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In that case he is not acting as a chief engineer,rather as a procurement or purchaser. Chief engineer is not a role where you can simply pass on engineering responsibility to third party.

In contexts where "engineer" is a licensed title like "doctor of medicine" and "attorney at law", sure.

But the point of credentials like these is not only that they're shorthand for a range of requirements (degree granted by appropriately accredited institution, passed licensing exam, insured, practice complies with relevant professional standards, etc.), but also that they're issued by organizations that have mechanisms in place to verify that a particular applicant actually possesses the credential in question, e.g.,

https://www.iardc.org/Lawyer/PrintableDetails/0ae1f2b7-a864-...

It was a patronage role (think like the no work jobs in The Sopranos).

A portion of his salary most likely ended up in the party fund.

Outsource what, influence peddling? Good riddance.