Project Development Engineer

Danos; Texas; On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Danos is seeking a Project Development Engineer to serve as the front-end integrator for green and brownfield upstream locations, facilities, and infrastructure. You will translate business objectives and technical inputs into clear, execution-ready scopes, coordinating with multiple functions to ensure safe, efficient project execution.

In this role, you will lead early planning, develop pre-Gate 3 technical bases, and mentor junior staff, while ensuring strong communication and alignment

Qualifications

• BS degree in Engineering or related technical field.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate and comment on discipline engineering work performed both internally and by Contractors and sub-contractors to ensure that work is being executed in accordance with Company specifications, company standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Facilitates effective execution of discipline engineering and design routines that align with the team's goals, objectives, and procedures.
• Assures accurate and timely communication among the team and other company Functions on discipline engineering activities, progress, and issues.
• In addition to technical ability, they should demonstrate sound communication, facilitation, and interpersonal skills.
• Participates in area Risk Assessment, HAZOP's, Hazard Hunts, Critical Operating Parameter Reviews.
• Lead incident investigations (downtime, process safety related).
• Support Opportunity management-identification of opportunities and development of scope of work for projects.
• Risk assessments on new facility projects, existing facilities and closure of mitigating action items.
• Lead performance testing and plant-based trials.
• Operating guideline development for facilities.
• Coaching and mentoring of fellow and junior colleagues.
• Lead early planning and scoping for well pads, tank batteries, well pad facilities, flowlines, and related infrastructure from inception through design basis readiness.
• Translate business objectives, operational needs, and technical inputs into clear, aligned, execution-ready scopes.
• Support business unit development planning milestones including decision quality assurance reviews (Roadmaps) and drill unit reviews (DUR) ensuring smooth transition into project execution.
• Serve as the front-end integrator across Business Unit, Global Operations (GO), Wells (D&C), Project Execution, Central Engineering, Surface Land, Regulatory, Project Controls, and Supply Chain.
• Build trusted partnerships and align stakeholders early to reduce rework, clarify handoffs, and improve decision quality.
• Frame tradeoffs & options for stakeholders when scope, schedule, cost, risk, and stakeholder expectations are in tension.
• Develop & evaluate infrastructure options to support capital-efficient, value-focused project recommendations for development scenarios to inform subsurface decisions.
• Partner with business, reservoir, operations, and project controls teams to support informed scoping and investment decisions.
• Develop and steward pre-Gate 3 technical basis, project layouts, site requirements, permitting strategies, planning assumptions, and standard design alignment.
• Coordinate early input for regulatory, land, permitting, constructability, equipment demand, inventory forecasting, and execution planning.
• Provide stewardship and coordination to enable smooth project handoff into execution.
• Contribute to a collaborative team culture built on clarity, ownership, constructive challenge, and trusted partnership.
• Identify process gaps, interface issues, and rework drivers across the front-end development process.
• Support development of tools, workflows, and standards that improve scope quality, consistency, and execution readiness.
• The Project Development Engineer works across a broad set of stakeholders, including: Subsurface / Development Planning, Global Operations, Surface Land / Regulatory, Integrated Operations Planning & Scheduling (IOPS), Wells (Drilling / Completions), Project Execution, Central Engineering, Project Controls, Procurement / Supply Chain.

Skills

Strong communication

Stakeholder management

Education

BS degree in Engineering or related technical studies

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Overview

The Project Development Engineer serves as the front-end integrator for green & brownfield upstream unconventional well locations, facilities, and infrastructure by translating business objectives, operational needs, and technical inputs into clear, aligned, execution-ready scopes. This role builds trusted partnerships across stakeholders and helps shape projects that deliver safe, efficient, and value-focused execution.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate and comment on discipline engineering work performed both internally and by Contractors and sub-contractors to ensure that work is being executed in accordance with Company specifications, company standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Facilitates effective execution of discipline engineering and design routines that align with the team's goals, objectives, and procedures.
• Assures accurate and timely communication among the team and other company Functions on discipline engineering activities, progress, and issues.
• In addition to technical ability, they should demonstrate sound communication, facilitation, and interpersonal skills.
• Participates in area Risk Assessment, HAZOP's, Hazard Hunts, Critical Operating Parameter Reviews.
• Lead incident investigations (downtime, process safety related).
• Support Opportunity management-identification of opportunities and development of scope of work for projects.
• Risk assessments on new facility projects, existing facilities and closure of mitigating action items.
• Lead performance testing and plant-based trials.
• Operating guideline development for facilities.
• Coaching and mentoring of fellow and junior colleagues.

Front-End Project Development and Scope Definition

• Lead early planning and scoping for well pads, tank batteries, well pad facilities, flowlines, and related infrastructure from inception through design basis readiness.
• Translate business objectives, operational needs, and technical inputs into clear, aligned, execution-ready scopes.
• Support business unit development planning milestones including decision quality assurance reviews (Roadmaps) and drill unit reviews (DUR) ensuring smooth transition into project execution.

Lead Integrator Across Stakeholders

• Serve as the front-end integrator across Business Unit, Global Operations (GO), Wells (D&C), Project Execution, Central Engineering, Surface Land, Regulatory, Project Controls, and Supply Chain.
• Build trusted partnerships and align stakeholders early to reduce rework, clarify handoffs, and improve decision quality.
• Frame tradeoffs & options for stakeholders when scope, schedule, cost, risk, and stakeholder expectations are in tension.

Value Creation and Decision Quality

• Develop & evaluate infrastructure options to support capital-efficient, value-focused project recommendations for development scenarios to inform subsurface decisions.
• Partner with business, reservoir, operations, and project controls teams to support informed scoping and investment decisions.

Technical Basis, Planning, and Execution Readiness

• Develop and steward pre-Gate 3 technical basis, project layouts, site requirements, permitting strategies, planning assumptions, and standard design alignment.
• Coordinate early input for regulatory, land, permitting, constructability, equipment demand, inventory forecasting, and execution planning.
• Provide stewardship and coordination to enable smooth project handoff into execution.

Continuous Improvement and Team Effectiveness

• Contribute to a collaborative team culture built on clarity, ownership, constructive challenge, and trusted partnership.
• Identify process gaps, interface issues, and rework drivers across the front-end development process.
• Support development of tools, workflows, and standards that improve scope quality, consistency, and execution readiness.

Key Relationships / Interfaces

The Project Development Engineer works across a broad set of stakeholders, including:

• Subsurface / Development Planning:Development concepts/priorities, well sequencing, resource plans, and economics
• Global Operations:Facility operational requirements, constraints, operability, and maintenance considerations
• Surface Land / Regulatory:Site planning, permitting strategy, access, constraints, and regulatory readiness
• Integrated Operations Planning & Scheduling (IOPS):Drilling & Completions well timing, planning task milestone compliance
• Wells (Drilling / Completions):Well planning interfaces, development timing, pad / facility coordination, and execution sequencing
• Project Execution:Handoff readiness, constructability, execution planning, schedule assumptions, and scope clarity
• Central Engineering:Standard design verification, technical basis support, and engineering guidance
• Project Controls:Cost, schedule, and capital efficiency support
• Procurement / Supply Chain:Equipment demand/planning and inventory requirements

What Success Looks Like

• Be recognized as a trusted front-end integrator across the organization.
• Develop clear, aligned scopes that reduce downstream rework and improve execution readiness.
• Create stakeholder alignment before projects move into execution.
• Help the business make better development decisions through option evaluation, capital efficiency, and value-based tradeoffs.
• Bring clarity to ambiguous problems and help move the team from uncertainty to executable plans.

Qualifications

• Must have a BS degree in Engineering or related technical studies
• Prior experience in Project Development, Execution and Planning activities (upstream unconventional is preferred)
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.5
• Proficient in Microsoft Office programs
• Must meet conditional job offer requirements