Principal Mechanical Engineer (Rotating Equipment)

Role Overview

Principal Mechanical Engineer (Rotating Equipment) at McDermott. This role is based at a McDermott office location, with potential for reassignment to other McDermott offices.

Role Purpose

The Principal Mechanical Engineer is responsible for interpreting internal and external business issues, recommending best practices, and solving complex mechanical engineering problems independently with minimal guidance. The role is regarded as a specialist in mechanical engineering with in-depth expertise and broad knowledge of the mechanical discipline within the engineering function. The Principal Mechanical Engineer may lead functional teams or projects.

Key Responsibilities

Design and Analysis

• Perform conceptual, FEED, and detailed analyses and design according to design basis, project specifications, design codes, and standards.
• Prepare clear and accurate detailed design calculations, analyses, design reports, and procedures.
• Apply in-depth skills and broad knowledge of the business to address complex problems and nonstandard situations.
• Provide technical direction and review of designers producing mechanical engineering-related products.

Engineering Leadership (When Acting as Lead Engineer)

• Direct small or medium mechanical engineering teams as Lead Engineer.
• Lead the discipline engineering design of assigned work areas, ensuring completion within planned schedule and budget in accordance with standards, MDR, and project-specific procedures to a high professional standard.
• Plan, organize, and direct all aspects of discipline execution on assigned projects, including scope, deliverables, schedule, and workforce resources, with allocations agreed upon with the Discipline Manager.
• Ensure interfaces and deliverables are clearly identified.
• Maintain responsibility for progress and productivity, identifying any required corrective action.
• Identify project staff needs based on knowledge of individual engineers' skill sets and provide requests to the Discipline Manager.
• Plan, organize, and assign tasks, responsibilities, and manhour budgets to the discipline team, verifying tasks are completed within budgets.
• Plan discipline-level detailed deliverable schedules and registers compliant with the overall execution plan.
• Prepare working forecasts identifying change management plans, corrective action, and real-time schedule.
• Monitor progress measurement results and take corrective action as necessary to improve discipline performance, including performance at interfaces with others.
• Assist the Discipline Manager in preparation of quarterly forecasts and workforce planning.
• Lead the discipline team during project audits (internal, customer, and third-party technical audits) and design reviews.
• Assist the Discipline Manager and Project Engineering Manager or Project Manager in the performance evaluation of project team members.

Project and Stakeholder Management

• Act as project representative for the discipline during meetings with the Project Team, Customer discipline lead, and relevant agencies such as certifying authorities, auditors, and third parties.
• Become fully familiar with the project scope of work, specifications, schedule, and all inter-discipline requirements, identifying concerns as early as practicable and taking appropriate initiatives to address issues.
• Clearly communicate and explain difficult concepts and persuade others to adopt a point of view.
• Manage own time to meet objectives and forecast and plan resource requirements.
• Maintain close coordination with other engineering disciplines, Planning, and Project Management Team as required.
• Interface with all disciplines to develop clash-free designs.
• Interface with other departments to obtain input for discipline designs and drawings.
• Coordinate with other discipline lead engineers and designers to ensure timely receipt of necessary design inputs.
• Act as project-based discipline point of contact in communications and meetings with customer counterparts.
• Attend project kickoff and review meetings, vendor meetings, engineering meetings, and site surveys as required.
• Keep the Discipline Manager and Project Management Team apprised of all activities and concerns, technical, budgetary, and workforce-related.
• Present issues and problems to customers in a timely manner and assist the lead engineer in negotiating resolutions in accordance with project and company requirements.

Scope and Contract Management

• Interpret contractual requirements as they relate to engineering execution.
• Identify changes to scope and promptly raise change notifications, including providing necessary supporting documentation and estimates.
• Provide similar support for variation orders.
• Document substantive communications (communications that result in significant decisions or assignment of actions) and forward copies to the Discipline Lead Engineer and Discipline Manager.
• Ensure substantive communications are documented.
• Alert the project team of any deviation from scope or a need for a change order.

Design Basis, Specifications, and Standards

• Prepare, review, and (as Lead Engineer) approve discipline engineering design basis, philosophies, and technical specifications.
• Raise technical queries to obtain missing information, clarify work scope, and maintain preferred McDermott procedures, specifications, standards, practices, and operational requirements.
• Participate in finalizing deliverables lists and deliverables, ensuring compliance with specifications and functional integrity.
• Assist in providing necessary design inputs to other disciplines to enable them to proceed with their deliverables.

Bidding and Estimation

• Prepare estimates for bid proposals, including technical query reviews, execution statements, and manhour estimates, identifying software requirements and any other project-specific requirements.
• Prepare the bid's and project's discipline engineering budget and execution plans, updating as required.

Equipment, Materials, and Procurement

• Assist procurement personnel in procuring discipline equipment, materials, and services, ensuring that work produced complies with customer objectives and procedures.
• Provide procurement assistance, including preparing, reviewing, and (as Lead Engineer) approving requisitions, evaluating technical quotations, preparing queries, compiling bid tabulations and recommendations, preparing purchase requisitions, and coordinating with procurement to expedite vendor documents as directed by Discipline Lead Engineer.
• Review and (as Lead Engineer) approve vendor and subcontractor submittals, checking for compliance with project specifications and providing comments as necessary.
• Check/prepare and (as Lead Engineer) approve mechanical equipment list, spare parts list, and special tools list.
• Assist in updating weight report based on receipt of vendor information.
• Check final subcontractor and vendor data manuals to ensure that all requested data has been received and approved.
• Coordinate with vendors for discipline-managed or procured items.

Documentation, Drawings, and Deliverables

• Check/prepare and (as Lead Engineer) approve mechanical equipment list, spare parts list, and special tools list.
• Check/prepare/participate in approval of detailed engineering documents and deliverables such as mechanical equipment specifications and datasheets, mechanical handling philosophy report and associated requisitioning for handling equipment, noise report prepared by a consultant to ensure it complies with project requirements, and lubrication schedule and spare parts schedule.
• Review and (as Lead Engineer) approve design verification through single-discipline check and inter-discipline check (IDC).
• Review and (as Lead Engineer) approve design reports and procedures.
• Update electrical load list, P&IDs, and equipment lists based on receipt of vendor information.
• Review project schedule and fabrication schedule in relation to construction sequence, milestones, and engineering scope.

Quality, Compliance, and Audits

• Perform (as required) Technical Quality Audit reviews in accordance with MDR Global Procedures.
• Assist Lead Engineer with responses to customers and other agencies (such as certifying authorities, auditors, and third parties) on their review and approval.
• Assist in providing inputs for actual, planning, and forecasting progress reports, including associated productivity.
• Provide discipline inputs for actual, planning, and forecasting progress reports, including associated productivity.

Vendor and Subcontractor Management

• Provide technical support to fabrication queries.
• Assist with equipment inspection and testing.
• Participate in factory acceptance testing of various items as assigned.
• Identify vendor assistance for installation, pre-commissioning, and commissioning purposes.

Technical Meetings and Reviews

• Participate in HAZOP meetings as necessary.
• Participate in 3D model reviews as necessary.
• Provide inputs to piping design, including package and equipment supplier data.
• Review comments from customers and other agencies on documents and drawings produced by the team, and resolve and give guidance on their update and incorporation.

Knowledge and Staff Development

• Capture lessons learned and enter into MDR's lessons learned system.
• Guide less experienced engineers on MDR and discipline procedures, standards, worksheets, design calculations, software, requisitions, technical bid evaluations, technical queries, and more.
• Supervise and guide assigned engineers and coordinate with project lead designers for discipline engineering and design deliverables.
• Identify and provide training to staff in specific techniques and proprietary software.
• Provide information on employee performance to the Discipline Manager.
• Assist the Discipline Manager in interviewing job applicants.
• Develop communication and presentation skills through writing technical papers, participating in conferences and seminars, and presenting design solutions.

Process and Continuous Improvement

• Monitor costs of own work processes.
• Assist in the maintenance of departmental technical guidelines.
• Participate in the development and maintenance of global procedures, software, and standards.
• May participate in standards development committees or task groups.

Qualifications &