Project Engineering Lead

West Kitikmeot Resources Corp. (WKR) is an Inuit-led organization dedicated to the development of the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut for the benefit of Kitikmeot Inuit. WKR is the sole proponent and developer of the Grays Bay Road and Port (Grays Bay) Project. Grays Bay is a proposed deep-water port on the Northwest Passage of the Arctic Ocean connected by a 230 km, multi-user all-season road to the northern terminus of the Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road (TCWR). Once constructed, the Grays Bay Road and Port will provide the first land link between the Northwest Passage and the North American highway system. The Project will be the northern half of the Arctic Economic & Security Corridor, which will ultimately connect southern Canada and Arctic deep-water with all-season road access.

Job Description

We are seeking a Project Engineering Lead to join the Owner's team on a large, complex infrastructure project delivered through a Progressive Design-Build (PDB) model. Working alongside an Owner's Engineering Advisor and a PDB Contractor, this role acts as the Owner's key technical point of accountability — ensuring that engineering deliverables are sound, constructible, and aligned with the Owner's requirements throughout the project lifecycle.

Reporting to the Engineering Manager, the Project Engineering Lead will provide multi-discipline technical oversight across the project, reviewing and challenging design deliverables produced by the PDB contractor along with the Owner’s Engineering Advisor, managing the interface between design and construction, and supporting the resolution of technical risks and engineering changes as they arise.

This is an excellent opportunity for a P.Eng‑designated engineer with a strong technical foundation and growing project leadership experience to take on a high‑visibility, owner‑side role on a major capital program — building the breadth of technical and commercial exposure needed to progress toward senior engineering or project leadership positions.

The current project schedule anticipates award of a PDB contract in early 2027, final investment decision in 2028, early works construction in 2029, and major works construction in 2030-2034. As such, this role will focus on planning through 2028, with a transition to managing execution from 2029 onwards.

This role will initially be an individual contributor but will become responsible for hiring and managing a field engineering team for the execution phase.

This role will initially be based out of WKR’s Calgary project office, but may transition to a nearby office shared with the PDB Contractor. During the planning phase, occasional site visits will be required to verify field conditions and support constructability reviews, along with occasional travel to meet with vendors. Regular time on site will be required during the execution phase.

Key Duties Include:

Design Review & Technical Assurance

• R eview and challenge multi-discipline design deliverables submitted by the PDB contractor, working with the Owner's Engineering Advisor to ensure technical adequacy, code compliance, and alignment with the Owner's design basis and requirements.
• Coordinate technical reviews and design assurance activities across civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, marine, and other relevant disciplines.
• Track resolution of technical comments, ensuring design deliverables progress through review cycles in line with the project schedule.
• Escalate significant technical concerns or design deviations to the Engineering / Operations Manager.
• Identify and manage interface points between design disciplines and construction activities, ensuring designs are practical to build and sequenced appropriately with field logistical constraints.
• Facilitate constructability reviews with the PDB contractor, Engineering Advisor, and Constructability Advisor to ensure any field issues, access constraints and sequencing conflicts are identified early.
• Support resolution of interface issues between design packages, disciplines, and construction work fronts.
• Contribute technical input to feasibility analysis, options evaluation, and life‑cycle cost considerations at key project milestones and Stage Gate submissions.
• Conduct periodic site visits to verify as‑built conditions, confirm field constraints, and validate constructability assumptions against actual site conditions.

Technical Risk & Engineering Change Management

• I dentify and track technical and design‑related risks, contributing to the project risk register in collaboration with the Project Controls Lead and Engineering Advisor.
• Lead the Owner's technical review and evaluation of engineering‑driven change requests, assessing design, cost, schedule, and risk implications.
• Support root‑cause analysis of technical issues and ensure lessons learned are captured and applied going forward.

Engineering Schedule & Deliverable Tracking

• Monitor engineering deliverable schedules produced by the PDB contractor, tracking progress against milestones and ensuring schedule compliance.
• Flag emerging delays, resourcing gaps, or quality issues affecting the engineering schedule to project leadership.
• Support integration of engineering deliverable tracking with the overall project schedule and reporting cycle.

Reporting & Stakeholder Coordination

• Prepare clear technical status updates and reporting inputs for the Engineering Manager and project governance forums.
• Act as the Owner's day‑to‑day technical liaison with the PDB contractor's and Engineering Advisor's engineering teams.
• Support technical workshops, design reviews, and stage‑gate submissions as required.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, or related discipline).
• Current registration and practicing status as a Professional Engineer (P.Eng) with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA), or eligibility for registration.
• Minimum 4 years of relevant professional engineering experience obtained after receiving your P.Eng designation, up to approximately 8 years total.
• Experience working on or with owner teams, PDB, EPC, or other collaborative/alternative delivery models (e.g., P3) is considered a strong asset.
• Multi-discipline exposure or the demonstrated ability to engage confidently across disciplines outside one's core specialty is considered a strong asset.
• Familiarity with design review processes, constructability principles, feasibility/options evaluation, and engineering change management on complex projects.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications; familiarity with Bluebeam, and general awareness of scheduling tools (e.g., MS Project, Primavera P6) is an asset.
• Valid Class 5 driver's license (or provincial equivalent) and ability to travel occasionally to project sites.

Skills/Abilities Required for Success:

• Technical judgment: Ability to critically assess design deliverables produced by others, identifying gaps, risks, or constructability issues before they become costly problems.
• Cross‑discipline fluency: Comfortable engaging with civil, structural, mechanical, and marine engineering teams, even outside one's primary area of expertise.
• Communication: Strong written and verbal communication skills; able to translate technical issues into clear, actionable insights for engineering, operations, and executive audiences.
• Relationship management: Comfortable working collaboratively yet firmly with a PDB contractor and Engineering Advisor, protecting the Owner's technical interests while maintaining a productive working relationship.
• Commercial and contractual awareness: Working understanding of how PDB/collaborative delivery contracts allocate design responsibility, risk, and change.
• Attention to detail: Rigorous, methodical approach to reviewing design documentation, technical reports, and change submissions.
• Proactivity and ownership: Self‑starter who takes initiative to flag technical issues early rather than waiting for problems to surface in construction.
• Adaptability: Comfortable operating in a dynamic, evolving mega‑project environment where design scope and priorities may shift.
• Growth mindset: Genuine interest in developing into a future senior engineering or project leadership role.

Why Join Us?

• Opportunity to work on a high‑impact project, with a national profile and the potential for significant growth
• Casual cooperative environment
• Competitive compensation range between $100,000 and $120,000 per year, reflective of your experience

West Kitikmeot Resources Corporation is committed to Inuit employment priority in accordance with the Nunavut Agreement. Beneficiaries of the Nunavut Agreement are encouraged to self‑identify in their application.

We thank all applicants for their interest; only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

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