What are the responsibilities and job description for the Completions Engineer position at Alaska-Santos?
Through its merger with Oil Search, Santos acquired and assumed operatorship over a world-class portfolio of oil leases on the Alaskan North Slope, USA.
Santos' focus in Alaska is the advancement of our Pikka Phase 1 project, which includes a single drill site, an oil processing facility, and other infrastructure to support production of 80,000 barrels of oil per day.
Pikka has been identified as being among the top quartile of oil and gas development projects for greenhouse gas emissions performance. Pikka is poised to play an important role in the energy transition and is aligned with our company goal of managing climate change risk. The project is on track to be ready for first oil in 2026.
The Pikka Unit is one of the largest conventional oil discoveries made in the United States in the last 30 years, and the Pikka Phase 1 Project is the most significant development on Alaska's North Slope in more than 20 years.
The permitted Pikka development project includes two additional drill sites. The Alaska assets also include discoveries made from both the Mitquq and Stirrup exploration wells drilled in 2020. These opportunities combine to offer a clear path to long-term growth in Alaska.
Position Purpose
The Completions Engineer provides technical leadership in the safe planning, design, and execution of completion operations for horizontal and hydraulically fractured wells within the Company's Alaska assets. The role is accountable for ensuring well delivery meets reservoir and production objectives through the application of advanced engineering principles, sound risk management, and integration across drilling, subsurface, and operations teams. The position contributes to optimizing well performance, improving efficiency, and ensuring alignment with Company standards, regulatory requirements, and project goals.
Qualifications, Skills, & Experience Required
Formal Qualifications
- A Bachelor's Engineering degree is required.
Skills & Experience
- 8 years of engineering experience in drilling and completions for conventional and unconventional wells, including vertical, horizontal, multi-lateral designs, and US onshore reservoirs.
- Demonstrated ability to apply innovative technical solutions to complex completions challenges and optimize operational performance.
- Proven experience across the full completions lifecycle, from design through execution to post-appraisal, supporting high-frequency development programs.
- Extensive knowledge of completion systems, stimulation methods, fluids and proppant designs, well integrity, and downhole monitoring technologies.
- Experience with production and injection well design, extended reach drilling applications, artificial lift systems, workovers, well flowback, and cleanup operations.
- Skilled in operational planning, start-up readiness, and execution in harsh weather environments; Alaska experience is highly desirable.
- Strong HSE focus with the ability to embed safety, process safety, and environmental stewardship into daily operations while maintaining compliance with regulatory frameworks.
- Proven ability to improve operational efficiency, reliability, and uptime through data-driven decision-making and technical problem-solving.
- Independent, self-motivated, and capable of leading technical initiatives with minimal supervision while mentoring junior engineers.
- Demonstrated professional integrity, sound business judgment, and a commitment to continuous improvement and high-quality outcomes.