Senior Marine Instrumentation & Survey Specialist

Job Purpose

KAUST Beacon Development (KBD) is a leading environmental consultancy in Saudi Arabia and part of KAUST’s National Transformation Initiative (NTI). We provide specialist environmental input and services to the Kingdom’s major developers, and we are dedicated to working in partnership with our clients to help them implement giga projects in line with Vison 2030 and with minimal environmental impact.

Saudi’s ambitious vision for development includes extensive construction in sensitive marine habitats and KBD’s Marine Team work on a variety of environmental projects, including Marine Environmental Baseline Surveys (MEBS), monitoring and assessments, coral relocation, reef rehabilitation programs and similar projects.

KBD has a requirement for a Senior Marine Instrumentation and Survey Specialist to support data collection in the field and inhouse data processing to final reporting and other deliverables.

The Senior Marine Instrumentation and Survey Specialist requires a diverse set of technical and practical skills relating to managing and maintaining electronics and dive equipment used in harsh marine environments. The person shall have the capabilities to use their skills in the field and lab, to serve marine-related applications and subsea systems.

They shall work with and support the Marine Technology Project Manager to procure and develop new equipment including designing and fabricating electronic prototypes and updating and modifying existing research equipment.

The Senior Marine Instrumentation and Survey Specialist will also be required to work on site, as / when required.

Major Accountabilities

• Manage the Marine Technology Laboratory and be responsible for all process, tools, safety procedures, etc.
• Manage and maintain all relevant equipment.
• Coordination of survey equipment to include log keeping, installation, commissioning, training, calibration, etc.
• Join surveys in offshore, coastal and land-based projects to ensure survey instrumentation are working and maintain high standards to produce accurate and high-quality surveys.
• Assist KBD users in the setup of sea going, terrestrial, and deployed instrumentation as well as the retrieval of data from recovered equipment.
• Undertake maintenance and servicing on a range of other field equipment, including (but not limited to) diving equipment and compressors (after appropriate training, if necessary).
• Strong mechanical and electrical troubleshooting skills and ability to repair in a timely manner.
• Planning, conducting and leading technology support for marine and terrestrial surveys following established scientific methodologies.
• Work with KBD project managers to identify commercially available technologies to ensure accurate and reliable delivery of survey requirements.
• Project and team management, including budgeting, schedules and logistics.
• Build the marine and terrestrial robotics and autonomous survey solutions.
• Become proficient in all manner of autonomous survey technologies ranging from Airborne Drones, Unmanned Surface Vessels, Autonomous Underwater Vehicles and Remotely operated Vehicles.
• Willingness and ability to rapidly learn new processing software’s and to obtain international accreditation in the same.

Person Requirements

Competencies

• The ideal candidate should have project management capabilities, considerable electronic and mechanical aptitude and a proven track record in working with complex instrumentations.
• KBD aims to work in a culture of safety and the Senior Marine Instrumentation and Survey Specialist should ensure that Health and Safety is embedded in all our activities. We also strive to achieve excellence and all activities should be undertaken with a focus on quality.
• Building capacity is a major focus of KBD and the Senior Marine Instrumentation and Survey Specialist should also support the professional development of Saudi nationals and other field personnel who have shown a passion and aptitude for marine science and the environment.
• Other required competencies include:
• Planning, attention to detail and organising skills.
• Ownership, accountable and dependable who can work independently and complete tasks in a timely manner.
• Interpersonal and group skills with strong work ethics and able to adhere to the University working hours, policies and standards of business etiquette.
• Ability to exercise discretion when handling confidential materials.
• Flexibility and adaptability to work in a multicultural environment.
• Excellent technical knowledge of Microsoft Office and related software.
• Excellent communication skills in English - verbal and written.
• Good communication with team members, KBD management, the client and relevant authorities.
• Demonstrated initiative and ability to work under pressure.
• Competently undertake own work to an excellent standard, on time and to budget.
• Support and develop of more junior staff.
• Ability to work effectively in a team environment as well as independently.
• Ability to work in both field and office environments.
• Documented familiarity with using various oceanographic Instruments, Soldering stations, Spectrum Analyzer, Multimeter Oscilloscope and other instruments as required.

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Qualifications

• A relevant Degree in Marine Survey, CAT A or CAT B, electrical or mechanical engineering, robotics and/or similar field.

Experience

• Minimum Six years of relevant experience, including leading marine technology projects, Excellent computer skills in English.
• Project management skills, including schedule, staff resource and budget management.

Experience of the following would be an advantage (although not essential):

• Previous work in the Middle East.
• Experience in working with Saudi Government Ministries.
• Experience working offshore and in coastal marine projects.
• Ability to speak and write Arabic.
• Experience in building and designing marine survey systems.