Senior Principal Riser Engineer

McDermott International, Ltd; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 170,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

McDermott International, Ltd in Houston is seeking a Senior Principal Riser Engineer to tackle complex riser challenges, guide multidisciplinary teams, and influence project direction. The role requires deep technical expertise and the ability to ensure compliant, safe, and efficient offshore designs.

Responsibilities include FEED, detailed design, risk analyses, and ensuring integration with planning, fabrication and project management.

Qualifications

• 20+ years of experience in oil and gas offshore facilities.
• Bachelor’s degree in Civil, Structural or Mechanical Engineering (Master’s preferred).
• Strong knowledge of riser engineering processes, standards (API, DNV, ISO, ASME).
• Up-to-date with industry trends in deep-water riser technology.
• EIT certification or professional engineering society membership preferred.

Responsibilities

• Perform conceptual FEED, studies, and detailed design on complex tasks.
• Lead discipline engineering design and coordinate interfaces across teams.
• Prepare design calculations, reports, and procedures with accuracy.
• Direct small/medium engineering teams as Lead Engineer when required.
• Attend project reviews, audits, and vendor meetings to ensure compliance.

Skills

Riser engineering

Offshore experience

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Civil/Structural/Mechanical Engineering

Master’s degree preferred

Registered Engineer in Training (EIT) or professional society

Tools

Riser engineering tools

Job description

Job Overview

The Senior Principal Riser Engineer is tasked with solving unique and complex problems that broadly impact the business. They must proactively identify and solve the most complex problems that impact the Management and direction of the business. The Senior Principal Riser Engineer is considered a specialist in the field of Riser, and they offer a broad base of knowledge about the Engineering Function. The Senior Principal Riser Engineer impacts the direction and resource allocation of programs and projects in their discipline and works within general functional policies and industry guidelines. The Senior Principal Riser Engineer role requires conceptual and innovative thinking to develop creative solutions to Riser challenges.

Job Description

Job Overview

The Senior Principal Riser Engineer is tasked with solving unique and complex problems that broadly impact the business. They must proactively identify and solve the most complex problems that impact the Management and direction of the business. The Senior Principal Riser Engineer is considered a specialist in the field of Riser, and they offer a broad base of knowledge about the Engineering Function. The Senior Principal Riser Engineer impacts the direction and resource allocation of programs and projects in their discipline and works within general functional policies and industry guidelines. The Senior Principal Riser Engineer role requires conceptual and innovative thinking to develop creative solutions to Riser challenges.

Responsibilities

Key Tasks and Responsibilities

• Perform conceptual FEED, Studies, and detailed design engineering, analysis, and calculations on more complex and demanding engineering tasks
• Apply knowledge and skills to complete varied assignments
• Prepare clear and accurate detailed design calculations and analyses, including design reports and procedures
• Prioritize and organize own work to meet deadlines
• Focus on completing work within budgets
• Clearly communicate and explain information in straightforward engineering activities
• Focused on health and safety policies and procedures
• When acting as Lead Engineer, in addition:
  • Direct small or medium Mechanical Engineering team as a Lead Engineer
  • Lead the Discipline engineering design of the assigned work area and complete it within the planned schedule and budget, in accordance with standards, MDR, and project-specific procedures and to a high professional standard
  • Plan, organize, and direct all aspects of Discipline execution on the assigned project including scope, deliverables, schedule, and all manpower resources - agree on allocations with the Discipline Manager
  • Ensure interfaces and deliverables are clearly identified
  • Maintain responsibility for progress and productivity, identifying any required corrective action
• Act as project representative for the Discipline during meetings with the Project Team, Customer discipline lead, and relevant agencies such as certifying authorities, auditors, third parties, etc.
• Be fully familiar with the project scope of work, specifications, schedule, and all inter-discipline requirements; including identifying concerns as early as practicable and taking appropriate initiatives to address the issues
• Identify changes to scope and promptly raise change notifications, including providing any necessary supporting documentation and estimates
• Provide similar support for Variation Orders
• Interface with other departments to obtain input for Discipline designs and drawings
• Maintain close coordination with other engineering disciplines, Planning, Fabrication, and Project Management Team, as required
• Document substantive communications (communications that result in significant decisions or assignment of actions) and forward copies to the Discipline Lead Engineer and Discipline Manager
• Assist in the preparation of estimates for bid proposals, including technical query reviews, execution statements, and manhour estimates
• Raise technical queries to obtain missing information, clarify work scope, and maintain preferred McDermott procedures, specifications, standards, practices, and operational requirements
• Prepare Discipline engineering design basis, philosophies, and technical specifications, as required
• Participate in finalizing deliverables lists and deliverables, ensuring compliance with specifications and functional integrity
• Attend project review meetings, vendor meetings, engineering meetings, and offshore site surveys, as required
• Provide technical direction and review of Designers producing products related to Instrumentation & Controls Engineering
• Prepare and review design reports and procedures
• Assist in providing necessary design inputs to other disciplines to enable them to proceed with their deliverables
• Assist procurement personnel in procuring Discipline equipment, materials, and services; ensuring that work produced complies with Customer objectives and procedures, including preparing and reviewing requisitions, evaluating technical quotations and preparing queries, compiling bid tabulations and recommendations, preparing purchase requisitions, and coordinating with Procurement to expedite vendor documents, as directed by the Discipline Lead Engineer
• Assist in updating weight report based on receipt of vendor information
• Check engineering performed by others within the Discipline
• Review vendor and subcontractor submittals, checking for compliance with project specifications and providing comments as necessary
• Perform design verification through single-discipline check / inter-discipline check (IDC)
• Provide technical support to all fabrication queries, including identifying defect/rectification requirements
• Keep the Lead Engineer apprised of all activities and concerns, technical, budgetary, and manpower related
• Assist in providing inputs for actual, planning, and forecasting progress reports including associated productivity
• Check final subcontractor and vendor data manuals to ensure that all requested data has been received and approved
• Participate in internal, Customer, and third-party technical audits on engineering deliverables and vendor documents
• Assist Project Engineering Managers with responses to Customer and other agencies (such as certifying authorities, auditors, third parties, etc.) on their review and approval
• Capture lessons learned and enter into MDR's Lessons Learned system
• Act as а resource for colleagues with less experience
• Guide less experienced engineers on MDR and Discipline procedures, standards, worksheets, design calculations, software, requisitions, technical bid evaluations, technical queries, etc.
• Be aware of costs related to own work and of the discipline
• Provide engineering support as required
• Assists in the preparation of subcontract documents
• Keep the Lead Engineer apprised of all activities, progress, and concerns
• Develop an awareness of costs related to own work
• Develop a basic understanding of MDR’s business and the customers it serves
• Develop basic knowledge of MDR’s business units and interactions including engineering, fabrication, and marine functions
• Develop advanced skills in the use of standard productivity tools such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Participate in Riser design review and verifications
• Build riser analysis models and check models created by others for analysis such as under supervision such as:
  • Fatigue Analysis
  • Strength Analysis
  • Installation Analysis
  • Clashing Analysis
  • Platform design calculation and analysis and check engineering performed by others such as:
    • Wall thickness design
    • Component design
    • Configuration design
• Participate in riser design reviews and approval (lead engineer) of in-house third-party drawings
• When acting as a Lead engineer, in addition:
  • Act as project-based discipline point of contact in communication and meetings with customer
  • Assist the Discipline Manager in the preparation of annual forecast and manpower planning
  • Prepare bids and the project’s discipline budget and execution plan
  • Identify project staffing requirements
  • Plan, organize, and assign tasks to team members
  • Ensure tasks are completed within budget
  • Plan discipline level 4/5 detail schedule
  • Alert the project team of any deviation from the scope/change order
  • Assist the Discipline manager in the Performance Evaluation of team members

Reports to

Project: Lead Engineer, Project Engineering Manager or Project Manager

Function: Sr Manager (Sub Sea Engineering)

Liaise With: All engineering disciplines, Fabrication Group, safety Department, offshore group, document controls, Procurement team, sub-contracts, vendors, and client

Supervises: Senior riser engineers, Engineers, Associate/Trainee riser engineers and designers

Qualifications

Essential Qualifications and Education

• 20+ years of experience in oil and gas preferably in offshore facilities
• Bachelor's Degree in Civil / Structural / Mechanical Engineering (Master’s is a preference)
• Strong working knowledge of many design techniques and analysis methods
• Has very good working knowledge of riser engineering process and tools
• Understand the scope and contents of API, DNV, ISO, ASME, and other standards applicable to riser engineering
• Has kept up to date with industry trends, especially in the area of deep water riser technology
• Preferably Registered Engineer in Training (EIT) or member of a professional engineering society

About Us

Our ingenuity fuels daily life. Together, we’ve forged some of the most trusted partnerships across the energy value chain to make what was once just an idea a reality: laying subsea infrastructure thousands of feet below sea level, installing platforms hundreds of miles from shore, using our expertise to design and build offshore wind infrastructure, and reshaping the onshore landscape to deliver the energy products the world needs safely and sustainably.

For more than 100 years, we’ve been making the impossible possible. Today, we’re driving the energy transition with more than 30,000 of the brightest minds across 54 countries.