Operational Readiness Lead

Operational Readiness Lead

Location: The Woodlands, TX
Schedule: 9/80
Travel: Offshore and onshore travel required

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced Operational Readiness Lead to serve as a key interface between Operations and Project teams. This position will help ensure new facilities, equipment, and systems are designed, commissioned, and transitioned into Operations with a strong focus on safety, operability, reliability, maintainability, and long-term asset performance.

The Operational Readiness Lead will integrate Operations and Maintenance requirements throughout the project lifecycle—from design and project development through commissioning, startup, turnover, and operational acceptance.

The ideal candidate will have extensive Oil & Gas experience, including significant offshore Operations and/or Maintenance experience, preferably supporting deepwater Gulf of America facilities.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Integration & Project Support

• Serve as a liaison between Field Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, Construction, and Project teams.
• Ensure Operations and Maintenance requirements are identified and addressed throughout each phase of the project.
• Participate in project and design reviews with a focus on safety, operability, maintainability, reliability, and long-term asset performance.
• Review equipment layouts, process designs, operating philosophies, and operating strategies.
• Identify potential operational challenges, startup risks, and maintainability concerns.

Risk & Safety Reviews

• Participate in HAZOPs, JHAs, PSSRs, and other project risk assessments.
• Provide an Operations perspective on project risks, safeguards, and risk-reduction opportunities.
• Support Management of Change (MOC) activities as required.

Construction & Work Execution Readiness

• Review work execution plans, construction strategies, and project execution activities.
• Review and provide operational input to work packs.
• Ensure Operations requirements are incorporated into project turnover and handover plans.
• Participate in readiness walkthroughs and track action items through completion.

Factory Acceptance Testing

• Participate in Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) for critical equipment and systems.
• Coordinate with Field Operations leadership to support appropriate Operations participation in FAT activities.
• Verify equipment functionality, operability, maintainability, and compliance with project and operational requirements prior to shipment.

Maintenance & Reliability Readiness

• Ensure Maintenance requirements are incorporated into equipment and maintenance strategies.
• Lead or participate in critical-spares reviews and ensure required spare parts are identified prior to startup.
• Verify preventive maintenance programs, equipment hierarchies, criticality information, and asset data are established in SAP/CMMS prior to operational handover.
• Support long-term reliability and asset-management planning.

Training & Procedures

• Support development of Operations and Maintenance training plans and competency requirements.
• Review training materials for alignment with actual field operating requirements.
• Review and provide input to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), operating instructions, and startup documentation.

Commissioning, Startup & Handover

• Review commissioning plans, procedures, and startup strategies from an Operations perspective.
• Support commissioning and startup activities.
• Track operational-readiness milestones and action items.
• Verify operational acceptance requirements are satisfied prior to final handover.
• Support mechanical/system completion and punch-list management as required.

Cost & Lifecycle Performance

• Participate in OPEX and Total Installed Cost (TIC) reviews.
• Identify opportunities to improve reliability, maintainability, and operating efficiency.
• Support project decisions that optimize long-term asset performance and lifecycle cost.

Qualifications

Education

• High School Diploma or GED required.
• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Petroleum, Chemical, or Electrical Engineering preferred.

Experience

• Minimum 10 years of Oil & Gas industry experience .
• Significant offshore Operations and/or Maintenance experience.
• Deepwater Gulf of America platform experience strongly preferred.
• Experience supporting capital projects, commissioning, startup, operational readiness, turnover, or handover activities strongly preferred.

Technical Knowledge & Skills

• Ability to read and understand P&IDs, PFDs, equipment data sheets, and 3D models.
• Strong working knowledge of offshore production, utility, and safety systems.
• Working knowledge of MOC, HAZOP, and PSSR processes.
• Familiarity with SAP or similar CMMS platforms, including preventive maintenance strategies, equipment hierarchies, asset data, and criticality rankings.
• Understanding of critical-spares identification and provisioning.
• Knowledge of commissioning and startup sequences, mechanical/system completion, and punch-list management.
• General understanding of project scheduling, cost estimation, and project-management principles.
• General knowledge of reliability principles and root-cause analysis.
• Strong communication, organization, documentation, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Ability to work independently and manage readiness activities across multiple concurrent projects.

Certifications

• T-HUET required.
• T-2 Certificate preferred.

Travel Requirements

This position requires travel to offshore and onshore facilities for site visits, project activities, commissioning and startup support, Factory Acceptance Testing, and operational-readiness walkthroughs.