Ice Road Specialist

The Hawk Group; Anchorage (AK); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

The Hawk Group is seeking an Ice Road Construction Specialist to lead planning, evaluation, and execution oversight of ice roads and ice bridges for an Arctic exploration drilling campaign. You will assess access strategies, route options, costs, risks, and logistics dependencies while supervising field execution for safe, timely, and cost-effective delivery of winter access infrastructure.

You will report to the Drilling Project Manager and coordinate with Logistics, HSE, Permitting, Camps, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Construction Management, or related discipline (or equivalent field experience).
• 7+ years of ice road and ice bridge construction experience, preferably in Arctic or North Slope environments.
• Demonstrated experience evaluating tundra travel vs. ice road construction strategies.
• Strong safety leadership and field presence.

Responsibilities

• Route Planning: Analyze ice road routes, river crossings, ice bridges, and staging areas.
• Strategy Evaluation: Compare tundra travel vs ice road construction based on environment, cost, risk, and schedule.
• Execution Philosophy: Define access plans aligned with drilling, logistics, and permitting.
• Equipment Stranding: Coordinate pre-positioning of equipment to facilitate river crossings.
• Risk Mitigation: Develop contingency plans for freeze-up timing and ice thickness.
• Design & Safety: Plan ice bridges considering load cases, HSE standards, and construction methods.
• Operational Monitoring: Track ice conditions, load limits, and seasonal constraints.
• Progress Tracking: Monitor daily construction productivity, weather, ice growth, and quality.
• Site Inspections: Conduct site visits, audits, and safety inspections.
• HSE Leadership: Provide field safety leadership and address unsafe conditions immediately.
• Variance Management: Track progress and costs; address overruns or schedule deviations.
• Reporting & Optimization: Provide risk/forecast reports and optimize resource allocation.
• Dynamic Response: Identify risks and adjust routes or sequencing as needed.
• Field Advisory: Support field decision-making with practical solutions.
• Contractor Alignment: Oversee contractors to ensure safety and quality.
• Internal Coordination: Manage interfaces with Logistics, Drilling, HSE, Permitting, Camps, and SCM.
• Data Management: Maintain logs, cost summaries, risk registers, and audit records.
• Continuous Improvement: Capture lessons learned for future winter planning.
• Regulatory & Safety: Support permitting, regulatory discussions, and winter emergency response.
• Workshops: Participate in readiness reviews and future phase strategy development.

Skills

Safety leadership

Field presence

Risk identification

Decision making

Problem solving

Communication

Education

Bachelors degree in engineering/Construction Mgmt

Tools

MS Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)

Job description

The Ice Road Construction Specialist is responsible for the planning, evaluation, and execution oversight of ice roads and ice bridge infrastructure required to support the client exploration drilling campaign. The role leads to the assessment of access strategies, including tundra travel versus ice road construction, evaluates routing options, costs, risks, and logistics dependencies, and supervises field execution to ensure safe, timely, and cost-effective delivery of winter access infrastructure. Reports to Drilling Project Manager.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Route Planning: Analyze ice road routes, river crossings, ice bridges, and staging areas.
• Strategy Evaluation: Compare tundra travel vs. ice road construction based on environment, cost, risk, and schedule.
• Execution Philosophy: Define access plans aligned with drilling, logistics, and permitting.
• Equipment Stranding: Assess and coordinate early pre-positioning of equipment to facilitate river crossings.
• Risk Mitigation: Develop contingency plans for unpredictable freeze-up timing and ice thickness.
• Design & Safety: Plan ice bridges considering load cases, HSE standards, and construction methods.
• Operational Monitoring: Track ice conditions, load limits, and seasonal constraints throughout the campaign.
• Progress Tracking: Monitor daily construction productivity, weather, ice growth, and structural quality.
• Site Inspections: Conduct regular site visits, technical audits, and safety inspections.
• HSE Leadership: Provide visible field safety leadership and resolve unsafe conditions immediately.
• Variance Management: Establish progress and cost tracking; identify and elevate overruns or schedule deviations.
• Reporting & Optimization: Provide timely risk/forecast impact reports and optimize resource allocation.
• Dynamic Response: Identify risks (weather, river conditions, contractor issues) and execute alternate routes or sequencing changes.
• Field Advisory: Support dynamic field decision-making with practical, experience‑based solutions.
• Contractor Alignment: Oversee contractors/subcontractors to ensure scope, safety, and quality compliance.
• Internal Coordination: Manage interfaces across Logistics, Drilling, HSE, Permitting, Camps, and SCM.
• Data Management: Maintain construction logs, cost summaries, risk registers, and audit records.
• Continuous Improvement: Lead post‑season "lessons learned" to optimize future winter planning.
• Regulatory & Safety: Support access permitting, regulatory discussions, and winter emergency response.
• Workshops: Participate in project readiness reviews and future phase strategy development.

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Education/Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Construction Management, or related discipline (or equivalent field experience).
• Prior experience supporting exploration, drilling campaigns, or the North Slope of Alaska
• Seven (7+) or more years of experience in ice road and ice bridge construction, preferably in Arctic or North Slope environments.
• Demonstrated experience evaluating tundra travel vs. ice road construction strategies
• General experience with MS Office including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
• Strong safety leadership and field presence.
• Proactive risk identification and mitigation.
• Decisive, practical problem‑solving under changing conditions.

SCHEDULE/LOCATION

• Office Based - Anchorage, Alaska
• Standard Office: M-F, 5x8s or 9x80s
• During Winter Season – Rotational schedule may include 3 weeks on/3 weeks off, including travel
• May have extended on‑site presence aligned with construction progress and critical path activities.
• Frequent travel to field sites within during fall preparation and winter construction.
• Ability to work in extreme weather conditions.