Job description

Wood is currently looking for a Lead Operations Engineer to join its Operations & Maintenance team in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with travel required 50% of the time to the MEAC region. The role’s objective is to ensure the quality and integrity of all assigned projects and work scopes within established time, cost, and quality standards, emphasizing advanced operations and maintenance activities, including complex assembly, testing, troubleshooting, and quality assurance, using Wood’s O&M management procedures and best practices. The position supports clients and complex upstream and midstream oil and gas operations, with context highlighting Wood’s long-standing operations footprint in Iraq, delivering maintenance, modifications and engineering solutions to support energy security and decarbonisation ambitions, including commitments to decarbonising existing assets, producing cleaner energy, and developing a sustainable national workforce and local talent. The role requires delivering O&M and contractor-related outputs, supervising small projects or specific disciplines on larger projects, leading health, safety, and environmental compliance to minimize risks and ensure adherence to regulations, executing work to meet quality standards and project specifications, and managing and controlling project cost and schedule performance. It also involves interpreting functional specifications, resolving technical issues and operational challenges, monitoring maintenance quality and adherence to safety procedures, planning short-term activities for work continuity (including shift schedules, job priorities, material availability, and preventive inspections), collaborating with other plant functions for integrated support, recommending improvements in equipment, processes, or methods, and exercising judgment in prioritizing breakdown repairs and critical tasks. The role additionally supports and manages business development pursuits through technical input for proposals, bid strategies, and client engagement. Required technical systems and controls include CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management Systems) and OMS (Operations Management Systems) for planning, scheduling, reporting, and performance monitoring, and strong knowledge and application of Control of Work (CoW) processes, including Permit-to-Work systems and safe isolation practices. Middle East experience is strongly preferred, and the role includes training and developing local talent and continuous professional development alignment, while operating within Wood’s global consulting and engineering environment supporting energy and materials markets across 60 countries.