriented way, with a strong sense of ownership.
• You communicate fluently in Dutch and professionally in English. Other languages are a plus.

Location

Olen, with 100% onsite presence.

Selection procedure

The process consists of two interview rounds: a first interview via Teams, followed by an on-site interview including 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)