Senior Project Manager

Job Title: Senior Project Manager
Location: Fanny Bay, BC (with travel to project sites as required)
Company: CanWest Mechanical Inc.
Compensation: $140,000 to $150,000 annually, with final compensation based on qualifications and experience

 

Build Practical Engineering Solutions and Lead Them Through Construction

CanWest Mechanical Inc. is seeking an experienced Professional Engineer who can bring sound engineering judgment, commercial awareness, and project leadership to complex industrial projects.

This is an opportunity for an engineer who wants to be closely involved in how projects are estimated, planned, fabricated, constructed, and delivered. Rather than working exclusively in a consulting or design environment, you will help turn technical requirements into practical construction solutions.

The successful candidate will support and lead industrial mechanical projects across sectors that may include power generation, pulp and paper, oil and gas, mining, material handling, and water and wastewater infrastructure. CanWest also operates a full-service fabrication facility on Vancouver Island and delivers work at industrial and remote project locations throughout Western Canada.

 

The Opportunity

In this position, you will provide project leadership from early opportunity assessment and estimating through procurement, fabrication, construction, commissioning, and closeout.

You will work directly with clients, tradespeople, subcontractors, suppliers, engineering consultants, and CanWest’s internal leadership team. You will be expected to understand the technical requirements of the work while also managing cost, schedule, constructability, risk, quality, and client expectations.

The successful candidate will work across traditional functional boundaries and contribute wherever engineering judgment and project leadership are needed. On any given day, this may involve reviewing a technical issue, developing an estimate, supporting fabrication, meeting with a client, assisting a field team, or addressing a commercial or scheduling concern. Flexibility, initiative, and a willingness to take ownership across multiple areas will be essential to success in this role.

This role is well suited to an engineer who:

• Enjoys solving practical construction and fabrication challenges
• Is comfortable moving between drawings, estimates, schedules, budgets, and field conditions
• Can communicate effectively with both technical professionals and skilled trades
• Understands that a successful design must also be safe, buildable, commercially viable, and appropriately planned
• Wants to have a meaningful influence on project execution and company operations

Projects may range from small service and modification assignments to major industrial contracts valued at up to $30 million.

 

Key Areas of Responsibility

Engineering and Technical Leadership

• Review drawings, specifications, technical requirements, and client documentation to establish a clear understanding of project scope.
• Evaluate constructability, execution methodology, material selection, equipment requirements, sequencing, and technical risk.
• Coordinate with consultants, vendors, fabricators, and construction teams to resolve technical issues.
• Support the preparation and review of technical submissions, requests for information, change documentation, work plans, and project records.
• Apply sound professional judgment to identify practical solutions that meet project, regulatory, safety, and quality requirements.
• Help ensure that engineering decisions can be effectively translated into fabrication and field execution.

Project Planning and Delivery

• Lead projects through estimating, planning, procurement, fabrication, construction, commissioning, and closeout.
• Establish project execution plans, budgets, schedules, resource requirements, procurement strategies, and reporting processes.
• Coordinate internal personnel, subcontractors, suppliers, and other project participants.
  Monitor progress against scope, schedule, cost, quality, and safety expectations.
• Identify emerging issues early and implement appropriate corrective actions.
• Maintain accurate forecasts and provide clear reporting on project performance.
• Manage multiple projects or work packages based on project size and complexity.

Estimating and Preconstruction

• Review bid documents and assess the technical and commercial requirements of potential projects.
• Assist with quantity development, pricing, subcontractor and supplier inquiries, execution planning, scheduling, and risk reviews.
• Participate in bid strategy discussions and help develop practical, competitive project approaches.
• Support proposal preparation, clarifications, client presentations, and project handover following award.
• Use lessons from completed work to improve future estimates and execution strategies.

Client and Stakeholder Management

• Develop productive working relationships with industrial clients, consultants, suppliers, subcontractors, and project partners.
• Act as a knowledgeable and dependable point of contact throughout project delivery.
• Communicate technical, schedule, and commercial matters clearly and professionally.
• Manage changes, constraints, competing priorities, and client concerns in a timely manner.
• Support CanWest’s business development efforts by contributing technical and execution expertise during pursuit and proposal activities.

Safety, Quality, and Compliance

• Incorporate safety and quality requirements into engineering decisions, planning, fabrication, and construction.
• Promote a work environment in which risks are identified, communicated, and controlled.
• Help ensure compliance with applicable codes, standards, environmental requirements, contractual obligations, union agreements, and company procedures.
• Participate in project reviews, quality planning, risk assessments, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Demonstrate CanWest’s expectation that everyone goes home safe at the end of each workday.
   

Qualifications

Required

• A degree in mechanical, civil, structural, industrial, or another relevant engineering discipline.
• Registration as a Professional Engineer, P.Eng., with Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia, or eligibility to obtain registration within a reasonable period following appointment.
• Significant experience delivering industrial construction, mechanical contracting, fabrication, or related heavy industrial projects.
• Demonstrated ability to interpret engineering drawings, specifications, codes, standards, and contractual requirements.
• Experience participating in or leading estimating, bid preparation, project planning, cost control, scheduling, risk management, and change management.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• The ability to provide direction across multidisciplinary teams that may include engineers, project coordinators, tradespeople, subcontractors, suppliers, and consultants.
• A practical, accountable, and solutions-oriented approach to project delivery.
• Willingness to travel to project and client locations as required.

Preferred

• Typically seven or more years of progressively responsible experience in engineering, industrial construction, fabrication, or project delivery. Candidates with a different combination of experience and demonstrated capability will also be considered.
• Experience in industrial mechanical systems, piping, power generation, mining, pulp and paper, oil and gas, material handling, or water and wastewater infrastructure.
• Experience managing projects or major work packages with significant technical and commercial complexity.
• Familiarity with fabrication shop operations and field construction.
• Experience working with unionized trades and collective agreements.
• Experience with Microsoft Project, Primavera, or comparable scheduling tools.
• PMP, Gold Seal, or other relevant project and construction management credentials.
• Previous involvement in commissioning, turnover, quality management, or regulatory compliance.
   

What You Will Bring to CanWest

The person who succeeds in this role will combine engineering credibility with practical project leadership. You will be able to examine a technical issue, understand its effects on fabrication and construction, evaluate the cost and schedule implications, and help the team move toward a workable solution.

You will not need every answer immediately, but you must know how to ask the right questions, engage the appropriate people, evaluate risk, and make well-supported decisions. You should be equally comfortable discussing a technical detail with an engineer, reviewing an execution approach with a superintendent, and explaining project implications to a client or company leader.

 

Why Join CanWest?

CanWest offers the opportunity to work closely with decision-makers and project teams in an environment where engineering input can directly influence how work is pursued and delivered. The role provides exposure to a broad range of industrial projects, fabrication activities, field operations, clients, and technical challenges.

You will have the opportunity to:

• Influence projects from initial concept and estimating through final delivery
• Work closely with CanWest’s fabrication and construction teams
• Apply engineering knowledge to practical industrial challenges
• Participate in operational improvement and leadership initiatives
• Help strengthen CanWest’s engineering and project delivery capabilities
• Mentor developing project and technical personnel
• Contribute to the continued growth of a Vancouver Island-based industrial contractor
   

Compensation

CanWest offers a competitive compensation package, including an annual salary range of $140,000 to $150,000, based on the successful candidate’s engineering credentials, relevant industry experience, project delivery background, and overall suitability for the position. Final compensation is open to negotiation, and CanWest may consider compensation outside the advertised range for an exceptional candidate.

 

How to Apply

Please submit a résumé and a brief cover letter outlining:

• Your engineering discipline and professional registration status
• Your relevant industrial construction or fabrication experience
• Examples of projects for which you held technical or project responsibility
• Your experience with estimating, project controls, and client management

CanWest Mechanical Inc. appreciates the interest of all applicants. Only candidates selected for further consideration will be contacted.