Production Engineering Manager - Permian

Job Description

Job Description

The Production Engineering Manager is responsible for engineering aspects related to supporting the development plan and overseeing execution of asset development plans. This includes the review and continuous monitoring of annual budgets to ensure alignment with the organization's objectives. The manager ensures that engineering outputs are designed and delivered to meet established business goals, focusing on operational risk management, production optimization, safety, and cost effectiveness. Serving as an interdisciplinary coordinator, the manager works to guarantee efficient project execution across multiple teams. Additional responsibilities encompass making recommendations regarding hiring, promotions, or changes in personnel status, as well as planning and implementing internal training programs. A thorough understanding of company and industry products is required for success in this role.

ESSENTIAL COMPETENCIES AND EXPECTATIONS

• Strategic Leadership - Demonstrate the ability to translate organizational goals into clear engineering priorities; Anticipates operations challenges and proactively identifies opportunities to improve safety, production and cost performance; Guides teams in aligning technical decisions with long-term asset development strategies.
• People Leadership - Builds, develops, and mentors high‑performing engineering teams, fostering a culture of accountability, trust, and continuous improvement; Provides clear performance expectations, timely feedback, and career development support tailored to individual strengths; Leads consistency and professionalism, modeling the company’s core values in all interactions.
• Cross Functional Collaboration - Promotes strong relationships with field operations, other disciplines, and key partners to ensure unified project execution; Facilitates open communication, ensures discipline‑specific inputs are clearly represented, and removes barriers to collaboration; Demonstrate adaptability when coordinating across multiple disciplines and changing project priorities.
• Decision Making and Judgement - Makes sound, data‑driven decisions that balance technical feasibility, operational risk, and business objectives; Exercises strong situational awareness, particularly regarding safety‑critical or time‑sensitive scenarios; Influences decision‑making by presenting clear options, trade‑offs, and risk analyses.
• Operational Excellence - Sets and enforces high standards for quality, technical rigor, and operational discipline; Drives efficiency by identifying improvement opportunities, implementing best practices, and leveraging emerging technologies.
• Communication and Stakeholder Engagement - Communicates effectively with technical and non‑technical audiences, ensuring clarity, transparency, and relevance; Keeps leadership and stakeholders informed of project status, risks, and results in a timely and accurate manner; Represents the engineering team professionally in internal and external interactions, including with vendors, contractors, and regulatory bodies.

COMPUTER AND SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS

The Production Engineering Manager must possess a strong proficiency in Microsoft Office suite applications, and experience in leading teams using industry and company software is key to the role. Examples include :

ROLE-SPECIFIC TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

EDUCATION :

A Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Engineering is required for this position.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE :

Minimum of 10 years of related industry experience, including at least 2+ years of direct supervisory or team‑leadership experience within engineering or oil and gas operations.

SM Energy offers competitive compensation and benefits programs which include, but are not limited to, variable pay, health care coverage, retirement plan, protection coverage, time off and leave programs, training and development opportunities and a range of allowances connected to specific work situations. Details are available at Careers : : SM Energy Company (SM) (sm-energy.com).

Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.