Principal Materials Engineer - Coatings

Mc Dermott; Dubai; On-site; AED 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

McDermott International, Ltd in Dubai is seeking a Principal Materials Engineer - Coatings to provide specialist direction in materials, metallurgy, coatings, and corrosion control for complex oil and gas projects. You will lead metallurgy and materials engineering tasks, review vendor documents, coordinate inspections, and ensure asset design integrity, cost control, and timely delivery.

The role requires 15–20 years of oil and gas experience and strong English communication.

Qualifications

• 15 to 20 years of oil and gas experience with a major contractor or consultant
• Strong expertise in materials engineering, metallurgy, coatings, corrosion control
• Detailed understanding of engineering design techniques, analysis methods, codes and standards

Responsibilities

• Perform conceptual, FEED, and detailed engineering analyses per design basis and standards
• Prepare and review materials and coatings deliverables including reports and specifications
• Lead metallurgy, coatings, corrosion, and inspection tasks with minimal supervision
• Coordinate and review vendor/subcontractor submittals for compliance with specs
• Guide designers on MDR requirements, design calculations, and technical queries
• Monitor progress, productivity, and cost impact for assigned work areas

Skills

Metallurgy

Coatings

Materials engineering

Corrosion control

Material selection

FEED engineering

Detailed design

Project audits

Leadership

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Master's degree in Engineering

Job description

Principal Materials Engineer - Coatings

Job Snapshot

• Role: Principal Materials Engineer - Coatings
• Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Industry: Oil and Energy
• Function: Materials-Physical Research
• Experience: 15 to 20 years
• Job Type: Full-time

Job Details

• Country: United Arab Emirates
• City: Dubai
• Industry: Oil and Energy
• Function: Materials-Physical Research
• Salary: 55000-75000 Estimated salary range based on similar jobs in the job city; please confirm the final offer with the employer.
• Gender: Any
• Candidate Nationality: Any
• Job Type: Full-time

Role Context

The Principal Materials Engineer - Coatings provides specialist technical direction for materials, metallurgy, corrosion control, and coatings engineering on complex oil and gas projects. The role supports safe and reliable asset design by ensuring the correct selection of materials, technical specifications, inspection strategies, vendor documents, and engineering deliverables. Working independently and often as a lead engineer, this position influences design integrity, fabrication readiness, cost control, risk reduction, and long-term project performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Perform conceptual, FEED, and detailed engineering analyses in accordance with project design basis, specifications, codes, standards, and engineering procedures.
• Prepare and review materials and coatings deliverables, including design reports, calculations, material selection reports, diagrams, philosophies, specifications, and technical procedures.
• Lead complex metallurgy, materials selection, coatings, corrosion, and inspection-related engineering tasks with minimal supervision.
• Apply detailed technical knowledge to resolve nonstandard engineering issues, project constraints, material concerns, and design challenges.
• Act as Lead Metallurgy Engineer when required, directing small metallurgy teams and managing assigned scope, deliverables, schedules, budgets, and manpower plans.
• Plan, organize, and coordinate metallurgy execution activities while ensuring compliance with project-specific procedures, MDR requirements, standards, and quality expectations.
• Develop and review material selection deliverables for refinery units, petrochemical units, offshore installations, and related oil and gas facilities.
• Coordinate and contribute to risk-based inspection studies, failure investigations, troubleshooting assignments, and metallurgy-related inspection activities.
• Review vendor and subcontractor submittals independently, verify compliance with project specifications, and provide clear technical comments.
• Participate in bid clarification meetings, bid reviews, pre-inspection meetings, technical query reviews, and proposal development activities.
• Prepare bid estimates, execution statements, work-hour estimates, metallurgy engineering budgets, software requirements, and project-specific technical inputs.
• Raise and resolve technical queries to clarify scope, obtain missing information, and maintain preferred engineering standards, specifications, and operational requirements.
• Identify scope changes early and support change notifications, variation orders, supporting documentation, and cost or schedule estimates.
• Review project schedules and fabrication schedules in relation to construction sequence, milestones, engineering scope, and deliverable priorities.
• Attend project kickoff meetings, engineering reviews, vendor meetings, offshore site surveys, audits, design reviews, and customer technical discussions when required.
• Interface with engineering disciplines, fabrication teams, safety, procurement, quality, document control, planning, cost control, certification groups, vendors, subcontractors, and customers.
• Provide design inputs to other disciplines so they can complete their own deliverables accurately and on schedule.
• Guide designers and less experienced engineers on MDR requirements, discipline procedures, design calculations, worksheets, software, requisitions, technical bid evaluations, and technical queries.
• Monitor progress, productivity, engineering integrity, and cost impact for assigned work areas, recommending corrective action where needed.
• Represent the discipline during meetings with project teams, customer discipline leads, certifying authorities, auditors, and third-party agencies.
• Lead or support internal, customer, and third-party technical audits, ensuring materials and metallurgy deliverables are technically sound and properly documented.
• Communicate difficult technical concepts clearly and influence stakeholders toward practical, compliant, and cost-conscious engineering decisions.
• Support professional knowledge sharing through technical papers, presentations, design solution discussions, conferences, seminars, and internal learning sessions.

Ideal Profile

• Bachelor's degree or Master's degree in Engineering is required.
• 15 to 20 years of oil and gas experience with a major contractor or consultant, mainly within detailed design environments.
• Strong expertise in materials engineering, metallurgy, coatings, corrosion control, material selection, and oil and gas engineering design.
• Detailed understanding of engineering design techniques, analysis methods, industry standards, codes, guidelines, and project execution practices.
• Proven ability to work independently on complex metallurgy and materials-related assignments.
• Previous experience leading metallurgy or materials engineering teams on large, complex, or multi-office execution projects.
• Strong knowledge of material selection reports, metallurgy specifications, corrosion diagrams, inspection planning, RBI studies, and vendor document review.
• Experience supporting refinery, petrochemical, offshore, subsea, fabrication, or related oil and gas facility projects.
• Good project coordination skills with the ability to manage scope, deliverables, schedule, interfaces, budgets, and manpower planning.
• Preferably registered as Engineer in Training or member of a relevant professional engineering society where applicable.
• Strong written and spoken English communication skills.
• HSE, TQM, and cost-conscious approach to engineering decisions.
• Ability to supervise senior engineers and engineers while maintaining technical accuracy, discipline integrity, and project priorities.
• Open to continuous development and capable of becoming a subject matter expert in one or more metallurgy or materials engineering topics.
• Flexible approach to reassignment across departments, construction sites, fabrication yards, project teams, and changing work demands.
• Able to support colleagues during peak workloads and adapt to new work methods, software applications, and project execution requirements.

Skills Set

• Materials engineering
• Coatings engineering
• Metallurgy
• Corrosion control
• Material selection
• FEED engineering
• Detailed design
• Conceptual design
• Oil and gas engineering
• Offshore installations
• Refinery units
• Petrochemical units
• Material selection reports
• Material selection diagrams
• Metallurgical specifications
• Corrosion diagrams
• Risk-based inspection
• Failure investigation
• Troubleshooting
• Vendor document review
• Technical bid evaluation
• Pre-inspection meetings
• Technical queries
• Design basis preparation
• Engineering philosophies
• Design reports
• Project specifications
• Codes and standards
• Fabrication interface
• Procurement interface
• Quality and certification coordination
• Project audits
• Design reviews
• Discipline leadership
• Engineering integrity
• Cost-conscious engineering
• Multi-office project execution

Why Join Us

This role offers a senior technical platform for a materials and coatings engineering specialist who wants to influence complex Oil and Energy projects from Dubai. The position provides exposure to large-scale offshore, petrochemical, refinery, subsea, fabrication, and energy infrastructure work where metallurgy decisions directly affect asset integrity, safety, reliability, and long-term project performance. It is a strong opportunity for an experienced engineer who enjoys deep technical problem solving, discipline leadership, client interaction, and high-value engineering execution.

About the Company

McDermott International, Ltd is a global engineering, procurement, construction, and installation company delivering major energy infrastructure projects across offshore, subsea, onshore, fabrication, and energy transition markets. With more than 100 years of experience, McDermott supports complex Oil and Energy developments through engineering excellence, technical innovation, project execution capability, and safety-focused delivery. Its Dubai operations play an important role in regional and international oil and gas projects, including materials engineering, fabrication support, offshore design, and integrated energy solutions.