Installation Analysis Engineer

A specialist engineering and installation company focused exclusively on shallow water and nearshore subsea cable installation. The company covers the full project lifecycle: installation analysis, methodology engineering, operational planning, and field execution support. With offices in Paris and the UK, the team works across European offshore wind, HVDC interconnector, and O&G subsea cable projects. The analysis function is central to the company's technical differentiation — producing the engineering models that underpin every installation campaign.

The Installation Analysis Engineer is the technical backbone of the company's engineering deliverable pipeline. Working closely with the Lead and Senior Installation Engineers, the analyst is responsible for building, running, and interpreting the numerical models that govern cable behaviour during lay, pull-in, and nearshore installation operations. The role is technical in nature and execution-focused: the analyst owns the analysis models, the load case matrix, and the derivation of operational parameters (tension limits, catenary configurations, touchdown monitoring windows) from first principles.

This role is distinct from a general installation engineer role — it requires genuine hands-on modelling capability (OrcaFlex or equivalent, not just user-level familiarity) and a strong grasp of cable and offshore structural mechanics. The shallow water context — typically below 20–30 metres — introduces specific modelling challenges absent from deepwater work, and the candidate should either have prior shallow water experience or demonstrate the analytical depth to adapt quickly.

Key responsibilities

• Build, run, and interpret OrcaFlex (or equivalent) models for shallow water cable lay operations: static catenary configurations, dynamic load cases, bottom tension, touch-down point behaviour, lateral buckling tendency, seabed friction interaction
• Develop the load case matrix for each installation campaign: define the governing environmental conditions, operational headings, cable pay-out rates, and vessel motion inputs required to bound the installation design envelope
• Derive and document operational parameters: maximum allowable tensions, minimum bend radius (MBR) verification under static and dynamic conditions, touch-down monitoring setpoints, weather operational limits
• Conduct cable pull-in analysis for beach approaches and HDD exits: tension in the cable during pull, sagbend behaviour, seabed contact forces, cable protection requirements at the pull-in point
• Perform cable abandonment and recovery analysis: catenary and tension behaviour during hold and re-lay operations, weather window derivation for abandonment events
• Carry out parametric sensitivity studies to bound the effect of environmental and operational uncertainties on key installation parameters

Analysis deliverables and technical documentation

• Produce installation analysis reports to a standard suitable for client delivery and Marine Warranty Surveyor (MWS) review: clearly documented assumptions, methodology, load cases, results, and operational limits
• Prepare engineering calculation notes and technical memoranda supporting installation procedure development
• Support the Lead/Senior Installation Engineers in the preparation of MWS technical submissions: provide the numerical substantiation behind operational parameters
• Maintain and version-control analysis models throughout the project lifecycle — from early-phase feasibility to final pre-campaign approval

Technical interface and continuous improvement

• Work closely with the Installation Engineers to translate analysis outputs into practical operational parameters and installation procedures
• Participate in installation engineering reviews (HAZID, HAZOP, design reviews) to ground analysis outputs in operational reality
• Develop and maintain internal analysis templates and model libraries to improve consistency and efficiency across projects
• Contribute to lessons-learned processes: compare pre-campaign analysis predictions against as-installed monitoring data and identify model improvement areas

Education

• Engineering degree (BEng / MEng / MSc) in mechanical engineering, offshore engineering, civil/structural engineering, marine engineering, or a related numerate discipline
• A strong grounding in structural mechanics, fluid-structure interaction, or applied mechanics is essential — the role is analysis-heavy and requires physical intuition alongside modelling skill

Experience and skills

Must-have

• 3–8 years of experience in offshore or subsea installation analysis, with hands-on OrcaFlex modelling as the primary technical activity — not review-only or post-processing only
• OrcaFlex: model-building level — able to independently set up a new cable installation model from scratch: cable properties, vessel motions, seabed definition, environmental loading, line object configuration, and results post-processing
• Sound understanding of cable and pipeline mechanics: axial stiffness, bending stiffness, MBR, torsional behaviour, armour wire mechanics, temperature and pressure effects — sufficient to sanity-check model outputs against analytical estimates
• Experience producing analysis reports to a standard suitable for MWS review: clear documentation of methodology, assumptions, load cases, and results

Nice-to-have

• Shallow water installation analysis experience: catenary behaviour in very shallow water (<30m), touchdown sensitivity in constrained depth windows, vessel draught limitations, surf zone and tidal effects
• Cable pull-in analysis: tension modelling during beach approach pull-in, HDD exit catenary, pull-head and midline load distributions
• Python, MATLAB, or equivalent scripting capability for OrcaFlex batch processing, parametric studies, or results post-processing automation
• O&G pipeline installation analysis background (S-lay, J-lay, reel lay) — explicitly acceptable; the mechanics transfer directly to cable analysis in shallow water contexts
• Experience with DNV Sesam (RIFLEX/SIMA) or ANSYS Mechanical as complementary analysis tools
• French language capability — beneficial for the Paris office environment
• German language capability — beneficial for the project site environment

Profile

• Technically rigorous: gets the answer right, understands why, and can defend the methodology — not a 'run the model and report the numbers' profile
• Self-sufficient: capable of setting up and running analyses with minimal oversight once the project scope is defined
• Communicates analysis outputs clearly: able to translate numerical results into operational guidance that engineers and vessel crews can actually use
• Curious about shallow water installation challenges — this is a genuinely specialist niche with unique physics, and the best candidates will be interested in developing deep expertise in it