PRINCIPAL PIPELINE ENGINEER

Position Description

The Principal Pipeline Engineer handles medium, large and complex projects. He/she has wide latitude of technical authority with full work responsibilities, as well as limited administrative responsibilities, over a group of Pipeline Engineers and Designers. He/she may assign and review work of lower‑level personnel and may also function as the Lead Pipeline Engineer, responsible for all discipline technical and scheduling matters pertaining to the assigned project. Work is periodically reviewed by the Chief Pipeline Engineer for accomplishment of objectives.

Essential Functions

• Function as the Lead Pipeline Engineer on smaller to mid‑size projects.
• Responsible for oversight of pipeline‑related engineering work products (calculations, design, specifications, etc.).
• Good understanding of oil and gas pipeline design practices, project planning and cost‑control requirements, and procurement procedures.
• Experience with detailed design of gas or liquids pipelines; experience with both is preferred.
• Provide technical leadership to lower‑level engineers.
• Prepare engineering training materials.
• Serve as interface between engineering teams, management, and clients.
• Ensure all engineering work complies with applicable regulations, codes, and Gulf procedures.
• Independently prepare or review discipline project specifications.
• Review the discipline scope of work to confirm alignment with project specifications or proposal documents.
• Provide quality‑control checks on pipeline engineering documents.
• Independently perform routing, ROW, and workspace selection; conduct studies on construction techniques and economic feasibility.
• Coordinate with field and third‑party (environmental, geotechnical, survey) personnel.
• Familiar with permitting requirements for pipeline design and construction.

Pipeline Engineering Department Functions

The Pipeline Engineering group provides design‑engineering services covering equipment and piping system design, calculations, studies/plans, site layouts, and standards/specifications. The team develops optimal systems based on performance, space constraints, reliability, maintainability, flexibility, and cost.

Key Calculations

• Wall thickness calculations
• API 1102 calculations for highway and railroad crossings
• HDD design calculations
• Roping calculations or minimum bending radius
• Wheel load calculation
• Hydrotest calculations
• Buoyancy calculation
• Reinforcement calculation
• Maximum allowable span length
• Field bending calculations

Studies and Plans

• Hydrotest plan
• Class location study
• HCA (Hazardous Condition Area) study
• Stress analysis
• HDD design

Site Layouts and Plot Plans

• Access roads
• Storage yards – location, size, and arrangement of major pipeline equipment (launchers, receivers, MLVs)

Typical Tasks

• Routing
• ROW selection (permanent and temporary)
• Workspace selection
• FERC filing process
• Class location study
• MLV spacing for gas pipelines
• MLV spacing for liquid pipelines
• MLV location for gas/liquid pipelines
• MLV design
• Launcher/receiver design
• Material requisitions
• Water‑source selection
• Alignment sheet review
• HCA study – gas
• Flood map analysis
• Crossings design
• Hazard‑area crossing mitigations (faults and mining)
• Road crossing permits
• Waterbody crossing permits
• Plats preparation

Standards & Specifications

• Line specification
• Launcher/receiver barrel specification
• 3R Ells specification
• High‑yield fittings specification
• Internal coating specification
• External coating specification
• Construction drawings – launcher/receiver drawings, alignment sheets
• Permit drawings – road, railroad, wetland, and waterbody plats
• Hydrotest plan drawings
• HDD design drawings

Requirements & Qualifications

• Typically 8+ years of experience in pipeline engineering, pipeline operations, or pipeline construction.
• Familiarity with all relevant codes and regulations.
• Knowledge of computer systems used in an engineering environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Bachelor of Science in Engineering.
• PE certification preferred.

Competencies

• Results oriented
• Customer focused
• Focused on accuracy and quality of work

Work Environment & Physical Demands

Normal office environment with frequent sitting and computer use. Ability to use body members to move or carry objects or office materials and to exert up to 10 pounds of force occasionally. Physical demands are consistent with sedentary work.