Project Manager Vs. Project Engineer

Are you a “big-picture thinker” or a “detail-oriented thinker?” 

Project Manager vs Project Engineer

Big-picture people tend to be visionary, strategic, and perform creatively with the end goal in mind. Whereas detail-oriented people focus on technical intricacies, have a greater focus on perfection, and ensure tasks are completed to their highest standard. Project managers tend to be more big-picture thinkers while project engineers tend to be more detail-oriented. Both are valuable and essential for success in your organization. 

Often, the project manager comes into a project with a bird’s-eye view and helps ensure that it meets scope, budget, and time constraints. The project manager must ensure deadlines are met, costs do not exceed pre-determined values, and that appropriate stakeholders are involved during different phases of the project lifecycle. In many cases, project managers are responsible for the ultimate success of a project because their role allows them to be involved in all aspects of the project. 

Project engineers tend to have the technical expertise that allows them to determine how to meet a project’s design and execution needs. They usually have direct involvement with field visits, ensuring design specifications such as project drawings, cost estimates, and material needs are all met promptly. 

Both a Project manager and project engineer must communicate through various stakeholders and amongst themselves to successfully complete the design and construction of a project.

If you would like to learn more about our PMO team, please contact us.

About Mesa Associates, Inc.

Mesa is a woman/minority-owned full-service multi-discipline engineering, procurement, and construction management firm specializing in providing engineering services for the commercial, government, industrial, municipal, and electric utility industry. Mesa is currently providing over $188M of engineering services to 13 of the top 15 utilities across the United States. Our growth is a result of delivering quality projects and value to our clients with unparalleled customer service. We differentiate ourselves by saying we are Large Enough to Perform, Small Enough to Care.