Principal Mechanical Engineer - EPC Projects

Mc Dermott; Dubai; On-site; AED 42,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Global project exposure

Career growth opportunities

Job summary

McDermott is looking for a Principal Mechanical Engineer for EPC Projects based in Dubai, UAE. This senior role focuses on providing mechanical engineering support across complex projects. Key responsibilities include resolving engineering issues, managing teams, and ensuring designs meet project requirements.

The ideal candidate must possess a strong background in mechanical engineering, with a focus on oil and gas projects, and the ability to deliver engineering solutions efficiently. Joining McDermott provides opportunities for leadership and involvement in challenging projects.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in mechanical engineering for oil and gas, offshore, onshore, fabrication, or major EPC projects.
• Strong background in conceptual engineering, FEED, detailed design, procurement, and commissioning assistance.

Responsibilities

• Perform conceptual studies and detailed mechanical engineering.
• Prepare accurate design calculations and technical analyses.
• Lead mechanical engineering teams on assigned project scopes.

Skills

Conceptual mechanical engineering

FEED engineering

Detailed EPC design

Mechanical equipment engineering

Technical mentoring

Education

Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Mechanical datasheets

Factory Acceptance Testing

Job description

Job Snapshot

Role: Principal Mechanical Engineer - EPC Projects
Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Industry: Oil and Energy
Function: Mechanical Engineering
Experience: Extensive mechanical engineering experience
Job Type: Full-time

Overview

Principal Mechanical Engineer - EPC Projects in Dubai, United Arab Emirates is a senior Oil and Energy opportunity for an experienced specialist in conceptual studies, FEED, detailed mechanical design, equipment procurement, fabrication support, and multidisciplinary project execution. McDermott International, Ltd is seeking a technical professional capable of resolving complex engineering issues, guiding mechanical teams, supporting customer decisions, and ensuring equipment and design deliverables meet project, safety, cost, and schedule requirements.

Job Details

Country: United Arab Emirates
City: Dubai
Industry: Oil and Energy
Function: Mechanical Engineering
Salary: 42000-60000 (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 Mechanical Engineer will provide specialist mechanical engineering support across complex EPC, offshore, onshore, fabrication, and energy infrastructure projects. The position requires independent judgment, advanced equipment knowledge, and the ability to convert project requirements into accurate calculations, specifications, datasheets, procurement packages, technical evaluations, and construction‑ready engineering solutions. The engineer may lead small or medium discipline teams and will coordinate closely with project management, procurement, vendors, designers, fabrication personnel, customers, and other engineering disciplines. When assigned as Lead Engineer, the role will control discipline scope, resources, budgets, schedules, deliverables, productivity, technical interfaces, and change management.

Key Responsibilities

• Perform conceptual studies, FEED activities, and detailed mechanical engineering in accordance with approved design bases, project specifications, engineering codes, and industry standards.
• Apply advanced technical knowledge to resolve complex and nonstandard mechanical engineering problems.
• Prepare accurate design calculations, technical analyses, engineering reports, procedures, and supporting documentation.
• Evaluate mechanical design alternatives for safety, reliability, maintainability, constructability, cost, and operational performance.
• Manage assigned priorities independently and complete work within approved project deadlines.
• Forecast discipline staffing and resource needs when assigned as Lead Engineer.
• Explain difficult technical concepts clearly and influence project decisions through sound engineering judgment.
• Direct small or medium mechanical engineering teams on assigned project scopes.
• Lead discipline design activities and ensure completion within approved schedules, budgets, procedures, and quality requirements.
• Plan engineering scope, deliverables, interfaces, workforce allocation, and execution priorities.
• Monitor discipline productivity and initiate corrective action where performance deviates from plan.
• Represent mechanical engineering during project meetings, customer reviews, audits, vendor discussions, and third‑party assessments.
• Review project scope, technical specifications, construction sequence, fabrication schedule, and interdisciplinary requirements.
• Identify technical concerns, missing data, schedule risks, and resource constraints at an early stage.
• Interpret contractual requirements as they relate to mechanical engineering execution.
• Identify scope changes and prepare supporting estimates, notifications, and variation order documentation.
• Coordinate with other disciplines to produce integrated, technically consistent, and clash‑free designs.
• Obtain required design inputs from process, piping, electrical, instrumentation, civil, structural, safety, and project engineering teams.
• Maintain close coordination with planning, project management, procurement, fabrication, construction, quality, and document control functions.
• Document communications that result in important technical decisions, commitments, or assigned actions.
• Prepare bid estimates, execution statements, technical query reviews, software requirements, and man‑hour forecasts.
• Raise technical queries to clarify scope, obtain missing information, and maintain compliance with company practices.
• Prepare, review, and approve mechanical design bases, philosophies, specifications, reports, and procedures.
• Finalize discipline deliverable registers and verify functional integrity and specification compliance.
• Attend project kickoff meetings, engineering reviews, vendor meetings, fabrication discussions, and site surveys.
• Provide technical direction to designers producing mechanical drawings and related project documentation.
• Supply accurate and timely mechanical inputs to dependent engineering disciplines.

Mechanical Equipment Engineering

• Prepare and review mechanical equipment specifications and datasheets.
• Develop and maintain mechanical equipment lists.
• Prepare spare parts lists, special tools lists, and lubrication schedules.
• Review mechanical handling philosophy reports and related handling equipment requisitions.
• Assess consultant‑prepared noise reports against project requirements.
• Review equipment arrangement, access, maintenance, lifting, removal, and replacement requirements.
• Incorporate vendor information into equipment lists, weight reports, electrical load lists, and piping and instrumentation diagrams.
• Provide equipment and package supplier information to piping design teams.
• Review mechanical systems for operability, maintainability, reliability, and installation suitability.
• Support engineering checks of equipment layouts, package interfaces, and service requirements.
• Verify that equipment selections meet design conditions, process duties, utility requirements, and project specifications.
• Support equipment inspection, testing, and technical acceptance activities.
• Participate in Factory Acceptance Testing for assigned mechanical equipment.
• Identify vendor support requirements for installation, pre‑commissioning, commissioning, and startup.

Procurement and Vendor Coordination

• Assist procurement personnel with sourcing mechanical equipment, materials, and specialist services.
• Prepare and review technical requisitions and procurement documentation.
• Evaluate vendor quotations and prepare technical clarification queries.
• Compile bid tabulations, technical recommendations, and purchase requisition inputs.
• Review vendor and subcontractor submissions for compliance with approved specifications.
• Coordinate with procurement teams to expedite drawings, calculations, certificates, and vendor documentation.
• Review final vendor and subcontractor data manuals to confirm that all required information has been received and approved.
• Resolve vendor deviations and technical exceptions in coordination with project stakeholders.
• Maintain communication with suppliers throughout engineering, manufacturing, testing, delivery, and installation phases.
• Coordinate discipline‑managed equipment and procurement activities when acting as Lead Engineer.

Engineering Assurance and Project Support

• Perform single‑discipline checks and support interdisciplinary design verification.
• Review and approve engineering documents, calculations, specifications, and drawings within assigned authority.
• Provide technical support for fabrication and construction queries.
• Assist with resolution of installation, alignment, testing, commissioning, and equipment performance issues.
• Participate in HAZOP meetings where mechanical engineering input is required.
• Take part in three‑dimensional model reviews to verify layout, access, safety, maintainability, and constructability.
• Conduct Technical Quality Audit reviews in accordance with approved global procedures.
• Support responses to customer, certification authority, auditor, and third‑party comments.
• Capture lessons learned and record them in approved company systems.
• Incorporate applicable lessons into engineering procedures, standards, guidelines, and work practices.
• Support maintenance and development of global mechanical engineering procedures, software, and standards.
• Participate in standards committees, technical groups, or departmental improvement activities where required.
• Monitor costs associated with assigned engineering activities and proposed technical solutions.
• Keep the Discipline Manager and project leadership informed of technical, cost, schedule, and workforce concerns.

Lead Engineer Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary mechanical discipline contact for project teams and customer representatives.
• Prepare discipline engineering budgets, execution plans, bids, forecasts, and staffing requirements.
• Assess project personnel needs based on workload, schedule, and individual engineering competencies.
• Assign tasks, responsibilities, deliverables, and man‑hour budgets to discipline team members.
• Verify that work is completed within approved budgets and project deadlines.
• Develop the discipline Level 4 deliverable schedule and register.
• Prepare forecasts covering progress, productivity, change management, schedule recovery, and corrective action.
• Provide discipline inputs for actual, planned, and forecast progress reports.
• Alert project management to scope deviations and potential change orders.
• Monitor progress measurement results and implement corrective measures where necessary.
• Coordinate with other Lead Engineers and Designers to secure required inputs on schedule.
• Review and approve requisitions, quotation evaluations, bid recommendations, and purchase documentation.
• Lead discipline participation in internal, customer, and third‑party audits and design reviews.
• Coordinate responses to comments on drawings, calculations, specifications, and other deliverables.
• Assist departmental management with quarterly forecasts and workforce planning.
• Anticipate future engineering needs and arrange appropriate technical resources.
• Support project team performance evaluations.
• Maintain responsibility for discipline technical integrity, schedule, cost, productivity, and engineering quality.

Team Development

• Guide less experienced engineers in mechanical procedures, standards, worksheets, calculations, software, requisitions, technical bid evaluations, and technical queries.
• Supervise assigned engineers and coordinate deliverables with Lead Designers.
• Identify training needs in specialist techniques, procedures, and proprietary software.
• Provide structured feedback on employee performance to the Discipline Manager.
• Assist with technical interviews and candidate assessments.
• Support the maintenance of departmental engineering guidelines.
• Develop technical communication and presentation capability through papers, seminars, design reviews, and knowledge‑sharing sessions.
• Encourage consistent use of approved practices, lessons learned, and engineering standards.
• Promote safe design, technical quality, cost awareness, and continual professional development.

Ideal Profile

• Bachelor's Degree or Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related discipline.
• Extensive experience in mechanical engineering for oil and gas, offshore, onshore, fabrication, or major EPC projects.
• Strong background in conceptual engineering, FEED, detailed design, procurement, fabrication support, and commissioning assistance.
• Advanced knowledge of mechanical equipment specifications, datasheets, design calculations, codes, and standards.
• Experience preparing equipment lists, spare parts schedules, special tools registers, and lubrication schedules.
• Proven ability to supervise engineers and designers on complex project scopes.
• Experience managing engineering deliverables, interfaces, schedules, budgets, resources, and productivity.
• Strong understanding of contractual requirements, scope changes, and variation order support.
• Experience with vendor document review, technical bid evaluation, requisitions, and procurement coordination.
• Ability to solve complex technical problems independently and communicate recommendations clearly.
• Practical understanding of fabrication, construction, equipment installation, inspection, and testing.
• Experience participating in HAZOP meetings, model reviews, quality audits, and Factory Acceptance Testing.
• Strong technical writing, presentation, negotiation, and stakeholder communication skills.
• Ability to mentor engineers and support departmental capability development.
• Professional Engineer registration or membership in a recognized engineering society is preferred.
• Strong commitment to HSE, engineering integrity, quality, cost control, and reliable project delivery.

Skills Set

• Conceptual mechanical engineering
• FEED engineering
• Detailed EPC design
• Mechanical equipment engineering
• Equipment specifications
• Mechanical datasheets
• Equipment requisitions
• Technical bid evaluation
• Vendor document review
• Factory Acceptance Testing
• Mechanical handling philosophy
• Spare parts planning
• Special tools planning
• Lubrication schedules
• Noise report review
• Equipment inspection
• Equipment testing
• Electrical load list coordination
• Piping and instrumentation diagram updates
• Weight report updates
• Fabrication support
• Construction engineering support
• Installation support
• Pre‑commissioning support
• Commissioning assistance
• HAZOP participation
• Three‑dimensional model review
• Technical quality auditing
• Scope change management
• Man‑hour forecasting
• Resource planning
• Progress measurement
• Multidisciplinary coordination
• Team supervision
• Technical mentoring

Why Join Us

This role offers substantial technical responsibility across complex mechanical engineering and EPC project activities. The Principal Mechanical Engineer will influence equipment selection, engineering strategy, procurement decisions, fabrication readiness, project performance, and multidisciplinary coordination. The position provides exposure to major offshore, subsea, onshore, and energy transition developments while offering opportunities to guide engineering teams, strengthen global procedures, and contribute to technically demanding equipment packages. It is suitable for an experienced specialist seeking broader leadership and project influence within an international engineering organization.

About the Company

McDermott International, Ltd provides engineering, procurement, construction, fabrication, installation, and technology solutions across the global energy value chain. Drawing on more than a century of project delivery experience, the company supports offshore, subsea, onshore, and energy transition developments through international teams focused on safety, engineering quality, innovation, and dependable execution.