Engineers

There are literally hundreds of career opportunities across the subsea spectrum from the oil and gas operators such as BP and the large contractors such as Acergy and Technip right through to the innovators - the small to medium sized business developing cutting edge technology. Search through our member companies to view their recruitment links and see if a subsea career is for you.

All of the main engineering disciplines are required in the subsea industry.

Engineers with mechanical and structural skills make big contributions to the development of valves, underwater structures, and pipelines.
Electrical and electronic engineers are involved with control systems.
Chemical engineers carry-out process analysis of the systems to ensure the fluids will flow satisfactorily.
And engineers of all disciplines get involved in the management that's required to bring hundreds of millions of dollars of equipment together to complete a single oilfield development.

The UK's subsea companies are active in the full lifecycle of the industry from research and development through to the operation of producing oil and gas fields. That means engineers can experience a range of jobs and can find a role that suits their skills and aspirations.

Engineering
There are many firms specialising in subsea engineering in the UK. They are involved at the very detailed level in the design of individual components, and at a broader scale in the configuration of oil fields. UK companies provide design services to many international locations including Africa, South America, and Russia.

Installation
The biggest subsea installation companies including Subsea 7 and Acergy centre their worldwide operations in the UK. Employees of these firms help plan and manage complex marine activities many miles offshore. The development of new installation equipment costing many tens of millions of dollars is also controlled from the UK.

Equipment
Equipment including large machined items such as valves, electronic equipment for control systems, complex underwater cables and power lines, etc. There are opportunities to work in the production of these items, and to liaise with the project teams responsible for integrating them into the oil and gas fields.

Other Services
With the UK being the world's focal point for the subsea industry, there are many companies supporting the sector by providing analysis, consultancy and other services to the mainstream engineering based businesses.