What does a planning engineer do?
A planning engineer is in charge of developing plans and systems to organize and schedule project procedures, ensuring efficiency and timeliness. Their responsibilities revolve around learning and understanding the extent of all operations, setting schedules and objectives, liaising with external parties such as vendors or distributors, and maintaining an active communication line with other departments. Furthermore, a planning engineer must monitor the progress of the workflow and the performance of the workforce, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Planning engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real planning engineer resumes:
- Create and automate customize KPI dashboard reports using a combination of SQL and visual basic scripts.
- Manage retrofit projects for progressive stamping equipment.
- Manage IP address inventory and bandwidth capacity.
- Manage multiple projects involving both internal and vendor resources affecting national production infrastructure.
- Manage Jenkins security by providing specific access to authorize developers/testers using project base matrix authorization strategy.
- Configure OSPF and BGP on the L3 switches, route redistribution.
- Work extensively on BGP and OSPF as part of this project.
- Develop and maintain communication networks between PLC processors, camera/vision systems and HMI applications.
- Assist in the compliance studies of NERC TPL standards.
- Deploy FTTN, DSl, Ethernet, OC3 Oc48 within the Seattle metro area.
- Lead cross-functional teams to drive voice, SS7, VoIP, and AIN projects.
- Prepare FERC filings for new facilities.
- Design fiber SONET rings for customer-driven services.
- Utilize Allen Bradley rack processors and Panelbuilder32 HMI's.
- Prepare technical documents illustrating uses and applications for the GIS.
Planning engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Planning Engineers are proficient in Project Management, Infrastructure, and Transmission Planning. They’re also known for soft skills such as Listening skills, Speaking skills, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Planning Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Project Management, 11%
Direct the evaluations of major control systems as performed by others, interface with operating organizations, engineering and project management.
- Infrastructure, 10%
Company delivers project based services related to energy, infrastructure and process industries.
- Transmission Planning, 8%
Developed documentation materials to ensure PJM's compliance with NERC reliability standard for Transmission Planning and model development.
- NERC, 7%
Perform annual long and short-term transmission system assessment studies to comply with the NERC standards (TPL 001-004).
- Cost Estimates, 4%
Developed cost estimates and prepared business cases for data management projects.
- Transmission Systems, 4%
Submitted, tracked and supervised over 25 Authorized Service Interruptions to conduct preventative maintenance and system upgrades to transmission systems.
Most planning engineers use their skills in "project management," "infrastructure," and "transmission planning" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential planning engineer responsibilities here:
Listening skills. One of the key soft skills for a planning engineer to have is listening skills. You can see how this relates to what planning engineers do because "these engineers often operate in teams, but they also must solicit feedback from customers, vendors, and production staff." Additionally, a planning engineer resume shows how planning engineers use listening skills: "consolidated, analyzed and communicated information relating to cash flow and budget revenue and cost control projections simultaneously. "
Speaking skills. Another essential skill to perform planning engineer duties is speaking skills. Planning engineers responsibilities require that "industrial engineers sometimes have to explain their instructions to production staff or technicians before they can make written instructions available." Planning engineers also use speaking skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "revised construction schedules presented by the epc company. "
Math skills. planning engineers are also known for math skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to planning engineer responsibilities, because "industrial engineers use the principles of calculus, trigonometry, and other advanced topics in mathematics for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work." A planning engineer resume example shows how math skills is used in the workplace: "coordinated analysis to measure project cost and schedule performance and quantitatively assess ability to meet initial operational capability (ioc). "
Writing skills. For certain planning engineer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "writing skills." The day-to-day duties of a planning engineer rely on this skill, as "industrial engineers must prepare documentation for other engineers or scientists, or for future reference." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what planning engineers do: "re-implemented the existing erp system (the fourth shift) and writing some documentation. "
Problem-solving skills. Another crucial skill for a planning engineer to carry out their responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." A big part of what planning engineers relies on this skill, since "in designing facilities for manufacturing and processes for providing services, these engineers deal with several issues at once, from workers’ safety to quality assurance." How this skill relates to planning engineer duties can be seen in an example from a planning engineer resume snippet: "solved and constructed load flow models in industry standard software packages for transmission system analysis and customer connection points. "
The three companies that hire the most planning engineers are:
- Siemens53 planning engineers jobs
- Black & Veatch22 planning engineers jobs
- Eversource Energy17 planning engineers jobs
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Compare different planning engineers
Planning engineer vs. Product support engineer
A product support engineer is responsible for resolving technical issues of end-users regarding the products and services offered by the company. Product support engineers conduct troubleshooting operations for system failures and write resolution reports for reference. They also support the product analysts in improving the product's features and processes to prevent the reoccurrence of defects and maintain optimal performance. A product support engineer designs automation procedures and runs multiple diagnostic tests to ensure high-quality outputs and avoid operational delays.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between planning engineers and product support engineer. For instance, planning engineer responsibilities require skills such as "project management," "infrastructure," "transmission planning," and "nerc." Whereas a product support engineer is skilled in "product support," "troubleshoot," "customer service," and "customer support." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Product support engineers earn the highest salaries when working in the technology industry, with an average yearly salary of $98,326. On the other hand, planning engineers are paid more in the energy industry with an average salary of $86,256.The education levels that product support engineers earn slightly differ from planning engineers. In particular, product support engineers are 6.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a planning engineer. Additionally, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Planning engineer vs. Process improvement engineer
A process improvement engineer specializes in conducting research and analysis to develop new strategies and ideas to improve the processes in a manufacturing plant or a similar setting. They prioritize efficiency and profitability. Most of the time, engineers participate in a series of meetings where they coordinate with fellow engineers to determine opportunities for product growth and development. Moreover, a process improvement engineer is also responsible for crafting new policies and regulations, upgrading systems, and developing new practices to ensure product quality and customer satisfaction.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that planning engineer responsibilities requires skills like "infrastructure," "transmission planning," "nerc," and "pss." But a process improvement engineer might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "lean six sigma," "sigma," "healthcare," and "data analysis."
Process improvement engineers earn a lower average salary than planning engineers. But process improvement engineers earn the highest pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $89,829. Additionally, planning engineers earn the highest salaries in the energy with average pay of $86,256 annually.process improvement engineers earn similar levels of education than planning engineers in general. They're 1.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for planning engineers in the next 3-5 years?
Theodore T. Allen Ph.D.
Associate Professor, The Ohio State University
Planning engineer vs. Project controls engineer
A Project Controls Engineer creates project cost reports and progress charts. These professionals interpret the company contract and deal with the existing cost control database and financial risk. Project Controls Engineers reconcile and organize the project cost information with the clients' status reports. Also, they evaluate cash flow reports and project cost reports prepared by CMA.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a planning engineer is likely to be skilled in "infrastructure," "transmission planning," "nerc," and "pss," while a typical project controls engineer is skilled in "project controls," "construction management," "control systems," and "project cost."
Project controls engineers earn the best pay in the energy industry, where they command an average salary of $94,074. Planning engineers earn the highest pay from the energy industry, with an average salary of $86,256.project controls engineers typically earn similar educational levels compared to planning engineers. Specifically, they're 1.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Planning engineer vs. Quality control engineer
A quality control engineer is responsible for conducting quality assessments for the company's products and services to ensure adherence to federal regulations and quality standards. Quality control engineers recommend strategic methods by analyzing processes and writing test results. They also identify opportunities for more services that meet public demands and market trends, helping the business generate more resources for revenues. A quality control engineer utilizes various software tools and applications to document findings, requiring them to have excellent communication and technical skills.
Types of planning engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
