Petroleum Scientist Manager ; Permitting & Compliance

Office of Permitting & Compliance – Permitting

The Office of Permitting and Compliance (OPC) oversees all permitting and regulatory functions within the Department, ensuring clarity, consistency, and regulatory integrity. By streamlining processes, accelerating permitting timelines and enhancing data‑driven decision‑making, the Office ensures compliance with environmental standards while supporting responsible economic development.

OPC centralizes all permitting and compliance functions, aligning engineering, geology, ecology, design, and compliance divisions into a single workflow. Its structure includes integrity and production audits, UIC and storage regulation, groundwater protection, coastal permits and mitigation, and reservoir and legacy site management.

The Petroleum Scientist Manager 2 position serves as a lead technical advisor comparable to principal‑level petroleum industry geologists and unitization consultants. The position leads the Section’s effectiveness in addressing regulatory and technical matters, and its hearing and associated orders management processes. This position also provides technical support to other divisions within the Department of Conservation and Energy as needed and provides mentoring and technical guidance to junior staff.

• A bachelor’s degree in a geoscience field or engineering plus five years of experience in the evaluation of oil and gas drilling, oil and gas production and/or oil and gas transportation, mining engineering or geology.
• A master’s degree in a geoscience field or engineering plus four years of the required specialized experience.
• A doctorate in a geoscience field or engineering plus three years of the required specialized experience.
• No Civil Service test score is required.

• Participates in public hearings as the Office of Permitting and Compliance Hearing Officer and questions witnesses when appropriate.
• Reviews hearing applications and testimony, presenting recommendations to the Secretary following docket review, and consulting with legal counsel on complex unitization matters.
• Maintains working knowledge of applicable legal precedents, regulations, and policies governing unitization and orders issued following hearings.
• Oversees the application processing and scheduling of Oil and Gas Hearing Dockets.
• Performs management responsibilities including workflow coordination and quality assurance of procedural review of requests, workflow review, geological and programmatic products, performance evaluation, training and mentoring of section personnel, etc.
• Conducts advanced subsurface geological analysis and mapping to support oil & gas unitization, reservoir characterization and regulatory decisions.
• Analyzes well data, evaluates reservoir properties and well geometry, and prepares technical interpretations using available databases and software.
• Provides leadership and direction to Section staff; establishes goals, priorities, and performance standards aligned with departmental objectives.
• Controls the day‑to‑day programmatic operations of the Section relative to petroleum geological oversight and advisory functions.
• Performs additional duties as assigned by the Petroleum Scientist Administrator or DCE leadership.

• Appointment Type: Promotional position open to current permanent Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy employees.
• Career Progression: This position does not participate in a Career Progression Group.
• Work Schedule: Work hours are flexible.
• Compensation: The salary offered will be determined based on qualifications and experience. This position is eligible for premium pay of up to $2.00 per hour for licensed employees. A Special Entrance Rate (SER) is offered to qualified applicants.
• Eligibility Criteria: Premium pay rates for licensed professionals:
  Licensed LAPELS Engineer: $2.00 per hour;
  Licensed LBOPG Geoscientist: $2.00 per hour. All hours eligible.

Louisiana is a State As a Model Employer (SAME) that supports the recruitment, hiring, and retention of individuals with disabilities.