Senior Drilling Engineer (or Staff)

Anschutz Exploration Corporation; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 170,000 - 205,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

401(k) with company match

Wellness program

Job summary

Anschutz Exploration Corporation is seeking a Senior Drilling Engineer to manage the well-delivery process, from design to post-operation review. The role oversees 1–3 drilling rigs with emphasis on safety, efficiency, and cost control, ensuring adherence to regulatory standards and company policies.

The candidate will lead wellbore design, mentor junior engineers, and collaborate across teams to optimize performance, logistics, and analytics in a dynamic field environment, with travel as needed.

Qualifications

• Degree in engineering/physics/mathematics required.
• 7+ years in drilling or related industry.
• Staff level requires 12+ years in related industry.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead wellbore design and casing selection.
• Oversee drilling design, planning, permitting, execution and post-review.
• Monitor performance, costs and schedule across 1–3 rigs.
• Ensure compliance with HSE policies and regulatory requirements.
• Mentor junior engineers and field personnel.
• Evaluate vendor performance and support contracts.
• Provide real-time operational support and troubleshooting.
• Develop standards and best practices for drilling engineering.

Skills

Well design

Hydraulics

Torque & drag

Directional drilling

Drilling analytics

Team mentoring

Software proficiency

Field operations

Education

BS in engineering/physics/mathematics

MS in engineering/physics (preferred)

Tools

Landmark Compass/Wellplan

WellEz/Wellview

Corva

Job description

Description

Role: The Senior Drilling Engineer is responsible for managing all aspects of the well-delivery process, including well design, planning, permitting, execution, and post-operation review. This role oversees the daily management of 1–3 drilling rigs with a strong focus on safety, operational efficiency, and cost control. The Senior Drilling Engineer is expected to minimize drilling days and reduce capital expenditures while ensuring the safe and effective execution of all drilling field activities.

Responsibilities:

• Reviews and approves designs and procedures for drilling new wells, including directional planning, casing selection, drilling mud, drillstring & BHA modeling & selection, and cement design, etc.
• Participates in all phases of the drilling operations to ensure accuracy, adherence to state and Federal requirements, and proper documentation.
• Monitors day-to-day drilling well performance and drilling costs.
• Promote and ensure compliance with HSE policies, procedures, and industry best practices.
• Ensures tracking and visibility to organization of performance vs offset /historical wells
• Lead/Supervise drilling field staff ensuring adherence to drilling program, proper daily reporting and data entry.
• Evaluate vendor performance and support contract optimization efforts.
• Assist the Asset Team to support planning/permitting needs
• Be accountable for Cost estimating and budgeting (AFE Generation and Review)
• Reviews post-analysis of drilling processes for benchmarking, and knowledge to improve the process for future wells.
• Ensure accurate tracking and reporting of capital costs (Field & Actual)
• Provide real-time operational support and technical troubleshooting for drilling events
• Interface with regulatory group to ensure proper drilling & post-drilling reporting

Staff Engineer Responsibilities:

• Lead wellbore design, particularly in areas with limited or no offset well data, including casing selection, casing setting depths, and load analysis.
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior and mid-level drilling engineers and field personnel.
• Champion initiatives that advance drilling analytics, enhance data collection, automate routine tasks and workflows, and apply technology to improve drilling efficiency and safety.
• Develop and maintain drilling engineering/operational standards & best practices documents.

Requirements

- BS and/or MS in strongly mathematical, engineering, or physics-oriented program

- 7+ years of related industry experience

o Staff level: 12 + years related industry experience

Skills:

• Experience with drilling engineering software (Landmark Compass/Wellplan, WellEz/Wellview, Corva)
• Strong understanding of hydraulics, torque & drag, and directional drilling analysis.
• Experience in fast paced unconventional Development Drilling Program
• Current and up to date software capability using office and collaborative applications
• Excellent written and spoken communication skill required.
• Ability to work alone under own initiative, or in close collaboration with geoscientists, production engineers, completions engineers and other reservoir engineers as part of a team.
• Ability to perform analysis, interpretation and problem solving at all levels of complexity with varying volumes of data.
• Ability to work in and travel to company asset areas (approximately 25%)
  • Will require significant time in the field in the onboarding process and to Project Manage

Why Join Anschutz Exploration?

At Anschutz Exploration, we’re driven by a shared commitment to company success over individual wins. We aim high, simplify where it counts, and focus on what matters — all while embracing transparency and continuous learning. If you’re someone who thrives in a collaborative, improvement-focused environment, we’d like to hear from you.

Benefits and Anticipated Compensation

This role is eligible for both short- and long-term incentive opportunities. AEC offers a benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, employer paid life and disability insurance coverage, a 401(k) plan with company match, and wellness support.

The starting rate for this position is expected to be between $170,000 to $205,000 ($200,000 plus for Staff level) based on experience, qualifications, and internal pay alignment. Final compensation may vary from this range depending on a variety of factors, including a candidate’s education, skills, prior experience, and evolving market conditions. This range represents Anschutz Exploration's good-faith estimate of the pay for this role at the time of posting.

Application Deadline

We anticipate starting to review applications after October 16, 2026 but applications will be accepted until finalists are identified.

Anschutz Exploration Corporation (AEC) is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity and comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws prohibiting discrimination in employment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.