Principal Instrumentation & Controls Eng

McDermott International, Ltd; Chennai; On-site; INR 3,500,000 - 5,200,000; Full time

Job summary

McDermott International, Ltd. in Chennai, India seeks a Principal Instrumentation & Controls Engineer to lead I&C design for FEED to detailed design on major oil & gas projects. You will apply deep I&C knowledge, manage resources, and ensure technical and schedule compliance.

The role requires directing medium to large engineering teams, coordinating with project stakeholders, and upholding McDermott standards and procedures. Strong leadership and communication are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical, or Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering; Master’s degree preferred.
• 15–20 years of oil and gas experience with major contractors or consultants.
• Registered Professional Engineer or member of a professional engineering society; strong standards knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Interpret and apply design basis, codes, and standards for Instrumentation & Controls projects.
• Lead discipline engineering design, planning resources, and budget adherence.
• Prepare design calculations, analyses, and technical reports with clear documentation.
• Coordinate interfaces across disciplines and with procurement and project teams.
• Review vendor data, submittals, and FATs to ensure compliance with project specs.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Teamwork

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical/Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering

Master’s Degree (preferred)

Tools

PE Registration

Job description

Job Overview

The Principal Instrumentation & Controls Eng is responsible for interpreting internal or external business issues and recommending best practices. They will be tasked with solving complex Instrumentation & Controls-related problems and will work independently with minimal guidance. The Principal Instrumentation & Controls Eng may be responsible for leading functional teams or projects and is regarded as a specialist in the field of Instrumentation & Controls. As such, they must have in-depth expertise in Instrumentation & Controls as well as broad knowledge of the Instrumentation & Controls discipline within the Engineering function.

Responsibilities

Key Task and Responsibilities

• Perform conceptual, FEED, and detailed analyses and design as per design basis, project specifications, design codes, and standards
• Apply in-depth skills and broad knowledge of the business to address complex problems and nonstandard situations
• Prepare clear and accurate detailed design calculations and analyses including design reports and - procedures
• Manage own time to meet objectives and (as Lead Engineer) forecast and plan resource requirements
• Clearly communicate and explain difficult concepts and persuade others to adopt a point of view
• When acting as Lead Engineer, in addition:
• Direct medium or large Engineering team as a Lead Engineer
• Lead the Discipline engineering design of the assigned work area and completed within the planned schedule and budget, in accordance with standards, MDR, and project-specific procedures and to a high professional standard
• Plan, organize, and direct all aspects of Discipline execution on the assigned project including scope, deliverables, schedule, and all manpower resources - agree allocations with the Discipline Manager
• Ensure interfaces and deliverables are clearly identified
• Maintain responsibility for progress and productivity, identifying any required corrective action
• Act as project representative for the Discipline during meetings with the Project Team, Customer discipline lead, and relevant agencies such as certifying authorities, auditors, third parties, etc
• Become fully familiar with the project scope of work, specifications, schedule, and all inter-discipline requirements, including identifying concerns as early as practicable and taking appropriate initiatives to address the issues
• Interpret contractual requirements as they relate to engineering execution
• Identify changes to scope and promptly raise change notifications, including providing any necessary supporting documentation and estimates
• Provide similar support for Variation Orders
• Interface with all disciplines to develop clash-free designs
• Interface with other departments to obtain input for Discipline designs and drawings
• Maintain close coordination with other engineering disciplines, Planning, Fabrication, Marine, and Project Management teams, as required
• Document substantive communications (communications that result in significant decisions or assignment of actions) and forward copies to the Discipline Lead Engineer and Discipline Manager
• Prepare estimates for bid proposals, including technical query reviews, execution statements, and manhour estimates, identifying software requirements and any other project-specific requirements
• Raise technical queries to obtain missing information, clarify work scope, and maintain preferred McDermott procedures, specifications, standards, practices, and operational requirements
• Prepare, review, and (as Lead Engineer) approve Discipline engineering design basis, philosophies, and technical specifications
• Participate in finalizing deliverables lists and deliverables, ensuring compliance with specifications and functional integrity
• Review project schedule and fabrication schedule about construction sequence, milestones, and engineering scope
• Attend project kickoff and review meetings, vendor meetings, engineering meetings, and offshore site surveys, as required
• Provide technical direction and review of Designers producing products related to Instrumentation and Controls Engineering
• Prepare, review, and (as Lead Engineer) approve design reports and procedures
• Assist in providing necessary design inputs to other disciplines to enable them to proceed with their deliverables
• Assist procurement personnel in procuring Discipline equipment, materials, and services; ensuring that work produced complies with Customer objectives and procedures; procurement assistance includes preparing, reviewing, and (as Lead Engineer) approving requisitions, evaluating technical quotations, preparing queries, compiling bid tabulations and recommendations, preparing purchase requisitions, and coordinating with Procurement to expedite vendor documents, as directed by the Discipline Lead Engineer
• Assist in updating weight reports based on receipt of vendor information
• Review and (as Lead Engineer) approve vendor and subcontractor submittals, checking for compliance with project specifications and providing comments as necessary
• Review and (as Lead Engineer) approve design verification through single-discipline check / inter-discipline check (IDC)
• Provide technical support to fabrication queries, including identifying defect/rectification requirements
• Keep the Discipline Manager and Project Management Team apprised of all activities and concerns, technical, budgetary, and manpower related
• Assist in providing inputs for actual, planning, and forecasting progress reports including associated productivity
• Check final subcontractor and vendor data manuals to ensure that all requested data has been received and approved
• Present issues and problems to Customers in а timely manner and assist the Lead Engineer in negotiating resolution by project and company requirement
• Perform (as required) Technical Quality Audit reviews by MDR Global Procedures
• Assist Lead Engineer with responses to Customers and other agencies (such as certifying authorities, auditors, third parties, etc.) on their review and approval
• Capture lessons learned and entered them into MDR's Lessons Learned system
• Guide less experienced engineers on MDR and Discipline procedures, standards, worksheets, design calculations, software, requisitions, technical bid evaluations, technical queries, etc.
• Supervise and guide assigned engineers and coordinate with project Lead Designers for Discipline engineering and design deliverables
• Responsible for the engineering integrity of the assigned work area
• Monitor costs of own work processes
• Assist in the maintenance of departmental technical guidelines and standard calculation notes
• Participate in the development and maintenance of Global Procedures, Software, and Standards
• May participate in standards development committees or task groups such as API
• Develop communication and presentation skills (e.g., write technical papers, participate in conferences and/or seminars, present design solutions, and/or present topics at "lunch and learns"; etc.)
• Identify and provide training to staff in specific techniques and proprietary software
• Provide information on employee performance to the Discipline Manager
• Assist the Discipline manager in interviewing job applicants
• Prepare, review, and (as Lead Engineer) approve automation system definition, including philosophy, specifications, safety drawings, and system architecture
• Prepare, review, and (as Lead Engineer) approve ESD logic (as applicable) / cause & effect diagrams and F&G logic (as applicable) / cause & effect diagrams
• Review and (as Lead Engineer) approve specifications and data sheets for Instrumentation & Controls equipment
• Review and (as Lead Engineer) approve I&C equipment spare parts lists
• Review and (as Lead Engineer) approve inputs to P&ID development and markups based on receipt of vendor information
• Review and (as Lead Engineer) approve I&C equipment testing procedures
• Attend I&C equipment FATs, as required
• Participate in HAZOP, SIL, and Classification Studies, as required
• Assist in closing out HAZOP action items
• Provide construction, pre-commissioning, and commissioning support, as required
• Participate in automation testing, as required
• When acting as Lead Engineer, in addition:
• Act as project-based Discipline point of contact in communications and meetings with Customer counterparts
• Ensure substantive communications are documented
• Prepare bids and project Discipline engineering budget and execution plans, updating as required
• Identify project staff needs based on knowledge of individual engineer's skill sets and provide requests to the Discipline manager
• Plan, organize, and assign tasks, responsibilities, and manhour budgets to the discipline team, and verify tasks are completed within budgets
• Plan Discipline Level 4 detail deliverable schedule/ register compliant with the overall execution plan
• Prepare working forecasts identifying change management plans, corrective action, and real-time schedules
• Provide Discipline inputs for actual, planning, and forecasting progress reports including associated productivity
• Alert the project team of any deviation from the scope or а need for a change order
• Monitor КРI measurement results and take corrective action as necessary to improve Discipline performance, including performance at interfaces with others
• Coordinate with other Discipline Lead Engineers and Designers to ensure timely receipt of necessary design inputs
• Review and approve requisitions, technical quotation evaluations and queries, compiled bid tabulations and recommendations, and purchase requisitions; and coordinate with Procurement to expedite vendor documents as required
• Lead the Discipline team during project audits (internal, Customer, and third-party technical audits) and Design Reviews
• Review comments from Customers & other agencies on documents and drawings produced by the team, and resolve and give guidance on their update and incorporation
• Assist the Discipline manager in the preparation of quarterly forecasts and manpower planning
• Anticipate project engineering needs and plan accordingly
• Coordinate with vendor for discipline-managed/procured items
• Assist the Discipline manager and Project Engineering Manager or Project Manager in the Performance Evaluation of project team members

Reports to

Project: Lead Engineer, Project Engineering Manager, or Project Manage

Functional: Supervising Engineer or Engineering Manager

Liaise to: AII Engineering disciplines, Fabrication Group, Safety Department, Offshore Group, Project Management Team, Document Control, Project Planner, Project Cost Controller, QC, and Certification Group, Procurement Group, Subcontractors and Vendors, and Customers

Supervises: Senior Instrumentation and Controls Engineers and Instrumentation and Controls Engineers

Qualifications

Essential Qualification and Education

• Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical, or Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering(Master’s Degree is preferred)
• 15-20 years of experience in oil and gas with major contractors or consultants predominantly performing detail design
• Preferably Registered Professional Engineer or member of a professional engineering society
• Detailed knowledge of design techniques and analysis methods, and detailed knowledge of the theory, content, and application of standards, codes, and guidelines as applicable
• Knowledgeable in project coordination and execution skills

About Us

Our ingenuity fuels daily life. Together, we’ve forged some of the most trusted partnerships across the energy value chain to make what was once just an idea a reality: laying subsea infrastructure thousands of feet below sea level, installing platforms hundreds of miles from shore, using our expertise to design and build offshore wind infrastructure, and reshaping the onshore landscape to deliver the energy products the world needs safely and sustainably. For more than 100 years, we've been making the impossible possible. Today, we're driving the energy transition with more than 30,000 of the brightest minds across 54 countries.