Drilling Engineer

Drilling Engineer

Role Overview

This role provides senior-level drilling engineering expertise to safely and efficiently deliver wells in Alaska, including horizontal and extended-reach designs. The Drilling Engineer is accountable for well construction planning, permitting support, and operational execution, with a strong focus on managing drilling risks associated with narrow margins, ECD, and torque and drag in complex well profiles.

Primary Accountabilities

Well Design & Planning

- Own the engineering design of wells from concept through execution

- Develop detailed well plans and drilling programs, including:

- Casing and liner design

- Cementing strategies

- BHA and bit selection

- Drilling fluid programs

- Incorporate Alaska-specific considerations such as remote logistics, seasonal constraints, and Arctic operating conditions

- Provide AFE inputs and technical justification for well costs and schedules

Regulatory & Permitting Support

- Provide engineering inputs required for well permitting and regulatory submissions

- Ensure well designs meet federal, state, and company requirements

- Maintain defensible engineering documentation, calculations, and approvals

Horizontal & Extended-Reach Wells

- Plan and execute horizontal and/or extended-reach wells

- Design well trajectories with consideration for:

- Hole cleaning

- Anti-collision

- Frictional losses

- Wellbore stability

- Apply best practices to reach TD safely while minimizing non-productive time

Hydraulics, ECD, Torque & Drag

- Apply a strong working knowledge of Equivalent Circulating Density (ECD) and pressure management

- Evaluate and interpret torque and drag models to support:

- Drillstring design

- Trajectory optimization

- Operational limits and contingencies

- Identify and mitigate risks related to stuck pipe, excessive torque, and inability to reach target depth

Operational Support

- Provide real-time engineering support during drilling operations (office and field as required)

- Support troubleshooting and management of change during execution

- Capture lessons learned and drive continuous improvement across drilling campaigns

Contractor & Service Company Interface

- Review and approve technical programs from drilling contractors and service companies

- Monitor service quality, performance, and compliance with well objectives

- Participate in post-well reviews and performance evaluations

Experience & Qualifications

Required

- Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related discipline

- Minimum

10 years of oil and gas drilling engineering experience

- Demonstrated expertise in:

- Well construction and drilling engineering fundamentals

- Well permitting support

- Development of detailed well plans

- Horizontal and/or extended-reach wells

- ECD management

- Torque and drag analysis

- Strong ability to work across disciplines and support field operations

Preferred

- Alaska or Arctic operating experience

- Experience with complex or narrow-margin wells

- Familiarity with drilling engineering and modeling software

- Professional Engineer (PE) license