Senior Principal Structural Engineer - EPC

Mc Dermott; Dubai; On-site; AED 147,000 - 202,000; Full time

Job summary

McDermott International, Ltd in Dubai seeks a Senior Principal Structural Engineer to lead conceptual, FEED and detailed structural design for major EPC oil and energy projects.

The role demands directing discipline execution, coordinating interfaces across engineering teams, and ensuring compliance with codes, standards, and client requirements while mentoring engineers through complex challenges.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in engineering from a recognised institution.
• More than 20 years of oil and gas structural engineering experience.
• Proven ability to lead large EPC structural projects and mentoring.

Responsibilities

• Lead conceptual, FEED and detailed structural analyses and designs.
• Manage discipline execution for medium to large EPC projects.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary interfaces with other disciplines.
• Review engineering deliverables, documentation, and vendor data.
• Provide technical direction, mentoring, and resource planning.

Skills

Structural engineering

FEED engineering

Detailed structural design

Offshore structural engineering

Multidisciplinary interface management

Engineering mentoring

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Master's Degree in Engineering

Tools

Engineering software

Job description

Senior Principal Structural Engineer - EPC in Dubai, United Arab Emirates is a senior Oil and Energy opportunity for an accomplished structural engineering specialist with extensive experience delivering complex oil and gas projects. McDermott International, Ltd is hiring an engineering professional capable of leading conceptual, FEED, and detailed structural design while providing specialist technical direction across major EPC projects, offshore structures, fabrication requirements, and multidisciplinary engineering interfaces. The position combines advanced structural engineering expertise with discipline leadership, design assurance, resource planning, technical mentoring, and project execution responsibilities. It requires an engineer who can resolve nonstandard technical challenges, influence major engineering decisions, and guide large engineering teams through demanding project requirements.

Job Details Country: United Arab Emirates City: Dubai Industry: Oil and Energy Function: Civil & Structural Engineering Salary: 40000-55000 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 Senior Principal Structural Engineer provides high-level structural engineering leadership for technically demanding energy projects. Working across conceptual studies, FEED, detailed engineering, procurement, construction, and fabrication interfaces, the position helps ensure structural solutions satisfy project specifications, applicable codes, operational requirements, constructability, maintainability, schedule, and budget expectations. When assigned as Lead Engineer, the role takes ownership of discipline execution for medium to large EPC projects. This includes directing engineers and designers, controlling engineering deliverables and resources, coordinating multidisciplinary interfaces, managing technical changes, and representing the structural discipline with customers, certification bodies, contractors, vendors, and project leadership.

Key Responsibilities

• Perform and oversee conceptual, FEED, and detailed structural analyses and designs in accordance with project design bases, specifications, engineering standards, and applicable codes.
• Resolve highly complex structural engineering problems requiring specialist knowledge, engineering judgment, and innovative design solutions.
• Prepare and approve structural calculations, technical analyses, engineering reports, specifications, procedures, and project engineering guides.
• Lead structural engineering execution for medium and large EPC projects, maintaining control of scope, deliverables, schedules, engineering hours, resources, and technical quality.
• Direct senior engineers, engineers, and designers while coordinating workload and manpower requirements with discipline and project management.
• Conduct structural engineering checks, peer reviews, single-discipline verification, and inter-discipline design checks.
• Develop specialist analyses for complex structures, topsides, jackets, FPSOs, underground systems, architectural elements, and other project-specific structural requirements.
• Apply advanced engineering knowledge across steel and concrete structures, FEM, fatigue, seismic response, dynamic calculations, blast engineering, hydrodynamics, geotechnical considerations, and offshore structural systems as applicable.
• Work with international structural design standards and codes including EC, ACI, AISC, API, GOST, and other project-specific requirements.
• Assess designs for constructability, operational performance, maintainability, fabrication feasibility, and compliance with customer requirements.
• Prepare structural material take-offs, scopes of work, engineering specifications, subcontract documentation, and technical bid evaluations.
• Review vendor documentation and coordinate technical requirements with Procurement, subcontractors, suppliers, fabrication yards, and construction teams.
• Identify engineering interfaces early and obtain required design inputs from other disciplines.
• Maintain engineering progress and productivity, investigate deviations, and implement corrective actions where necessary.
• Support bid preparation using preliminary project information, sketches, engineering data, and previous project experience.
• Define structural engineering scopes for construction and fabrication-yard activities and provide engineering support during execution.
• Manage design subcontracts and monitor technical performance against agreed project requirements.
• Identify, document, and manage changes to engineering scope while assessing their schedule and resource implications.
• Assist the Project Manager with deliverable controls, project schedules, progress reporting, man-hour forecasts, and capital expenditure estimates.
• Coordinate closely with Project Engineering, Construction, Fabrication, HSE, Quality Control, Certification, Planning, Cost Control, Procurement, Document Control, subcontractors, vendors, and customers.
• Represent the structural discipline during project meetings and technical discussions with customers, auditors, certifying authorities, and third parties.
• Mentor and develop engineering personnel, transferring specialist knowledge and strengthening technical capability across the department.
• Support other McDermott offices and engineering locations when project workload or specialist requirements demand additional technical assistance.
• Promote HSE, quality management, cost awareness, technical consistency, and continuous improvement throughout engineering execution.

Ideal Profile

• Bachelor 's Degree or Master 's Degree in Engineering from a recognized institution.
• More than 20 years of oil and gas engineering experience with a major EPC contractor, engineering consultancy, or comparable organization.
• Extensive background in detailed structural design for major oil and gas or energy projects.
• Proven ability to perform at Senior Principal, Engineering Specialist, or Lead Engineer level on technically complex assignments.
• Strong experience managing structural engineering activities on medium to large EPC projects.
• Professional Engineer registration or membership of an appropriate professional engineering society is preferred.
• Seasoned knowledge of structural engineering codes, industry standards, project specifications, and design practices.
• Advanced understanding of offshore and onshore structural engineering, including complex steel and concrete structures.
• Practical knowledge of construction sites, fabrication yards, vendor interfaces, and customer engineering requirements.
• Experience supervising engineers and designers and reviewing engineering work prepared by others.
• Strong commercial awareness with an understanding of engineering hours, project costs, resource allocation, schedule performance, and scope management.
• Ability to operate independently while making technically sound decisions on complex engineering matters.
• Strong organizational, supervisory, mentoring, and technical leadership capabilities.
• Good command of written and spoken English for engineering documentation, customer discussions, and multidisciplinary coordination.
• Commitment to HSE, TQM, cost-conscious engineering, and continuous improvement.
• Flexibility to support projects, construction sites, fabrication yards, departments, and other McDermott offices when required.

Skills Set

• Structural engineering
• Oil and gas EPC engineering
• Conceptual engineering
• FEED engineering
• Detailed structural design
• Offshore structural engineering
• Topsides and jacket structures
• FPSO structural engineering
• Steel structure design
• Reinforced concrete design
• Finite element analysis
• Fatigue analysis
• Dynamic structural analysis
• Seismic and earthquake analysis
• Blast analysis
• Hydrodynamic analysis
• Geotechnical coordination
• Weight control and center of gravity studies
• ACI and AISC standards
• API design codes
• Eurocodes
• GOST standards
• Structural design verification
• Inter-discipline checks
• Material take-offs
• Engineering specifications
• Vendor data review
• Technical bid evaluation
• EPC project execution
• Engineering resource planning
• Design subcontract management
• Fabrication engineering support
• Constructability assessment
• Engineering software
• Multidisciplinary interface management
• Technical mentoring

Why Join Us

This position offers the opportunity to influence some of the most technically challenging structural engineering work within the global energy sector. Senior specialists can contribute across the full EPC lifecycle, from early engineering concepts and FEED studies through detailed design, fabrication, construction, and project delivery.

For an experienced structural engineer in Dubai, the role provides a platform to apply decades of technical knowledge while directing engineering teams, mentoring developing professionals, solving unusual structural challenges, and contributing to major energy infrastructure programs. Continued investment across conventional energy, offshore development, subsea infrastructure, and the energy transition creates sustained demand for this level of specialist EPC engineering expertise.

About the Company

McDermott International, Ltd is a global engineering and construction organization serving the energy industry across the project lifecycle. With more than a century of engineering experience and operations spanning numerous countries, McDermott delivers complex offshore, subsea, and onshore infrastructure while applying engineering, fabrication, construction, and technology expertise to evolving global energy requirements.