Lead Survey Engineer Offshore

The Lead Survey Engineer is a senior technical leadership position within the Survey Department, responsible for offshore execution, operational readiness, and the technical lifecycle management of survey systems. In accordance with the current organizational structure, a clear functional distinction exists between asset ownership and asset operation: LABO (Survey Equipment Department) serves as the "Asset Owner," responsible for CAPEX, planned maintenance, and central inventory, while the Survey Department serves as the "Asset Operator".

The Lead Survey Engineer acts as the primary offshore technical authority and provides the critical interface between engineering field staff, LABO, Mobilization, and PMO. This role ensures all vessels are equipped with standardized, high-performance survey spreads and maintains ultimate accountability for the technical integrity of onboard survey systems, including comprehensive maintenance logging and safety-critical launch and recovery procedures.

Your key responsibilities:

1. Leadership & Line Management

• Direct line management of the offshore Survey Engineering pool, overseeing their professional development, conducting performance appraisals, and managing operational conduct.

• Manage the allocation and scheduling of Survey Engineering personnel to the fleet, ensuring technical competencies are precisely matched to project-specific sensor suites, such as ScanFish, RO(T)V, AUVs, USVs, and other advanced geophysical systems.

• Provide high-level technical mentorship and guidance to offshore staff to ensure the consistent application of company operational standards and procedural discipline.

• Collaborate with the Survey Academy to identify training requirements and competency gaps, ensuring the engineering pool maintains peak proficiency in technical interventions and hardware-software integration.

2. Asset Operational Readiness & Cost Awareness

• Maintain accountability for the "Operational Readiness" of all survey assets deployed offshore; while LABO manages the physical asset, this role ensures functional uptime and high-performance field execution.

• Ensure all onboard survey equipment is operated within defined environmental and technical specifications.

• Liaise with Survey Support to resolve complex system integration challenges and minimize the frequency of high-priority technical incidents.

• Oversee the efficient use and stock levels of survey consumables and project-specific spares, ensuring cost-effective resource management without sacrificing technical integrity or system redundancy.

3. Mobilization Gatekeeping & Technical Assurance

• Review Mobilisation Plans as a critical technical gatekeeper to verify that vessel configurations and engineering setups are operationally viable and aligned with project constraints.

• Audit mobilization objectives for clarity and measurability, ensuring all technical goals include clearly defined "Acceptance Criteria".

• Coordinate with the offshore team to ensure all survey technical preparations are executed to minimize project downtime.

4. Maintenance Lifecycle & LARS Oversight

• Establish and oversee standardized Launch and Recovery procedures to prioritize personnel safety and the protection of high-value (autonomous) survey assets.

• Enforce 100% compliance with equipment maintenance logging and technical interventions in company systems, providing LABO with the data required for long-term asset management.

• Monitor offshore sensor health and ensure all technical documentation and maintenance records are accurately maintained within approved system.

5. Innovation & Integration

• Collaborate closely with the Innovations Department to operationalise new technologies.

• Capture lessons learned from operations and feed these back into innovation and process improvement cycles.

• Ensure that innovations are safely and efficiently incorporated into standard survey practices.

6. Industry Insights and Improvement Suggestions:

• Stay informed about the latest industry developments.

• Share valuable insights and recommendations with the Survey Manager.

• Provide suggestions for process improvements and technological advancements to enhance our surveying capabilities.

7. Authorities

• Line manager for survey engineering staff and contractors.

• Authorised to take decisions on behalf of the Survey Manager relating to the setup, configuration, and deployment of survey assets.

• Can approve operational procedures and configurations for related to survey engineering setups.

• Bachelor/Master degree in survey related discipline: hydrography, Geography, Geology , Geology, Geomatics or engineering or relevant experience.

• Min 10 years’ experience in survey of which minimum 5 years on board of vessels

• Excellent command of written and spoken English and mastery of MS Office/modern computer applications.

• Comprehensive knowledge of the technical aspects of survey hardware and integrated sensor spreads.

• Knowledge of survey-related software suites and hardware-software interfacing.

• Expertise in survey winch system operations, maintenance, troubleshooting, and field repair, alongside advanced operational knowledge of towed systems.

• Strong leadership and team management abilities.

• Effective communicator, able to liaise across departments and with external stakeholders.

• Innovative and solution-oriented, with the ability to translate new technologies into safe and practical workflows.

• Methodical, detail-oriented, and committed to maintaining high-quality standards.

• A challenging job in a fast-growing environment.

• A good working climate within a young dynamic team.

• The chance to actively grow within our organization.

• Working in an international company with the possibility to grow.