Head of System Design Engineering – Offshore

SBM Offshore; Poeldijk; On-site; EUR 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

SBM Offshore is seeking a seasoned Engineering Department Manager – System Design to lead a multidisciplinary organization of roughly 230 professionals, guiding six Discipline Managers to deliver safe, high‑quality, integrated system designs for offshore energy projects.

The role drives workforce planning, talent development, and continuous improvement, ensures governance and compliance, and collaborates across locations to align engineering objectives with the company’s strategic goals.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering.
• Minimum 15 years of experience in engineering within the Oil & Gas or similar complex project-based industries.
• Minimum 8 years of leadership experience managing large multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Experience leading managers and senior engineering professionals.
• Proven track record in resource planning, organizational development, and talent management within an engineering environment.
• Experience in large-scale capital projects and complex stakeholder environments.
• Experience driving organizational change, process improvement, and engineering transformation initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the System Design Department, consisting of approximately 230 professionals through a team of 6 Discipline Managers.
• Provide leadership, coaching, and direction to Discipline Managers, ensuring alignment with business objectives and consistent leadership practices across the department.
• Ensure effective integration and collaboration between engineering disciplines to deliver optimized system designs.
• Own workforce planning, resource allocation, capability development, recruitment, succession planning, and organizational growth strategies for the department.
• Balance project delivery needs with long-term capability building and resource optimization across multiple projects.
• Oversee engineering quality, technical governance, and compliance with company standards, industry regulations, and customer requirements.
• Drive continuous improvement of engineering processes, digital tools, methods, and ways of working to enhance efficiency and quality.
• Assess and manage outsourcing and subcontracting strategies to support project execution while maintaining quality and technical integrity.
• Champion talent development, employee engagement, diversity, inclusion, and the creation of a high-performing engineering culture.
• Monitor departmental performance through KPIs, workforce metrics, quality indicators, and resource utilization data.
• Contribute to the strategic direction of the Engineering function as a member of the Engineering leadership team.

Skills

Leadership experience

Resource planning

Systems engineering

Stakeholder management

Talent development

Education

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering

Job description

SBM Offshore is seeking a seasoned Engineering Department Manager – System Design to lead a multidisciplinary organization of roughly 230 professionals, guiding six Discipline Managers to deliver safe, high‑quality, integrated system designs for offshore energy projects.

The role drives workforce planning, talent development, and continuous improvement, ensures governance and compliance, and collaborates across locations to align engineering objectives with the company’s strategic goals.