Senior Engineer (Marine Structures)

Sevra Engineering & Project Management Consultants LLC (Sevra) is a specialist marine engineering
consultancy with head offices in the United Arab Emirates and a branch office in Cape Town, South Africa .
Established in 2025, Sevra was founded with the objective of building a technically rigorous, commercially
astute consultancy focused exclusively on marine and coastal infrastructure. The company combines deep
regional experience with efficient, high-quality delivery models to provide practical engineering solutions
for complex maritime projects.

Sevra delivers services across the full project lifecycle, from early - stage master planning and feasibility
through to detailed design and construction supervision. The firm's core technical capabilities include
coastal numerical modelling, coastal enginee ring, marine structural engineering, marine geotechnics,
dredging and reclamation design, and construction - phase engineering support. Sevra's work spans ports
and terminals, waterfront developments, marinas, breakwaters, shoreline protection schemes, and
specialist marine infrastructure.

Sevra operates with a lean front office in the UAE and a closely integrated technical back office in Ca pe
Town, allowing senior staff to remain hands - on while delivering cost-effective outcomes for clients.
Engineers joining Sevra have the opportunity to work directly with experienced leadership, take ownership
of technically challenging projects, and contribute m eaningfully to the growth and direction of a specialist
consultancy.

Job Overview The Senior Engineer will play a key role in the delivery of marine and coastal engineering projects from
Sevra's Cape Town office, with full technical ownership of the structural aspects of marine and coastal
projects. The role carries responsibility for the accuracy, robustness, and compliance of all structural
engineering outputs, including analysis, design, reporting, and technical recommendations, as well as
coordination with offshore delivery teams and engagement with clients and stakeholders.

This position requires a highly experienced and technically robust marine structural engineer capable of
working independently, exercising sound professional judgement, and taking end-to-end responsibility for
the marine structural discipline within the company. The Senior Engineer will act as Sevra's internal
authority for marine structural engineering, ensuring that all work is undertaken in accordance with
applicable codes, standards, regulatory requirements, and recognised industry best practice.

While Sevra may expand its marine structural team in the future, this role is currently the sole senior marine
structural position within the organisation. As such, the Senior Engineer is expected to take ownership of
technical decisions, identify and manage marine structural risks, and uphold Sevra's standards of quality,
professionalism, and conduct. The role also includes supporting and mentoring junior engineers as the team
grows, and contributing to a collaborative, high-performing consultancy environment.

Key Responsibilities Marine Structural Engineering Accountability

• Take full professional responsibility for all marine structural engineering undertaken by Sevra,
  including design assumptions, analysis methods, and technical conclusions.
• Produce, review, and approve structural calculations, reports, and design deliverables suitable for
  issue to clients, contractors, and authorities.
• Ensure compliance with applicable design codes, standards, specifications, and regulatory
  requirements.

Technical Delivery

• Develop marine structural design solutions for marine and coastal infrastructure including quay
  walls, jetties, piers, deck-on-pile structures, dolphins, fendering systems, and associated waterfront
  infrastructure.
• Define structural design concepts, load cases, and engineering criteria to support safe, durable, and
  constructible marine structures, taking account of marine loading , wave and current actions,
  durability, fatigue, and marine environmental conditions.
• Provide construction-phase structural engineering support, including review of contractor design
  submissions and temporary works, response to RFIs, assessment of site conditions, and resolution
  of structural technical issues arising during construction.

Quality Assurance & Risk

• Establish and apply marine structures quality control procedures, including checking and review
  protocols.
• Identify and manage marine structural risks and uncertainties and clearly communicate these to
  project teams and clients.
• Ensure marine structural designs are practical, constructible, and defensible from a professional liability perspective.

Coordination & Interfaces

• Coordinate marine structural inputs with coastal, marine, and geotechnical disciplines to ensure
  integrated designs.
• Provide technical input to offshore delivery teams and review their outputs for accuracy and
  consistency.
• Support technical meetings, design reviews, and responses to marine structures RFIs.

Team & Practice Development

• Contribute to the development of internal marine structural standards, templates, and workflows.
• Support and mentor junior marine structural engineers as the team grows.
• Assist with tendering and proposals by defining marine structural scope, effort, and deliverables.

Qualifications & Professional Registrations

• Bachelor's degree in civil/marine/geotechnical Engineering (master's degree preferred)
• Chartered Engineer / Professional Engineer
• ECSA Professional Engineer registration preferred

Experience Requirements

• 7 - 12 years relevant professional experience
• Experience in delivering marine projects in the Middle East preferred

Technical Skills & Tools Core Marine Structures Engineering Competencies

• Advanced understanding of marine structural engineering, including structural behaviour under permanent, variable, cyclic, fatigue, and accidental loading conditions.
• Development of marine structural models and design frameworks for waterfront and offshore infrastructure, integrating environmental actions, operational requirements, and construction constraints.

Design and analysis of marine structures, including:

• Open piled and deck-on-pile structures
• Quay walls, jetties, piers, and dolphins
• Gravity and composite marine structures
• Marine structures incorporating precast and modular elements
• Assessment of structural capacity, serviceability, durability, and fatigue performance in aggressive marine environments.
• Evaluation of vessel - induced loads, including berthing, mooring, impact, and operational loads, and their interaction with structural systems.
• Structural input to construction methodology, temporary works, marine plant loadings, and staging, ensuring safe, buildable, and efficient delivery of marine works.

Marine - Specific Geotechnical Applications

• Interpretation of marine environmental and operational data.
• Assessment of structural risks related to:
• Vessel berthing, mooring, and impact loading
• Fatigue and cyclic loading from waves, traffic, and operations
• Durability and corrosion in aggressive marine environments
• Construction staging, temporary works, and marine construction methodology
• Provision of structural engineering support during construction, including review of contractor proposals, assessment of temporary works and load cases, response to site queries and RFIs, and resolution of structural issues arising during construction.

Design Standards & Best Practice

• Strong working knowledge of relevant international codes and guidance (e.g. Eurocodes, BS, API, PIANC, CIRIA).
• Ability to apply codes pragmatically to regional marine conditions and construction practices.
• Preparation of geotechnical design reports and technical documentation suitable for authority review and construction.

Software & Analytical Tools

• Use of recognised structural analysis and design software for marine and waterfront structures, including global and local structural analysis, member design, and connection checks.
• Ability to perform hand calculations and first - principles checks to validate numerical models, load assumptions, and design outputs.
• Competence in reviewing and verifying structural analysis undertaken by offshore or third teams, including identification of modelling assumptions, limitations, and potential errors.
• Proficiency in standard engineering and reporting tools, including Excel for calculations and checking, technical report preparation, and interpretation of analysis outputs.
• Application of structured checking, review, and verification processes for geotechnical deliverables.
• Clear documentation of assumptions, limitations, and geotechnical risks.
• Ability to produce defensible, auditable engineering outputs aligned with professional liability requirements.

Behavioural & Soft Skills The role requires a high standard of professional conduct and interpersonal behaviour. These attributes are considered as important as technical competence.

• Demonstrates a strong team - oriented mindset, working for the collective success of the company rather than individual agendas.
• Contributes positively to a respectful, professional, and collaborative working environment, both within the local office and across offshore and international teams.
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