Mechanical Site Engineer

Overview

Alamo Cement Company, located in San Antonio, Texas has a very long and rich history.  At the time when the cowboys roamed the West, a small Texas cement company laid a solid foundation for its existence.  Started in January 1880, the original cement plant , known as San Antonio Portland Cement Company, was located at what is now called Brackenridge Park.  In 1908, the cement plant relocated to North Central San Antonio. 

In 1979, the San Antonio Portland Cement Company was renamed Alamo Cement Company, and today we are part of the Buzzi Unicem family of companies. Globally, Buzzi Unicem SpA operates in 14 countries and employs almost 10,000 people. From 1909 to the late 70's, many technological advances in cement production had taken place. Wanting to take advangate of these improvements, the Alamo Cement Company initiated the construction of a modern plant located in the Northeast area of San Antonio.  The plant retained the name of Alamo Cement Company and became fully operational in 1981.

If supporting evolving innovations and learning from experienced personnel sound appealing, then Alamo Cement Company is the place for you. Join our team, be part of the solution, and help us continue to sustain our highly competitive nature, both now and in the future.

Responsibilities

The Mechanical Site Engineer provides site-based mechanical engineering support and technical oversight for CAPEX projects at the ACC plant.

The role supports project execution from constructability review and field installation through mechanical completion, commissioning, start-up, and turnover. The Mechanical Site Engineer provides technical oversight of contractors and suppliers, verifies mechanical installation against approved drawings, specifications, vendor requirements, and applicable quality standards, and supports timely resolution of field engineering and construction issues.

The position works closely with Project Management, Engineering, Construction, Quality, HSE, contractors, equipment suppliers, Operations, and Maintenance to support safe, timely, and high-quality project execution.

Mechanical Engineering & Constructability

• Review mechanical drawings, specifications, vendor documentation, materials, and installation requirements for constructability and field execution.
• Review equipment layouts considering installation, operation, safety, maintenance, access, and future equipment removal or replacement.
• Identify constructability issues, interferences, and installation constraints and coordinate resolution with the appropriate engineering disciplines.
• Support resolution of RFIs, field technical questions, deviations, and other mechanical engineering issues arising during construction.
• Participate in design, constructability, and installation-readiness reviews and provide practical field input to proposed technical solutions.

Mechanical Construction & Contractor Oversight

• Provide day-to-day technical oversight of mechanical contractors and subcontractors performing work on assigned CAPEX projects.
• Verify that mechanical work is performed in accordance with approved drawings, specifications, vendor requirements, and project quality requirements.
• Review contractor work planning from a mechanical execution perspective, including work-front readiness, sequencing, manpower, tools, lifting equipment, and other required resources.
• Identify deficient, incomplete, or non-compliant mechanical work and support appropriate technical resolution and corrective action.
• Coordinate field technical issues with contractors, subcontractors, equipment suppliers, and the project team.
• Provide BUU technical oversight without assuming contractor responsibilities for supervision, means and methods, manpower, productivity, or safety execution.

Equipment Installation & Mechanical Interfaces

• Monitor installation and erection of major equipment, mechanical packages, conveyors, material-handling systems, process ductwork, piping, utilities, and ancillary mechanical systems.
• Verify equipment positioning, orientation, elevations, alignment, clearances, and installation tolerances

• Support verification of foundations, embeds, anchor bolts, structural interfaces, and other prerequisites prior to equipment installation.
• Coordinate mechanical interfaces with Civil/Structural, Electrical, Automation and Controls, utilities, and other project disciplines, identifying conflicts early.
• Coordinate with OEM and equipment supplier representatives during installation, inspection, field adjustments, and troubleshooting.
• Support mechanical tie-ins, shutdown activities, and other critical installation activities as required.

Quality, Inspection & Testing

• Verify that required mechanical inspections, tests, and quality checks are performed and appropriately documented.
• Recommend and support testing required to demonstrate compliance with project quality requirements.
• Support verification of alignment, tolerances, bolting and torque requirements, welding and NDE where applicable, pressure testing, flushing, lubrication, and other mechanical quality-control activities.
• Support Quality personnel in evaluating mechanical deficiencies, NCRs, and corrective actions.
• Monitor equipment preservation and protection requirements during construction and prior to commissioning.

Schedule & Construction Progress

• Monitor mechanical construction progress against the approved project schedule and planned work sequence.
• Verify that contractor short-term planning is technically sound and consistent with work-front readiness and available resources.
• Identify mechanical activities, interfaces, and constraints that may affect project milestones or critical-path activities.
• Review the technical practicality of contractor recovery plans and corrective actions where mechanical work is behind schedule.
• Provide accurate field information for look-ahead planning and project reporting and escalate material schedule risks or unresolved constraints.

Mechanical Completion & Punch-List Management

• Support definition and verification of mechanical completion requirements for equipment and systems.
• Participate in mechanical completion walkdowns and system readiness reviews.
• Verify completion of required construction, inspection, testing, and documentation activities and identify mechanical punch-list items.
• Support prioritization and closure of outstanding items and progressive turnover to commissioning in accordance with the project sequence.

Pre-Commissioning, Commissioning & Start-Up

• Support pre-commissioning activities including lubrication, flushing, cleaning, equipment checks, rotation checks, alignment verification, and other readiness activities as applicable.
• Participate in commissioning and start-up of mechanical equipment and systems, including no-load and load testing, functional checks, adjustments, and troubleshooting.
• Coordinate with OEM and vendor representatives and support resolution of mechanical issues identified during commissioning and initial operation.
• Verify that temporary construction conditions affecting commissioning are identified and appropriately addressed.
• Coordinate with Construction, Commissioning, Operations, and Maintenance to support orderly system turnover, start-up, and initial operating stabilization.

Documentation, Redlines & As-Builts

• Maintain field redlines reflecting approved changes and actual installed conditions and support preparation and verification of mechanical as-built documentation.
• Verify completeness and accuracy of mechanical construction, inspection, testing, alignment, and vendor records.
• Support compilation and review of mechanical completion and turnover packages, including documentation required by Operations and Maintenance.
• Coordinate field changes and outstanding documentation with Engineering and Document Control through final project closeout.

Field Changes, Cost & Commercial Awareness

• Identify field conditions, rework, quantity growth, technical deviations, and other matters with potential cost, scope, or schedule impact and communicate them promptly to the Project Manager.
• Provide technical input to evaluation of mechanical field changes, contractor change proposals, and technically complete scopes of work or field instructions.
• Verify technical quantities, conditions, or completed work when requested in support of commercial evaluation.
• Coordinate commercial matters through Project Management and Procurement & Contracts and do not directly negotiate contractual changes with contractors.

Safety

• Incorporate safety considerations into constructability reviews, technical evaluations, installation sequencing, and field engineering decisions.
• Identify and escalate technically unsafe or non-compliant mechanical installation conditions.
• Review contractor-proposed erection methods, temporary arrangements, corrective actions, lifting activities, tie-ins, testing, and commissioning from a technical and safety perspective.
• Work closely with HSE personnel and stop or escalate work where an immediate technical condition presents a significant safety or equipment-integrity concern, in accordance with site requirements.

INTERFACES & KEY RELATIONSHIPS

• Project Management and EPM / PMO Engineering & Construction functions
• Mechanical, Civil / Structural, Electrical, and Automation / Controls Engineering
• Planning / Project Controls, Quality & Governance, HSE, and Document Control
• Procurement & Contracts
• Plant Operations and Maintenance
• Contractors and subcontractors
• Equipment suppliers, OEM representatives, and commissioning personnel

SUCCESS MEASURES

• Safe and technically compliant mechanical construction execution.
• Mechanical equipment and systems installed in accordance with approved technical and quality requirements.
• Effective contractor technical oversight and timely resolution of field engineering and constructability issues.
• Mechanical construction progress aligned with project milestones and commissioning requirements, with limited rework.
• Timely mechanical completion, punch-list closure, commissioning, start-up, and turnover.
• Complete and accurate mechanical construction, redline, as-built, and turnover documentation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or closely related engineering discipline.
• 5-8 years of relevant mechanical engineering, project engineering, and industrial construction experience; experience in the cement industry is highly desirable.
• Practical site experience with mechanical equipment installation and industrial construction.
• Experience with heavy equipment, conveyors, material-handling systems, piping, utilities, or comparable industrial mechanical systems.
• Experience working with contractors, equipment suppliers, multidisciplinary project teams, and engineering documentation.
• Experience supporting mechanical completion, commissioning, and start-up activities.
• Experience in cement, minerals processing, heavy manufacturing, or comparable continuous-process industry preferred.
• Brownfield plant experience, including shutdowns, tie-ins, and installation around operating equipment, is desirable.

TECHNICAL & PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

• Strong understanding of industrial mechanical equipment, installation, and construction practices.
• Ability to read and interpret mechanical drawings, equipment layouts, P&IDs, specifications, and vendor documentation.
• Working knowledge of equipment alignment, tolerances, piping installation, testing, and commissioning practices.
• Strong constructability, field problem-solving, and technical troubleshooting capability.
• Good understanding of construction sequencing and its relationship to project schedule and commissioning.
• Ability to work effectively with contractors, suppliers, and multidisciplinary project teams.
• Strong communication and documentation skills; familiarity with standard project-management, CAD, and document-management systems is desirable.

LEADERSHIP & BEHAVIORAL COMPETENCIES

• Strong field presence and hands-on, pragmatic approach to problem solving.
• Sound engineering judgment and proactive identification of issues and constraints.
• Detail-oriented while maintaining awareness of overall project priorities.
• Able to challenge contractors, suppliers, and technical proposals constructively and professionally.
• Effective multidisciplinary coordination and communication.
• Calm and structured under construction, schedule, and start-up pressure.
• Strong ownership, safety, and quality mindset.

Alamo Cement offers a competitive salary and excellent benefits including 401k.  We are an Equal Opportunity Employer.  Please note that all candidates must be eligible to work in the United States and that only qualified candidates will be contacted.