Lead Marine Engineer

Gulf Copper & Mfg. and Sabine Surveyors•Galveston, TX

About The Position

The Lead Engineer Manager for Arctic Security Cutters is responsible for overseeing all engineering activities supporting the design, development, integration, production, test and delivery and lifecycle management of Arctic-capable security vessels. This role provides strategic technical leadership, works within a multidisciplinary engineering team, and ensures project execution aligns with regulatory standards, operational needs, and program timelines.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Marine, Mechanical, Electrical, Naval Architecture, or related).
Seven (7+) years of engineering experience in shipbuilding, maritime systems, or defense programs.
Three (3+) years of leadership or engineering management experience.
Strong technical background in vessel design, systems integration, or complex maritime projects.
Experience working with government or military programs.
Professional Engineer license or eligibility.
Strategic thinking
Excellent communication, decision-making and project leadership skills.
Technical leadership
Problem-solving and risk mitigation
Team development and coaching
Cross-functional collaboration
Strong sense of accountability and urgency.
MS Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, Power Point, etc.).
Ability to use Customer Supplied programs or websites.
Office equipment, including telephone, scanner, computer, printer, etc.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Arctic-capable vessels, icebreakers, or cold-weather engineering preferred
Familiarity with USCG cutter programs, military standards, or classified project environment preferred

Responsibilities

Lead and mentor a team of engineers across multiple disciplines (mechanical, electrical, structural, systems, and marine engineering).
Oversee the development, validation, and integration of complex systems designed for Arctic operations and extreme environments.
Review and approve engineering plans, drawings, analyses, and design changes.
Ensure technical accuracy, compliance, and alignment with mission and operational requirements.
Serve as the primary marine engineering point of contact for the Arctic Security Cutter program.
Manage engineering schedules, deliverables, milestones, and resource allocation.
Collaborating with program managers, shipyard engineering and production teams, and quality leads to ensure seamless execution.
Identify risks, develop mitigation plans, and resolve technical challenges affecting cost, schedule, or performance.
Ensure all engineering work adheres to applicable standards, including, as applicable Class, Flag State, USCG, NAVSEA, and environmental regulations.
Support technical audits, reviews, inspections, and compliance verification activities.
Work closely with customers, government agencies, and external vendors to communicate technical strategies and resolve issues.
Support proposal development, contract requirements, statements of work, and engineering estimates.
Promote best practices in engineering, documentation, configuration management, and lifecycle support.
Drive innovation for cold-weather performance, ice-capable systems, and Arctic mission readiness.