Panel/Relief Operator

Cenovus Energy; Sunrise Beach; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid vacation

Health & dental benefits

Mental health coverage

Life insurance

Job summary

Cenovus Energy is seeking a Panel Relief Operator to support the SAGD operations team at Sunrise/AB sites. You will manage control-system performance, monitor KPIs, and rotate duties to keep procedures current while maintaining safe operations across the site.

The role requires extensive SAGD thermal oil experience, strong leadership, and the ability to coordinate with fluid dispatch, environmental, maintenance, and safety teams. A valid steam ticket is essential.

Qualifications

• Legally authorized to work in Canada.
• Minimum 3rd class steam ticket, 2nd Class preferred for acting Shift Engineer duties.
• 5+ years of SAGD Thermal Heavy Oil operations experience plus 4 area sign-offs.
• Relevant experience in cyclic steam or SAGD thermal recovery heavy oil operations would be an asset.

Responsibilities

• Manage operational upsets by using DCS trends to ensure process control is being maintained and optimized.
• Monitor Key Performance Indicators, identify areas of concern and perform troubleshooting and adjustments as required.
• Rotate positions to ensure that personnel are up to date with changes in process and procedures both within the plant and on the panel.
• Support the Coordinator/Shift Engineer with operational goals, identifying issues that require higher authority for resolution, and fill in as a delegate for the Coordinator as required.
• Collaborate in safety meetings, and update crews on safety topics and concerns ensuring the safe operation of all plant activities for assigned area.
• Complete and review e-Log entries, conduct handover meetings with outgoing Panel / Relief Operator.

Skills

Leadership

Coaching

Mentoring

DCS monitoring

Safety compliance

Problem solving

Shift coordination

Education

3rd class steam ticket

2nd class steam ticket

Tools

DCS systems

Job description

About this Opportunity

Reporting to the Operations Coordinator, the Panel Relief Operator provides support to the Operations team with the key function of managing control systems in the safe and reliable operations of a SAGD facility. This role will act as key point of contact for Fluid Dispatch, Chemical Suppliers, Environmental Team, Maintenance Department, Senior Operations Advisors, DCS Technicians and Safe Work Team. This role requires a demonstrated ability to prioritize tasks, strong leadership, coaching and mentoring of the team.

Worker Type: Employee

Job Post End Date: 10/09/2026

While this vacancy is currently at Sunrise this posting could be used to fill vacancies at any of the Oil Sands Operations sites (Christina Lake, Christina Lake North, Foster Creek, or Sunrise, based on business need).

Work Environment

• These are positions working a shift 8 & 6 or 7 & 7 pending on site location, 12 hours per day, rotating days/nights
• All Oil Sands Operations sites have full-service camp facilities and recreational amenities.

Transportation

• Depending on your place of residence and your shift rotation, bus and/or air transportation to/from site is offered from designated departure points in select locations.
• Foster Creek is serviced by flight Hubs in Calgary and Edmonton as well as bus transportation to site from La Corey, AB.
• Christina Lake, Christina Lake North and Sunrise have service flight Hubs in Calgary, Edmonton and Saskatoon. Bus transportation is also provided to these sites from La Corey and Lac La Biche, AB.

What you’ll do

• Manage operational upsets by using DCS trends to ensure process control is being maintained and optimized.
• Monitor Key Performance Indicators, identify areas of concern and perform troubleshooting and adjustments as required.
• Rotate positions to ensure that personnel are up to date with changes in process and procedures both within the plant and on the panel.
• Support the Coordinator/Shift Engineer with operational goals, identifying issues that require higher authority for resolution, and fill in as a delegate for the Coordinator as required.
• Collaborate in safety meetings, and update crews on safety topics and concerns ensuring the safe operation of all plant activities for assigned area.
• Complete and review e-Log entries, conduct handover meetings with outgoing Panel / Relief Operator.

Who you are

Our ideal candidate will have the following minimum requirements:

• Legally authorized to work in Canada
• Minimum 3rd class steam ticket, 2nd Class preferred for acting Shift Engineer duties.
• 5+ years of SAGD Thermal Heavy Oil operations experience plus 4 area sign-offs.
• Relevant experience in cyclic steam or SAGD thermal recovery heavy oil operations would be an asset.

We acknowledge the value of transferrable skills and may consider equivalent combinations of experience and education should you not meet a specific requirement.

As this position has been identified as safety sensitive, employment of a final candidate selected for this position will be conditional upon successful completion of required pre-employment medical and alcohol/drug assessments.

For this position you will be required to maintain a Class 5 driver's license, a satisfactory driving record, and adhere to the appropriate Company policies and guidelines. A driver’s abstract will be one of the background checks requested in the pre-employment screening for the final candidate.

Note: The application deadline for this position is 11:59 PM MT October 8, 2026.

Cenovus is committed to the ongoing development of our employees. This includes how we support internal moves across the company. To increase the level of transparency in our recruitment process, the compensation grade for this position is indicated in the sidebar. This allows you to assess whether the position is a lateral move, progression, promotion or self-initiated demotion based on your current grade. If your current position’s grade assignment is different to that of the advertised vacant position, your application will be assessed based on your qualifications, sustained job performance and demonstration of our organizational competencies and values.

Who we are

Ranked as one of Canada’s Best Employers in 2025, Cenovus is an integrated energy company headquartered in Calgary. We’re committed to maximizing value by developing our assets in a safe, responsible and cost-efficient manner. We operate in Canada, the United States and the Asia Pacific region. Our operations include oil sands projects in northern Alberta, thermal and conventional crude oil and natural gas projects across Western Canada, crude oil production offshore Newfoundland and Labrador and natural gas and liquids production offshore China and Indonesia. Cenovus’s downstream operations include upgrading, refining and marketing operations in Canada and the United States.

Find Cenovus on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

The Cenovus Experience

Total rewards

We’re committed to being an employer of choice through competitive compensation and our comprehensive total rewards package, including:

• Paid vacation (including a flex day program for eligible staff)
• Health & dental benefits
• Substantial mental health coverage
• Life insurance
• Disability benefits
• Employee family assistance
• Virtual healthcare coverage

Our development philosophy

We foster a culture of continuous learning and development to support employees as they build meaningful careers. We offer a variety of employee development initiatives, including:

• Internal course offerings
• Education assistance for additional development
• Opportunities to work on special projects
• Leadership development programs for emerging and established leaders

Our culture

• Our purpose: We energize the world to make people’s lives better.
• Our values:
  • Protect what matters
  • Do it right
  • Make it better
  • Do it together
• Cenovus Cares: We believe in the power of purpose-driven work. Our Employee Giving and Volunteering Program, Cenovus Cares, connects our people to our purpose, inspiring action and elevating impact year-round.
• Support causes you care about with volunteer opportunities in and outside of work.
• Earn donation grants while volunteering (up to $1,000 per event).
• Receive donation matching up to $10,000 annually.
• Staff resource groups: We have various staff resource groups to help ensure our people feel a sense of belonging and can grow and do their best work. These voluntary groups are employee-led and all groups are open to all staff in all locations.

Equal opportunity employer

We believe a workplace where everyone has merit-based opportunities to grow, achieve career aspirations and feel a sense of belonging benefits our people, our company and the regions where we live and work. We embrace and encourage different perspectives and approaches, which help us make better business decisions. We believe that through this approach, we can solve challenges, seize opportunities and unlock innovative solutions.

To achieve an unbiased and respectful workplace, individuals are evaluated based on qualifications, merit and abilities, and we encourage applications from all qualified candidates. We also acknowledge the value of transferrable skills and may consider equivalent combinations of experience and education should you not meet a specific requirement.

For more information about working at Cenovus, visit cenovus.com.

The requirements of this posting may be modified to support business needs. Title and compensation administration will be based on the skills and capabilities of the successful incumbent.