I&E Engineering Team Lead
Primary PurposeProvide leadership, governance, and strategic direction for the Instrumentation and Electrical engineering disciplines. Accountable for the long-term reliability, integrity, compliance, and performance of critical assets supporting LNG production, this position ensures the development and execution of engineering strategies that reduce business risk, improve asset availability, optimize lifecycle costs, and strengthen operational excellence.
The I&E Engineering Team Lead leads a team of engineering professionals responsible for asset strategy development, reliability improvement, technical assurance, technology lifecycle management, and regulatory compliance. This role serves as the primary technical authority for electrical power systems and instrumentation and partners closely with Operations, Maintenance, Reliability, Projects, Process Safety, IT/OT, Supply Chain, and external stakeholders to achieve business objectives.
The position establishes engineering priorities, develops organizational capability, ensures technical excellence, and drives measurable improvements in safety, production reliability, equipment availability, and cost performance throughout the asset lifecycle. Ownership extends beyond discipline of execution to delivering sustained business results through engineering leadership and effective risk management.
Position Requirements: This position is in Hackberry; LA. Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) is required. Employees' primary residence must be located within a one-hour drive of the Hackberry plant site.
Responsibilities/Duties:- Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing I&E engineering team, including succession planning, technical mentoring, competency development, and workload balancing.
- Own and continuously improve instrumentation and electrical system asset strategies throughout the equipment lifecycle.
- Drive risk-based reliability improvements for critical I&E assets through performance analysis, bad actor elimination, root cause analysis, and disciplined corrective action management.
- Provide technical governance for engineering standards, designs, modifications, repairs, and deviations to ensure safe, reliable, and compliant solutions.
- Establish and manage meaningful KPIs for asset health, equipment reliability, strategy effectiveness, obsolescence risk, work quality, and maintenance cost optimization.
- Partner with Operations, Maintenance, Reliability, Projects, Process Safety, IT/OT, Supply Chain, and contractors to protect asset integrity and deliver business objectives.
- Provide strategic leadership for technology modernization, system obsolescence management, electrical infrastructure reliability, and technical risk reduction to ensure long-term asset sustainability and operational excellence.
- Provide engineering leadership for major outages, turnarounds, critical equipment failures, and business continuity events to minimize business risk, improve asset availability, and ensure disciplined execution.
- Champion risk-based asset management and reliability methodologies that improve plant performance, optimize lifecycle costs, and reduce total cost of ownership.
- Provide technical and managerial leadership for the Instrument and Electrical Engineering Team.
- Lead, coach, and develop employees toward I&E system safety, reliability, technical excellence, and business performance goals.
- Provide day-to-day technical guidance and support to Operations and Maintenance.
- Define clear team priorities, decision rights, deliverables, and service expectations; review progress, remove barriers, and communicate risk to stakeholders.
- Develop and maintain long-range reliability, modernization, and obsolescence management plans for instrumentation and electrical.
- Establish engineering priorities aligned with business objectives, reliability goals, regulatory requirements, and operational risk.
- Own implementation and continuous improvement of tools used to evaluate, prioritize, and manage departmental assignments.
- Maintain effective relationships with the local utility company, including routine communication and long-range planning to improve power-supply reliability.
- Lead I&E Engineering support for turnarounds and major outages, including inspection and repair recommendations, work-scope development, technical risk management, and execution support.
- Lead response to I&E equipment reliability issues identified through bad actor reviews, performance data, operating threats, and critical equipment events.
- Serve as the technical authority for electrical power distribution systems, process instrumentation, and applicable regulatory requirements.
- Ensure electrical system studies and documentation remain current, including short-circuit, protective-device coordination, arc-flash, load-flow, grounding, and motor-starting analyses, as applicable.
- Provide leadership for instrumentation reliability, including control valves, analyzers, transmitters, and lifecycle and obsolescence planning.
- Evaluate emerging technologies and industry practices to improve reliability, reduce risk, and enhance operational performance.
- Ensure effective management of technical risk through Management of Change, equipment criticality, reliability engineering principles, and sound engineering judgment.
- Ensure compliance with Electrical Safe Work Practices and all regulatory and site standards applicable to I&E disciplines.
- Lead or participate as a subject matter expert in incident investigations and root cause analyses of equipment failures; ensure practical recommendations and disciplined corrective-action closure.
- Develop annual budgets and multi-year forecasts; identify opportunities to optimize lifecycle cost and total cost of ownership.
- Manage contracted engineering services required to support I&E activities and business priorities.
- Establish, monitor, and report meaningful monthly KPIs for asset health, equipment reliability, work quality, strategy effectiveness, obsolescence risk, and cost performance.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on equipment availability, maintenance effectiveness, technical quality, and lifecycle cost optimization.
- Perform managerial and administrative duties, including staffing coverage, time-off approvals, performance management, and employee development.
- Develop and maintain relationships with industry peers, suppliers, engineering consultants, contractors, and utility providers to support long-term business objectives.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
QualificationsEducation- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering required.
Experience- Minimum of ten (10) years of industrial Electrical Engineering experience, with responsibilities in maintenance and engineering within LNG, petrochemical, refining, power generation, energy, natural gas, petroleum, or another heavy industrial environment.
- Minimum of three (3) years of personnel supervision or demonstrated leadership experience managing engineering professionals and technical programs.
- Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary instrument and electrical engineering work in an operating process facility.
- Experience developing and executing asset reliability strategies for critical instrumentation and electrical systems.
- Experience leading engineering support during turnarounds, major outages, capital projects, and critical equipment events.
- Experience in technology lifecycle management, system modernization, and obsolescence risk mitigation.
- Experience developing, maintaining, and analyzing electrical models using ETAP or similar software, including arc-flash, coordination, and load-flow studies.
- Experience with the design or maintenance of low-, medium-, and high-voltage power distribution systems rated 34.5 kV and below.
- Working knowledge of applicable industry and government standards, including NEC, IEEE, NFPA, NEMA, and API.
- Experience applying Management of Change, Process Safety Management, equipment criticality, lifecycle management, and risk-based prioritization.
- Working knowledge of SAP preferred.
- Professional Engineer license or equivalent professional registration preferred.
Skills / Knowledge / Abilities- Strong communication, leadership, organizational, contractor-management, and budget-management capabilities.
- In-depth knowledge of electrical equipment, including switchgear, transformers, motors, and associated design, installation, operation, and maintenance practices.
- Familiarity with instrumentation engineering design and maintenance, including control valves, analyzers, transmitters, and control and safeguarding systems.
- Strong technical-management, project-management, decision-making, and problem-solving capabilities, with the ability to analyze data and implement effective solutions.
- In-depth knowledge of engineering, maintenance, reliability, and asset-management practices used in the energy, natural gas, petroleum, or process industries.
- Ability to organize, plan, control, coordinate, and manage cross-functional assignments and projects.
- Proficiency with common business software used to prepare quantitative and written reports, spreadsheets, presentations, and management communications.
- Ability to communicate fluently in English.
- Ability to maintain confidential information and address personnel matters with fairness, consistency, and sound judgment.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities accurately and on time in a high-pressure operating environment.
- Self-starter who can think strategically, work with minimal direction, and follow through on commitments and deadlines.
- Ability to remain calm and effective during emergencies and act with an appropriate sense of urgency.
- Demonstrates high ethical standards, honesty, truthfulness, and integrity.
- Ability to build effective, mutually respectful working relationships across a culturally diverse workforce, management team, contractors, vendors, suppliers, and technical disciplines.
Physical Requirements- The incumbent is expected to perform duties that involve standing, walking, climbing, sitting, kneeling, twisting, bending, pulling, pushing, carrying, lifting, reaching overhead, and driving.
- Ability to sit or stand for extended periods and to read and type using a computer for extended periods.
- Must be able to enter confined spaces, tanks, or vessels and climb stairs and ladders to heights of approximately 200 feet.
- Must be able to lift up to 20 pounds.
- Must be able to wear required safety and personal protective equipment in potentially hazardous areas, including confined spaces and work at height.
- This position requires accurate color perception and the ability to meet minimum hearing requirements for the position.
- Must be willing to be on call, work overtime as required, and support emergency response responsibilities.
- Must be able and willing to travel for training and meetings as required.
- Outdoor work may involve exposure to heat, cold, loud noise, and dust.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position in accordance with Company policy.