Principal Specialist, Exploration & Project Development & Engineering Data Domain

Ma'aden Gold and Base Metals (MGBM); Saudi Arabia; On-site; SAR 300,000 - 520,000; Full time

Job summary

Ma'aden Gold and Base Metals (MGBM) in Saudi Arabia seeks a Principal Specialist, Exploration & PDE Data Domain to steward subsurface, geological, geophysical, drilling, and reservoir data assets. You will shape strategy, govern data quality, and enable trusted data for analytics and AI initiatives.

You will lead cross-functional data initiatives, partner with business and technology teams, and promote best practices to enhance data maturity and value realization across the enterprise.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Geoscience, Petroleum Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• 10–15 years of relevant experience in exploration, subsurface, PDE data, or digital transformation.
• Experience in data governance, data domains, master data, or enterprise data management.
• Experience leading cross-functional data initiatives in large energy or industrial organizations.

Responsibilities

• Shape and execute the Exploration & PDE data domain strategy aligned with enterprise objectives.
• Establish a scalable data domain framework to improve accessibility and value.
• Drive prioritization of data initiatives supporting exploration and resource development.
• Strengthen governance practices ensuring data integrity and regulatory compliance.
• Lead data product development that enables operational decision making.
• Provide technical leadership across geology, geophysics, drilling, and reservoir data.
• Foster collaboration between business functions and digital teams.

Skills

Exploration Data Management

Data Governance

Stakeholder Engagement

Data Architecture

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

1. Why This Role Matters

The Principal Specialist, Exploration & PDE Data Domain shapes the strategic management, governance, and value realization of Exploration and Petroleum Development & Evaluation (PDE) data assets across the organization. The role ensures that critical subsurface, geological, geophysical, drilling, reservoir, and related technical data are trusted, accessible, secure, and aligned with business priorities.

The role creates business value by enabling data-driven decision making, improving data quality and consistency, accelerating digital initiatives, and maximizing the return on data investments. Through strong domain stewardship and collaboration with business and technology stakeholders, the role strengthens operational performance, supports innovation, and enhances organizational data maturity.

The position plays a key role in establishing data domain capabilities that drive exploration success, improve resource evaluation outcomes, reduce information risk, and enable advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation initiatives across the enterprise.

2. What You Will Deliver

Data Domain Strategy & Enablement

• Shape and execute the Exploration & PDE data domain strategy aligned with enterprise data and digital objectives.
• Establish a scalable data domain framework that improves data accessibility, usability, and business value.
• Drive prioritization of data initiatives that support exploration, evaluation, and resource development objectives.

Data Governance & Quality

• Strengthen governance practices that ensure data integrity, consistency, ownership, and regulatory compliance.
• Deliver measurable improvements in data quality through standards, controls, and stewardship processes.
• Govern critical data assets across their lifecycle to improve reliability and reduce operational risk.

Data Products & Value Realization

• Lead the development and enhancement of data products that enable operational and strategic decision making.
• Increase adoption of trusted data assets across technical and business functions.
• Translate business requirements into scalable data solutions that generate measurable business outcomes.

Technical Leadership

• Provide expert guidance on exploration, geological, geophysical, drilling, reservoir, and subsurface data management practices.
• Influence enterprise data architecture decisions to improve interoperability and domain integration.
• Promote industry-leading practices, technologies, and methodologies across the data ecosystem.

Stakeholder Management & Collaboration

• Build strong partnerships between business functions, digital teams, and external partners to align priorities and outcomes.
• Facilitate effective decision making through clear data ownership, accountability, and governance structures.
• Strengthen collaboration across domains to improve enterprise-wide data consistency and effectiveness.

Innovation & Continuous Improvement

• Accelerate the adoption of advanced analytics, automation, AI, and digital capabilities through high-quality domain data.
• Identify opportunities to optimize processes, reduce manual effort, and improve data lifecycle efficiency.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement and data-driven performance.

3. What Success Looks Like

• Improved data quality, consistency, and trust across Exploration and PDE data assets.
• Increased utilization of data products for operational and strategic decision making.
• Enhanced compliance with data governance standards, policies, and regulatory requirements.
• Reduced data-related risk and improved data lifecycle management effectiveness.
• Faster delivery of digital, analytics, and AI initiatives enabled by trusted domain data.
• Strong stakeholder satisfaction and clear ownership of critical business data assets.

4. Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Geoscience, Petroleum Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Management, or a related discipline.

5. Experience

• 10–15 years of relevant experience in exploration, subsurface, petroleum development, data management, or digital transformation environments.
• Demonstrated experience in data governance, data domains, master data, or enterprise data management frameworks.
• Experience leading cross-functional data initiatives and delivering business-focused data solutions.
• Experience working within large-scale energy, mining, natural resources, or industrial organizations.

6. Skills That Matter

Functional Expertise

• Exploration and Subsurface Data Management
• Petroleum Development & Evaluation Data
• Data Governance and Stewardship
• Data Architecture and Data Modeling
• Data Quality Management
• Data Products and Data Lifecycle Management
• Business & Delivery

Strategic Planning

• Digital Transformation
• Data Product Delivery
• Business Value Realization
• Risk Management
• Performance Improvement

People & Collaboration

• Stakeholder Engagement
• Influencing and Negotiation
• Cross-Functional Leadership
• Communication and Presentation
• Change Management
• Collaboration and Relationship Building