Director, Gas Infrastructure

Hanwha Energy USA • Houston, TX

7d • $220,000 - $240,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Hanwha Energy USA is seeking a Director, Gas Infrastructure to enhance its natural gas infrastructure and generation initiatives with pipeline-specific technical expertise. This role will be the company's lead technical resource for evaluating and advancing opportunities in pipeline transportation, storage, compression, and interconnection. The Director will also support technical due diligence for gas-fired generation and related infrastructure investments. The position involves leading technical workstreams from initial screening through due diligence, investment approval, contracting, and project handover. Key responsibilities include assessing physical feasibility, system operations, integrity, reliability, capital needs, scheduling, and execution risks, and translating these into actionable recommendations. For gas-fired acquisitions, the focus will be on fuel supply infrastructure and pipeline connectivity, coordinating broader plant evaluations with engineering and external experts. This role acts as the primary technical authority for natural gas transportation and infrastructure, working closely with commercial, engineering, environmental, regulatory, and operational teams to ensure technically sound and business-aligned decisions.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical, chemical, civil, petroleum, electrical, or a closely related engineering discipline from an accredited institution.
• Twelve to twenty years of progressively responsible experience with a major interstate or intrastate pipeline company, midstream operator, oil and gas exploration and production company, independent power producer, utility, original equipment manufacturer, or engineering advisory firm.
• Deep technical experience in natural gas pipelines and system operations, including hydraulics, compression, integrity management, operating reliability, and applicable PHMSA requirements.
• Experience evaluating pipeline projects or operating assets for acquisition, investment, expansion, commercial commitment, major capital approval, or independent engineering review.
• Working knowledge of gas-fired power generation and the relationship among plant operating requirements, pipeline deliverability, transportation, storage, pressure, gas quality, and contingency supply.
• Ability to interpret hydraulic studies, engineering reports, operating data, inspection records, drawings, permits, tariffs, contracts, cost estimates, schedules, maintenance records, and investment-model assumptions.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience presenting material risks and recommendations to senior executives and investment committees.
• Ability to manage multiple time-sensitive workstreams and travel approximately 25% to 40%, including asset and project site visits.

Nice To Haves

• Professional Engineer license, advanced engineering degree, or MBA.
• Direct experience in pipeline operations, control-room management, compression engineering, integrity management, system planning, storage operations, or major-project development.
• Experience with interstate pipeline tariffs and operating requirements, gas transportation and storage contracts, and joint venture or project-development agreements.
• Experience evaluating simple-cycle or combined-cycle power plants, including assets supporting large industrial or data center loads.
• Experience supporting mergers and acquisitions, representations and warranties diligence, lender or independent engineer reviews, and post-acquisition integration.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate interstate and intrastate transmission pipelines, gathering systems, storage facilities, compression, metering, regulation, dehydration, and receipt and delivery interconnections.
• Assess pipeline hydraulics, pressure profiles, compression requirements, system bottlenecks, fuel use, redundancy, outage exposure, expansion capability, and practical gas deliverability under normal and peak conditions.
• Review pipeline operating data, maintenance practices, control-room management, SCADA and telecommunications, cybersecurity interfaces, emergency response, operator qualification, and reliability risks.
• Evaluate integrity-management programs, inline inspection and direct-assessment results, corrosion control, anomaly remediation, class location and high-consequence areas, maximum allowable operating pressure records, leak history, and remaining-life considerations.
• Identify pipeline compliance, land, environmental, and permitting issues that may affect feasibility, cost, schedule, operation, expansion, or transfer, and coordinate detailed review with the Environmental Permitting Manager and legal counsel.
• Partner directly with the Director, Gas Origination to screen and evaluate pipeline, lateral, storage, compression, and interconnection opportunities, including greenfield projects, brownfield expansions, joint ventures, and anchor-shipper positions.
• Develop technical scopes, data-room requests, site-visit plans, management questions, and advisor workplans aligned with commercial priorities and transaction schedules.
• Test proposed capacity and deliverability against hydraulic studies, compressor availability, outage assumptions, receipt and delivery pressures, gas quality requirements, downstream constraints, tariff provisions, and operating requirements.
• Review route, design basis, constructability, cost estimates, schedule, procurement strategy, commissioning plans, and cost-to-complete exposure for pipeline additions and expansions; provide inputs to the Environmental Permitting Manager for permit strategy and schedule.
• Provide technical assumptions for commercial negotiations and investment models, including capacity, availability, fuel loss, operating cost, maintenance capital, expansion capital, schedule, and contingency.
• Support technical due diligence for acquisitions and investments involving simple-cycle and combined-cycle generation assets, with particular emphasis on fuel supply infrastructure, pipeline interfaces, pressure and gas-quality requirements, storage, firm transportation, and no-notice capability.
• Evaluate operating performance and asset condition, including heat rate, capacity, starts, equivalent operating hours, forced outages, degradation, major maintenance intervals, long-term service agreements, spare-parts strategy, and near-term capital requirements.
• Coordinate specialist review of gas turbines, steam turbines, heat recovery steam generators, generators, balance-of-plant systems, electrical systems, water systems, and emissions controls when broader plant expertise is required.
• Identify environmental permit conditions, operating limits, compliance history, and monitoring obligations that affect asset capability or value, and coordinate detailed environmental review with the Environmental Permitting Manager.
• Complete a structured handoff of design and execution matters to the Sr. Director, Engineering and the applicable development, construction, or operations team.
• Lead or coordinate independent technical due diligence for pipeline and gas infrastructure acquisitions, equity investments, transportation commitments, and strategic partnerships.
• Integrate engineering, operational, environmental, regulatory, and contractual findings into a clear view of asset condition, demonstrated capability, required capital, schedule, and execution risk.
• Translate findings into recommendations for valuation assumptions, transaction structure, closing conditions, representations and warranties, indemnities, capital plans, and post-closing priorities.
• Direct and challenge independent engineers, integrity specialists, hydraulic consultants, environmental consultants, and other technical advisors so their work addresses the relevant commercial and investment questions.
• Prepare and present concise reports and investment materials for senior management, distinguishing confirmed facts, assumptions, sensitivities, unresolved issues, and recommended mitigations.
• Partner with gas origination, engineering, environmental permitting, corporate strategy, business development, finance, legal, construction, operations, and asset-management teams.
• Support commercial and legal teams in reviewing technical provisions of transportation, storage, interconnection, joint venture, acquisition, and transition-services agreements.
• Maintain diligence procedures, operating benchmarks, lessons learned, and a qualified network of pipeline, integrity, hydraulic, and generation specialists.
• Support asset onboarding and handoff through prioritized risk registers, capital plans, document-gap assessments, and clear ownership of open technical items.

Benefits

• Equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director