Principal Electrical Designer - Offshore EPC

Mc Dermott; Dubai; On-site; AED 293,793 - 440,690; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

International project exposure

Technical leadership opportunities

Job summary

McDermott is looking for a Principal Electrical Designer in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This senior role involves leading electrical design activities for offshore fabrication and major EPC projects. The ideal candidate should have considerable experience and responsibilities in delivering high-quality electrical designs and mentoring junior designers.

The position offers an opportunity to influence model quality and engage in international projects across the energy sector.

Qualifications

• Extensive electrical design experience within oil and gas, offshore, marine, fabrication or EPC projects.
• Strong background in conceptual design and detailed design.
• Proven capability supervising and mentoring electrical designers.

Responsibilities

• Prepare conceptual and detailed electrical design drawings.
• Generate interdisciplinary check documentation for project design reviews.
• Monitor electrical design progress against the approved deliverable register.

Skills

Offshore electrical design

FEED design

Three-dimensional modelling

Electrical schematics

Clash detection and resolution

Lighting calculations

Cable sizing

Education

Technical diploma or engineering design qualification

Tools

AutoCAD

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Principal Electrical Designer – Offshore EPC Overview

Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Industry: Oil and Energy
Function: Electrical‑Electronics Engineering
Job Type: Full‑time

McDermott International, Ltd is seeking a senior design specialist to lead electrical design activities on offshore, fabrication, hookup, commissioning and major EPC projects. The role requires strong conceptual layout, FEED, detailed drawing, 3‑D modeling, offshore facility and multidisciplinary EPC execution capabilities.

Key Responsibilities

• Prepare conceptual, FEED, study, arrangement and detailed electrical design drawings to a high technical and presentation standard.
• Develop practical layouts that provide clarity, constructability, accessibility, operability and maintainability.
• Build and maintain electrical three‑dimensional models in coordination with all relevant engineering disciplines.
• Identify and resolve model clashes affecting electrical equipment, cable trays, lighting, grounding, supports and building arrangements.
• Deliver design outputs in accordance with project specifications, company procedures, schedules and approved budgets.
• Organise work priorities and manage time to meet project objectives.
• Forecast design resources and discipline workload when acting as Lead Designer.
• Review contract scope, technical specifications, design schedules and interdisciplinary requirements.
• Identify concerns early and initiate action before they affect cost, schedule, fabrication or construction.
• Recognise scope changes and prepare supporting change notifications, estimates and documentation.
• Provide design input for variation orders and scope adjustment requests.
• Coordinate electrical interfaces with process, piping, mechanical, structural, instrumentation, telecommunications, safety, architectural and construction teams.
• Obtain required inputs from engineers, vendors, subcontractors and supporting disciplines.
• Maintain clear records of decisions, assigned actions and substantive technical communications.
• Support preparation of proposal estimates, job scope changes, execution statements, work schedules and man‑hour forecasts.
• Raise technical queries where information is missing, inconsistent or insufficient.
• Participate in finalising design philosophies, deliverable registers, drawing schedules and project‑specific procedures.
• Review fabrication and construction schedules against design milestones and drawing issue requirements.
• Attend project kickoff, design, vendor, customer and offshore survey meetings.
• Research customer standards and prepare project‑specific electrical design procedures for approval.
• Establish and maintain master drawing files, document registers, job books and design records.

Electrical Design Deliverables

• Three‑dimensional model scopes and detailed drawings.
• One‑line diagrams for power generation, distribution, transformation and utilisation systems.
• Electrical schematics, interconnection and wiring diagrams.
• Block diagrams showing equipment and system interfaces.
• Hazardous area classification drawings.
• Cable and conduit schedules.
• Power distribution layout drawings.
• Earthing and grounding layout drawings.
• Lighting layouts for indoor, outdoor, process, marine and hazardous areas.
• Electrical cable tray routing drawings.
• Electrical building layouts and equipment room drawings.
• Electrical support and installation detail drawings.
• Electrical drawing indexes and deliverable registers.
• Lighting design calculations.
• Cable sizing calculations using approved project criteria.
• Conceptual electrical layouts progressing to detailed design.
• Consistency reviews against specifications, calculations, vendor information and interdisciplinary requirements.

Material Take‑Offs and Bills of Material

• Prepare, review and approve electrical bills of material within assigned authority.
• Complete material take‑offs for power, control, instrumentation interface and communication cables.
• Calculate quantities for lighting fixtures, junction boxes, glands, termination kits, supports and accessories.
• Prepare cable tray and conduit quantities from approved models and drawings.
• Produce material take‑offs for multi‑cable transit systems and electrical penetration components.
• Update material and weight information as designs develop.
• Reconcile material quantities following drawing or model revisions.
• Support procurement and project controls with accurate electrical material data.
• Identify potential shortages, duplicate quantities or mismatches between models, drawings and material lists.
• Maintain traceable records supporting procurement and fabrication requirements.

Vendor Data and Interdisciplinary Coordination

• Coordinate with responsible engineers to obtain vendor information in line with project schedules.
• Review vendor drawings and technical documents affecting electrical design.
• Incorporate approved vendor dimensions, terminal data, cable requirements, loads and interface details.
• Review drawings issued by other disciplines and reflect relevant information in electrical deliverables.
• Supply electrical design information required by other engineering teams.
• Identify incomplete areas preventing final design completion.
• Mark affected drawings and models with approved holds.
• Maintain the project holds list and notify the Lead Designer when its status changes.
• Follow up with engineers, vendors and project teams to resolve outstanding design holds.
• Coordinate technical interfaces through single‑discipline and interdisciplinary reviews.
• Ensure electrical inputs remain synchronized with the latest approved project data.

Design Verification and Quality Control

• Generate interdisciplinary check documentation for project design reviews.
• Perform single‑discipline checks of electrical drawings, models, schedules and material data.
• Participate in interdisciplinary checks and provide clear technical comments.
• Review project IDC documentation for electrical interfaces and design conflicts.
• Maintain records of check drawings, comments, responses, approvals and final archiving.
• Verify that electrical deliverables comply with the Project Execution Plan.
• Ensure drawings and documents are issued, revised, closed and archived on schedule.
• Participate in project audits, technical reviews and model review sessions.
• Report identified errors and recommend practical corrective actions.
• Capture lessons learned and record them in approved company systems.
• Incorporate relevant lessons into future design practices, guidelines and standards.
• Support the maintenance of departmental technical procedures and design requirements.

Fabrication and Site Support

• Provide design assistance to fabrication teams resolving construction difficulties and drawing conflicts.
• Respond to site queries involving electrical routing, supports, equipment placement, access and installation.
• Participate in clash resolution meetings and coordinate closure of identified conflicts.
• Travel to fabrication yards or offshore locations when required.
• Support mechanical completion activities involving electrical systems.
• Assist hookup teams with field design clarification and installation requirements.
• Provide design support during pre‑commissioning and commissioning.
• Review field modifications and ensure approved changes are incorporated into project records.
• Support final redline, as‑built and close‑out documentation.

Progress Monitoring

• Monitor electrical design progress against the approved deliverable register.
• Maintain current information on drawing, model, material take‑off and review status.
• Provide data for actual, planned and forecast progress reports.
• Prepare schedules highlighting delayed or at‑risk deliverables.
• Report manpower concerns, technical constraints and budget issues to the Lead Designer.
• Monitor productivity and recommend recovery measures where progress falls behind schedule.
• Ensure design priorities align with procurement, fabrication, construction and commissioning needs.
• Maintain accurate forecasting information throughout the project lifecycle.

Leadership Responsibilities (acting as Lead Designer)

• Direct a small or medium electrical design team.
• Lead multidisciplinary project design activities within the assigned work area.
• Plan discipline scope, deliverables, schedules, manpower, interfaces and budget requirements.
• Agree resource allocations with the Discipline Supervisor or Engineering Manager.
• Maintain responsibility for discipline progress, productivity, quality and corrective action.
• Serve as the primary electrical design contact for project teams, customers, suppliers, subcontractors and reviewing authorities.
• Prepare discipline bids, design budgets, execution plans, forecasts and staffing requests.
• Assign tasks, responsibilities and man‑hour budgets based on individual designer capability.
• Develop the detailed Level4 design deliverable schedule and register.
• Supervise designers and ensure consistent execution of assigned work.
• Confirm that designers have sufficient approved input information before starting drawings or models.
• Raise and approve technical queries within assigned authority.
• Review and approve discipline schedules, procedures, deliverables, estimates, forecasts, material take‑offs and progress reports.
• Review customer and third‑party comments and guide their incorporation into design deliverables.
• Lead the discipline during internal, customer and third‑party audits and design reviews.
• Monitor KPI results and implement corrective action where discipline performance requires improvement.
• Coordinate with other Lead Designers to secure timely inputs.
• Alert project management to scope deviations and potential change orders.
• Support quarterly forecasts, manpower planning and project team performance evaluations.
• Ensure electrical clashes in the three‑dimensional model are resolved and review comments are closed.

Team Development

• Act as a technical resource for designers with less experience.
• Guide team members in company procedures, design standards, worksheets, software and technical query preparation.
• Provide leadership, coaching and practical design support.
• Identify training needs in specialist design techniques and proprietary software.
• Assist with technical training delivery and skills development.
• Provide employee performance information to discipline management.
• Support interviews and technical assessments of design candidates.
• Participate in the development of global procedures, software, guidelines and standards.
• Encourage standardised, efficient and accurate electrical design practices.
• Promote continuous improvement, lessons learned, constructability and safe design.

Ideal Profile

• Technical diploma, engineering design qualification or equivalent education in electrical design or a related discipline.
• Extensive electrical design experience within oil and gas, offshore, marine, fabrication or EPC projects.
• Strong background in conceptual design, FEED, detailed design and three‑dimensional electrical modelling.
• Advanced capability in preparing electrical layouts, one‑line diagrams, schematics, wiring diagrams and cable schedules.
• Experience with lighting, grounding, cable tray, conduit, building, support and installation drawings.
• Ability to perform cable sizing and lighting calculations.
• Experience preparing electrical bills of material and material take‑offs.
• Strong knowledge of vendor data incorporation and interdisciplinary interface management.
• Experience performing single‑discipline and interdisciplinary design checks.
• Proven capability supervising and mentoring electrical designers.
• Ability to manage design scope, resources, schedules, man‑hours, deliverables and productivity.
• Familiarity with fabrication yard, offshore hookup, mechanical completion and commissioning requirements.
• Strong understanding of electrical constructability, access, maintenance and installation constraints.
• Ability to interpret project specifications, customer standards, design procedures and contract requirements.
• Experience supporting change management, variation orders, forecasts and progress reporting.
• Strong communication, coordination, problem‑solving and organisational skills.
• Ability to work autonomously while maintaining effective interfaces with engineers and project teams.
• Commitment to design quality, HSE, technical integrity, accurate documentation and schedule performance.

Skills Set

• Offshore electrical design
• Conceptual electrical layouts
• FEED design
• Detailed EPC design
• Three‑dimensional modelling
• Clash detection and resolution
• One‑line diagrams
• Electrical schematics
• Wiring diagrams
• Interconnection diagrams
• Block diagrams
• Hazardous area drawings
• Cable schedules
• Conduit schedules
• Power layouts
• Earthing and grounding layouts
• Lighting layouts
• Cable tray drawings
• Electrical building layouts
• Electrical support drawings
• Lighting calculations
• Cable sizing
• Bills of material
• Electrical material take‑offs
• Vendor data review
• Single‑discipline checks
• Interdisciplinary checks
• Design holds management
• Fabrication design support
• Offshore hookup support
• Mechanical completion support
• Commissioning assistance
• Design progress monitoring
• Man‑hour forecasting
• Electrical design leadership
• Designer mentoring

Why Join Us

This role offers technical leadership across offshore facilities, fabrication projects and major EPC developments. You will influence model quality, construction readiness, interdisciplinary coordination, material planning and timely delivery of critical design documentation. The position provides substantial technical responsibility, international project exposure and the opportunity to develop and lead design teams.

About the Company

McDermott International, Ltd delivers engineering, procurement, construction, fabrication, installation and technology solutions across the global energy value chain. With more than a century of industry experience, the company supports offshore, subsea, onshore and energy transition projects through international teams focused on technical quality, safe execution, innovation and reliable delivery.