Planning engineers are the control room of a project. They sit in project controls or the PMO and turn thousands of activities into a logical Primavera P6 schedule, then measure real progress against the baseline, analyse the critical path, and forecast slippage before it happens. On major infrastructure and building projects, where the schedules are complex and the penalties are large, delay analysis and extension-of-time support have become skills worth their weight. A normal week runs on progress updates, the S-curve, the management report, and the lookahead. The work rewards engineers who read the numbers precisely and raise them before they become a crisis.
David Hughes
Senior Planning Engineer
📍 London, UK✉️ david.hughes@email.com
Summary
Planning Engineer with 9 years in project controls on major infrastructure and building projects. Ran the Primavera P6 schedule for a GBP 700M project and supported an approved 90-day extension-of-time claim through documented critical-path analysis. PMI-SP certified.
Work Experience
Senior Planning Engineer at Mace GroupMar 2021 — Present
Run the Primavera P6 schedule for a GBP 700M package with weekly progress updates
Produced the S-curve and the earned-value reports for management and the client
Planning Engineer at Balfour BeattyAug 2016 — Feb 2021
Built baselines and linked activity logic for infrastructure and tower packages
Tracked progress and produced the weekly and monthly reports
P6 mastery and reporting discipline. "Ran the P6 schedule for a GBP 700M project and supported an approved 90-day EOT" beats "experience in planning".
Key Skills to Include
Primavera P6, baseline, critical path, float, S-curve, earned value, delay analysis, extension-of-time claims, and the lookahead schedule.
Common Mistakes
Confusing the planning role with the site role, or listing P6 with no delay analysis or earned value behind it.
Formatting Tips
One to two pages. Start with project values and your certificate, such as PMP or PSP. Show real schedules and the claims you supported.
Average Salary — Planning Engineer
United States
$85,000 to $135,000
United Kingdom
$50,000 to $80,000
Canada
$70,000 to $110,000
Australia
$78,000 to $122,000
Germany
$60,000 to $95,000
Ireland
$55,000 to $88,000
Figures in USD. Ranges reflect mid-level experience (3–7 years). Senior roles and major metro areas typically sit at the top of these bands.
Top 5 Interview Questions — Planning Engineer
1What is the difference between the baseline and an update?
The baseline is the approved reference I measure against, and the update is the real progress. The variance between them is what I analyse and report. Without a fixed baseline, progress has no meaning.
2How do you support an extension-of-time claim?
Analyse the event impact on the critical path with an accepted method, link it to the records and correspondence, and present the analysis with evidence. A claim with no critical-path analysis gets rejected.
3The project is behind. What do you do in P6?
Identify the late critical activities, build a recovery schedule by reallocating resources and accelerating, and show management the impact. Delay is managed with numbers, not hope.
4What proves your P6 competence in practice?
A real schedule I built and updated, with sound logic, float management, an S-curve, and an earned-value report. The tool alone is not enough without planning logic.
How to Tailor Your CV
Project-controls teams at main contractors and PMCs (Mace, Turner & Townsend, Balfour Beatty, Atkins) want P6 mastery, reporting discipline, and delay analysis. Certificates like PMP, PMI-SP, or AACE PSP set you apart. Keep the terms in plain form: Primavera P6, EVM, EOT, S-Curve, PMP.