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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Office Engineer

💰 $55,000 - $85,000

ConstructionProject ManagementEngineering

🎯 Role Definition

The Office Engineer is a pivotal office-based construction professional who manages project documentation, coordinates submittal and RFI workflows, supports project controls (scheduling and cost tracking), and acts as a liaison between field operations, design teams, subcontractors, and clients. This role ensures compliance with contract requirements, timely processing of technical information, and accurate maintenance of project records to support on-time, on-budget delivery.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Assistant Project Engineer
  • Construction Document Controller / Document Control Specialist
  • Field Engineer or Intern with strong office-administration skills

Advancement To:

  • Project Engineer / Senior Project Engineer
  • Project Manager
  • Construction Manager / Senior Construction Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Project Controls Specialist (Scheduling / Cost)
  • Contract Administrator
  • BIM Coordinator / VDC Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Manage the end-to-end submittal process: prepare, log, distribute, track, and follow up on submittals, ensuring timely review cycles, compliance with contract specs, and accurate integration into the construction schedule.
  • Prepare, issue, and maintain Requests for Information (RFIs); track RFI status, coordinate technical responses with design teams and field staff, and ensure RFI-related changes are reflected in project documents.
  • Maintain comprehensive project document control: organize drawings, specifications, addenda, revisions, meeting minutes, and correspondence in both electronic and hard-copy formats to guarantee retrievability and audit readiness.
  • Administer contract documentation and change control: assist in drafting change order documentation, maintain change logs, and coordinate cost and schedule impacts with project management and estimating teams.
  • Review subcontracts, vendor contracts, and purchase orders for completeness and compliance; flag missing documentation and coordinate corrective actions with procurement and legal teams.
  • Support construction schedule maintenance by updating progress milestones, collecting field progress data, preparing look-ahead schedules, and coordinating schedule revisions with the project scheduler and superintendent.
  • Maintain as-built documentation and red-line field drawings, coordinate with the field to capture revisions, and produce accurate closeout packages for turnover to owners and commissioning teams.
  • Coordinate daily and weekly communication between field superintendents, foremen, subcontractors, designers, and clients to resolve technical issues, clarify scope, and minimize delays.
  • Collect, verify, and input field production and labor data into project controls systems to support progress reporting, earned value metrics, and payroll reconciliation.
  • Prepare and distribute regular project reports: RFI/submittal logs, submittal status charts, document transmittals, daily logs, and executive summaries for PMs and stakeholders.
  • Ensure compliance with quality control and safety documentation requirements by tracking testing reports, inspection forms, certificates of compliance, and coordinating corrective actions as required.
  • Assist with cost-control processes by maintaining budgets, logging change directives, helping prepare cost-to-complete analyses, and supporting invoicing and payment application reviews.
  • Operate and maintain project management software and collaboration platforms (Procore, Aconex, PlanGrid, SharePoint, Bluebeam), enable access permissions, and train team members in standardized workflows.
  • Coordinate shop drawing reviews with design engineers and subcontractors; verify that shop drawings conform to contract documents and that revisions are tracked and communicated to the field.
  • Support permit acquisition and regulatory compliance by preparing permit packages, tracking approval status, and ensuring required documentation is posted and accessible on-site.
  • Lead and/or support pre-construction and pre-installation meetings: prepare agendas, capture action items, distribute minutes, and ensure timely closure of open items.
  • Perform baseline document reviews at mobilization and maintain an updated baseline set of drawings and specifications for all active phases of the project.
  • Assist site superintendents with technical clarifications, material coordination, and sequencing issues to reduce rework and prevent schedule disruption.
  • Facilitate coordination between design consultants and the construction team for design clarifications, shop drawing consolidations, and resolution of conflicts prior to major installations.
  • Support commissioning and turnover activities by compiling operation and maintenance manuals, warranties, tested systems documentation, and completing checklist-driven closeout submissions.
  • Maintain and enforce standardized filing, naming conventions, and metadata tagging to optimize searchability and ensure consistent information management across projects.
  • Participate in project risk identification and mitigation discussions by documenting issues, tracking resolution timelines, and escalating high-risk items to project leadership.
  • Administer information requests from owners, third-party inspectors, and regulatory bodies; provide timely, documented responses and maintain a record of all external communications.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and produce custom reports for senior management, finance, and clients to inform decision-making and performance assessments.
  • Participate in construction phase BIM/VDC coordination meetings to ensure model updates correspond with RFIs, submittals, and as-built changes.
  • Contribute to development and continuous improvement of office procedures, templates, and checklists to increase consistency and reduce administrative cycle time.
  • Provide training and mentoring for junior office staff, including document control clerks and assistant engineers, to build internal capability and redundancy.
  • Assist with procurement logistics: tracking lead times, following up on vendor deliveries, and coordinating staging plans with site logistics teams.
  • Participate in weekly project coordination meetings, capture action items, and follow up to confirm closure and post-resolution documentation.
  • Support quality assurance audits and internal compliance reviews by preparing necessary documentation and corrective action plans.
  • Help manage project-specific software licenses and user accounts, working with IT to resolve access or system integration issues.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Proficient in construction project management and document control platforms such as Procore, Aconex, PlanGrid, Bluebeam, or Prolog.
  • Strong knowledge of RFI and submittal workflows, submittal content requirements, and contractor/consultant review processes.
  • Proficient in reading and interpreting construction drawings, specifications, and contractual documents (GC/CM and owner contracts).
  • Experience with scheduling tools such as Microsoft Project, Primavera P6, or Smartsheet for maintaining look-ahead schedules and baseline updates.
  • Familiarity with cost tracking, change order documentation, and basic budget tracking using Excel and project accounting interfaces.
  • Skilled in producing as-built drawings/redlines using Bluebeam Revu, AutoCAD, or similar drafting tools.
  • Competent with Microsoft Office suite (Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint), including advanced Excel functions for reporting and data analysis.
  • Knowledge of permit processes, construction compliance requirements, and coordination with municipal agencies and inspectors.
  • Experience with BIM coordination tools (Navisworks, Revit, BIM 360) and understanding of model-based workflows as they relate to RFIs and submittals.
  • Ability to prepare turnover and closeout documentation: O&M manuals, warranties, equipment data, and test reports.
  • Basic understanding of construction safety documentation and ability to track corrective actions and inspection reports.
  • Comfortable using cloud collaboration platforms (SharePoint, Google Drive) and establishing permission structures and version control.

Soft Skills

  • Strong written and verbal communication skills to clearly document technical information and coordinate with multi-disciplinary teams.
  • Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail for managing high-volume document workflows and tight deadlines.
  • Problem-solving mindset with the ability to prioritize conflicting demands and de-escalate issues between field and office stakeholders.
  • Proactive, service-oriented approach: anticipates needs of project teams and reduces friction through timely administrative support.
  • Effective time management and multi-tasking under pressure while maintaining accuracy in deliverables.
  • Team player with the ability to build rapport with subcontractors, designers, inspectors, and clients.
  • Adaptability to shifting project priorities and the flexibility to support multiple projects concurrently.
  • Strong customer-service orientation when interfacing with owners, clients, and external consultants.
  • Critical thinking for assessing technical submittals, RFIs, and contract clauses to identify potential downstream impacts.
  • Coaching and mentoring aptitude to support and upskill junior staff and document control personnel.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Associate degree in Construction Management, Engineering Technology, Civil Engineering, or related field — or equivalent construction office experience.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Civil Engineering, Architectural Engineering, or Construction Technology.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Construction Management
  • Civil Engineering
  • Architectural Engineering
  • Engineering Technology
  • Project Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2–5 years in construction office roles (document control, assistant project engineer, or related positions) on commercial, industrial, or infrastructure projects.

Preferred:

  • 3–7 years of experience as an Office Engineer, Project Engineer, or similar role with demonstrated experience in submittal/RFI administration, scheduling, and construction documentation in a fast-paced project environment.
  • Experience with mid-to-large scale projects (>$5M) and familiarity with GC/CM, design-build, or heavy civil contract types is a plus.
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