External Engineering Manager
Last Energy
Apply to this job Austin, TX on site Until 8/21/2026 First posted February 4, 2026 Last posted February 4, 2026
Job description
Last Energy is seeking an External Engineering Manager to lead and coordinate strategic partnerships with external engineering consulting firms, technical specialists, and third-party service providers.
Last Energy executes engineering work through a network of specialized external partners, often running multiple firms in parallel across disciplines like chemical/process engineering, mechanical, electrical, and process safety (including HAZOP support). This role is responsible for leading that external engineering ecosystem: coordinating scope and interfaces, driving technical alignment, managing schedules and deliverables, and ensuring outside work products integrate cleanly into a single, buildable solution.
Key Duties & Responsibilities
- Serve as primary lead for managing external engineering service firms, consultants, and specialist contractors throughout project lifecycles
- Define scopes of work, technical deliverables, schedules, and quality expectations for external partners
- Coordinate and prioritize engineering analysis tasks with third-party firms, including chemical, mechanical, electrical, and safety analysis tasks
- Review, evaluate, and provide technical feedback on engineering work products from external firms to ensure accuracy, completeness, and alignment with internal requirements
- Act as a technical interface between external partners and internal engineering, project delivery, licensing, and operations teams to align work streams and resolve technical issues
- Drive performance management of external partners using metrics, deliverable quality reviews, schedule tracking, and targeted corrective actions where needed
- Lead contract and engagement governance in collaboration with Legal and Project Controls, ensuring deliverables are clearly defined and risks managed
- Establish and maintain governance frameworks for managing external engineering work, including milestones, reporting cadence, quality gates, and change control
- Identify opportunities to improve external engineering engagement processes, documentation standards, and cross-functional coordination
- Support scenario and risk analyses related to external technical dependencies, integration challenges, and multi-discipline engineering interfaces
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering
- 5-10 years of experience in technical project leadership, engineering, or engineering services coordination in complex, heavy tech, i.e. aerospace, robotics, or similar industrial/manufacturing environments
- Demonstrated track record of successfully managing external engineering firms and consulting relationships on complex technical projects
- Strong background reviewing and interpreting technical analyses, engineering deliverables, and modeling results
- Excellent project coordination, communication, and stakeholder management skills, with experience aligning external and internal engineering teams
- Experience developing scopes of work, technical requirements, and governance frameworks for external engineering contracts
- Proven ability to drive alignment across cross-functional teams and ensure on-time, high-quality delivery from third-party partners
- Strong organizational skills with a solution-oriented mindset and attention to technical detail
- Knowledge of engineering analysis tools, document control practices, and technical quality assurance standards is a plus
About this role
Summary
Lead external engineering partnerships, coordinate technical work, manage schedules, ensure quality and integration.
Job title
External Engineering Manager
Experience level
5-10 years
Industry
energy
Location requirements
Austin, TX; remote work not specified
Salary
Not specified
Management role
Yes
Skills & keywords
Required skills
engineeringproject managementstakeholder managementcontract developmenttechnical review
Preferred skills
engineering analysis toolsdocument controlquality assurance
Specializations
external engineeringproject coordinationcontract managementmulti-discipline engineering
Locations
Structured locations inferred from the posting.
Austin, TX, USA
On-site City