Lead Project Engineer (Hydraulic/Civil) Remote

Remote, offshore independent contractor. Open to candidates based in Vietnam or the Philippines.

ABOUT THE ROLE

South Melbourne Plumbing Co. is a commercial and civil plumbing subcontractor delivering hydraulics, civil drainage, fire services and roofing plumbing across Melbourne. We work with builders and principal contractors on schools, apartments, childcare centres, community pavilions and centres. We are a small team of around ten, we run lean and systems driven, and we take on highly detailed work.

We are looking for a Lead Project Engineer to run our projects from offshore, working directly with our Melbourne leadership and site teams.

Read this part carefully, because it is what makes or breaks the role.

The right person reads a hydraulic plan set, understands an ITP, knows what a hold point is, can pick up a drawing conflict before it becomes a variation, and can keep several commercial projects moving at once. You will be trusted with real responsibility from day one and judged on outcomes, not hours logged.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Project engineering and coordination (the core of the role)

• Own projects through the lifecycle: procurement, labour budgets, progress tracking, coordination with our Melbourne site leads, through to handover.
• Run several live projects concurrently and hold the detail across all of them.
• Manage procurement: material orders, lead times, deliveries, and chasing outstanding items before they become site delays.
• Coordinate day to day between site supervisors, suppliers, and the builder or principal contractor.
• Compile handover packs, as-built documentation, O&M manuals and compliance certificates at close-out.

CAD and site setout support

• Work in AutoCAD on client and consultant drawing files: mark up, create points, manipulate layers, produce clean files for our site team.
• Our crews set out plumbing on site using a total station. You produce the files they work from.
• Maintain as-built drawings from site redline markups.
• This is competent, confident day-to-day AutoCAD use. It is not detailed design work.

Document control, RFIs and contract administration

• Own the drawing register and revision control. Confirm you are working from the latest set, every time, and so is our site team.
• Catch conflicts and gaps between drawings and specifications, and raise RFIs through to resolution.
• Track variations against the scope of work and keep the record straight.
• Own document control: version management, transmittals, and a tidy, navigable filing structure.

Programming and scheduling

• Build and maintain construction programmes, Gantt charts and look-ahead schedules.
• Track progress against programme, identify slippage early, and flag it to leadership with a recommended response, not just a problem.
• Forecast labour and support sequencing decisions with current scheduling information.

Commercial and progress claims

• Prepare and substantiate progress claim data for the Director’s sign-off.
• Support the case when a claim is challenged, with evidence from the programme and the site record.
• Basic project cost tracking against budget.
• Financial processing sits with our Office Manager. Your job is to get the data right and get it there on time.

Quality assurance and ITPs

• Develop and maintain project-specific ITPs aligned to contract specifications.
• Track hold points, witness points and inspection sign-offs, and capture records at the right stage.
• Keep compliance documentation, checklists and registers current and audit-ready.
• We run Visibuild for site QA and Pipedrive for pipeline. You do not need to have used either. You do need to pick up a new system quickly and use it properly.

Estimating

• Prepare quantity take-offs and material schedules from hydraulic, drainage and civil drawing sets.
• Price bid submissions with the Director: labour, materials and subcontractor components.
• Maintain an accurate tender register and track bid outcomes.
• We have built our own schedule of rates and we use GroundPlan for take-offs. You are executing accurately against an established system, not building one from scratch. You do not need to have used GroundPlan. We will train you on it.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

• A background in hydraulic engineering, hydraulic plumbing or civil engineering: a degree, diploma, or equivalent qualification backed by real practical experience.
• Demonstrated experience in a plumbing, hydraulic or civil construction project environment.
• Proven experience carrying multiple live projects at the same time.
• Hands-on experience preparing take-offs and pricing bids, and a working understanding of how commercial tenders are structured.
• Experience developing or managing ITPs and QA documentation.
• Practical understanding of a commercial subcontracting environment: head contractor relationships, programmes, RFIs, variations, retentions, compliance obligations.
• Excellent written and spoken English, with the confidence to deal directly with builders, suppliers and leadership. This is assessed live as part of the process.
• A genuinely self-directed working style. You take ownership, anticipate what is needed, manage your own priorities and follow through without supervision.
• A reliable remote setup: stable high-speed internet, a capable computer, and a quiet, professional environment for privacy and video calls.
• Sustained capacity for a full 40 hour week and reliable responsiveness within the core overlap window below.

NICE TO HAVE

• Prior experience supporting an Australian construction or plumbing business.
• Familiarity with Australian construction and plumbing requirements: NCC/BCA, Plumbing Code of Australia, AS/NZS 3500 series. We will bring you up to speed if you have not worked to them.
• Scheduling software: MS Project, Primavera P6, Asta Powerproject or equivalent.
• Take-off or estimating software: GroundPlan, Bluebeam, On-Screen Takeoff or similar.
• Experience with construction QA or CRM platforms.

WORKING ARRANGEMENTS

This is an output-based engagement. You will be engaged as an independent contractor, responsible for your own taxes, statutory contributions and any registrations required in your home jurisdiction. The indicative weekly volume is 40 hours, reflecting the expected scope of deliverables.

Core availability: you need to be reliably available and responsive between 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM Melbourne, Australia time (AEST/AEDT), Monday to Friday.

In the Philippines (PHT) that is currently 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, and 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM while Melbourne is on daylight saving.

In Vietnam (ICT) that is currently 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM, and 7:00 AM to 1:00 PM while Melbourne is on daylight saving (early October to early April).

This is to allow overlap with Melbourne business hours and leadership communication. Outside that window you manage your own schedule against deadlines.

Reporting: primary line to the Director, who holds final authority on bids, job selection and business decisions. Day to day you work with the Office Manager, who oversees workflow, priorities and output.

Team: No direct reports. Technical oversight and coaching of our Philippines-based Project Engineer.

Engagement Location: Independent contractor (offshore) in Philippines or Vietnam.

Industry: Commercial and civil plumbing subcontracting

On estimating: you own the process from opportunity through to a submission-ready bid. The Director reviews and signs off before anything goes out. Your job is to make that decision easy to make.

Tools: You provide your own equipment and internet. We provide access to our project management, QMS, estimating and communication systems.

Commitment: this is a long-term engagement. We are building a team and we invest in the people in it. The Director travels to meet the team in person and will spend time working alongside you on our systems and the way we estimate. We are looking for someone who wants to be here in two years, not someone bridging a gap.

Trajectory: We are growing. This role is built for someone who wants increasing input and responsibility over time, not a static task list.

WHY THIS ROLE

You will be the person who makes things happen before anyone has to ask. From identifying the right jobs to quote, through the take-off, the submission, the setout files, and keeping the job on programme after award. This is the full lifecycle of a commercial project, and you will be running it, not administering it.

If you are a hydraulic or civil project engineer who is ready to step up into full ownership, who works best in a small team without close supervision, and who would rather do the work than delegate it, this role is built for you.

HOW TO APPLY

Send your CV and a short written cover note covering:

1. Your hydraulic, plumbing or civil engineering background and the kinds of projects you have worked on.
2. How many live projects and tenders you have personally carried at the same time, and how you kept them on track.
3. How you use AutoCAD in your current role, and the last thing you produced in it.
4. An example of a bid or estimate you prepared: the project, your approach, the outcome.
5. Your expected rate (Hourly, weekly or monthly, in AUD), your remote setup, and your available core overlap hours relative to Melbourne.

Applications are reviewed as they arrive. We move quickly for the right person.

Office of South Melbourne Plumbing Co.

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P. 03 8592 7111 | southmelbplumbingco.com

PO Box 181 South Melbourne VIC 3205