Marine Chief Designer

The Marine Chief Designer is responsible for leading the complete design and engineering activities for marine vessels from concept development through detailed engineering, production support, sea trials, and final project delivery. The position requires strong technical expertise, leadership, ownership, and the ability to work effectively under demanding production schedules. The Chief Designer shall ensure that vessel designs are technically sound, production-ready, compliant with client requirements, and aligned with applicable Classification Society, Flag State, statutory, and marine industry requirements. Key Responsibilities Lead and manage the Marine Design & Engineering team covering naval architecture, structural, mechanical, piping, electrical, outfitting, and production drawings. • Take full technical ownership of vessel design from concept, basic design and detailed design through construction and commissioning. • Review client specifications, tenders and contractual technical requirements and convert them into practical vessel designs. • Develop and review General Arrangement drawings, hull forms, structural arrangements, machinery layouts, equipment arrangements and system schematics. • Coordinate naval architecture calculations including: Hydrostatics / Stability and trim / Weight estimation and weight control / VCG/LCG assessment *Ensure vessel designs meet required speed, payload, range, endurance, draft, stability and operational performance. • Review structural design and scantlings for aluminum, steel, FRP and HDPE craft as applicable. • Review propulsion integration including outboard engines, inboard engines, waterjets, shaft drives and associated machinery. Ensure proper integration of electrical, navigation, communication, HVAC, fuel, freshwater, bilge, sewage, firefighting and other marine systems. • Review equipment foundations, loads, structural reinforcements and interfaces for mission equipment and special systems. • Lead technical evaluation and selection of engines, waterjets, generators, pumps, HVAC equipment and other major marine equipment. • Prepare and approve production drawings, fabrication drawings, installation drawings, nesting information and technical specifications. • Ensure drawings released to Production are complete, coordinated and suitable for fabrication and installation. • Provide immediate engineering support to Production, QC, Procurement and Commissioning teams when technical issues arise. • Resolve design conflicts, site modifications, NCRs, technical queries and production constraints without unnecessary project delay. • Lead Design Change Requests and ensure all approved changes are reflected in drawings, BOMs and technical documentation. • Coordinate with Classification Societies, marine consultants, Flag Authorities, clients and third party inspectors. Prepare and submit drawings, calculations and technical documentation required for class review and approval. • Review Classification Society comments and ensure timely technical closure. • Participate in design reviews, client meetings, technical negotiations and project progress meetings. • Support vessel inspections, commissioning, harbor trials and sea trials. • Evaluate vessel performance following sea trials and recommend engineering modifications where necessary. • Maintain accurate vessel weight reports and monitor changes that may affect stability, speed or payload. • Review Bills of Materials and ensure alignment between approved drawings, specifications and procurement requirements. • Coordinate closely with Procurement to identify long-lead technical equipment and finalize specifications early. • Establish design priorities according to the production schedule and project delivery commitments. • Allocate engineering manpower and monitor individual designer performance. • Mentor engineers and designers and develop the technical capability of the department. • Maintain drawing control, revision control and engineering documentation standards. • Identify technical and schedule risks early and escalate critical issues to management. • Provide clear engineering decisions and maintain accountability for technical deliverables. *Familiarity with applicable marine standards and Classification Societies such as DNV, Lloyd's Register, Bureau Veritas, RINA, Türk Loydu, PRS, ABS or equivalent is desirable. *Experience with 3D vessel modelling, production drawings, nesting and CNC-related design preparation is an advantage. Bachelor's Degree in Naval Architecture, Marine Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Shipbuilding Engineering or a closely related discipline. • Master's Degree or relevant professional certification is an advantage. • Preferably 10+ years of marine vessel design and engineering experience. Required Technical Knowledge Strong knowledge of: • Naval architecture • Minimum 3–5 years in a senior, lead or chief designer role involving management of an engineering/design team. • Strong experience in small craft, patrol craft, military craft, workboats, landing craft, fast boats or similar vessels is highly desirable. • Practical boatbuilding or shipyard production experience is strongly preferred.