Field Engineer Rivers

Posted: 11th May 2026. Starting date: as soon as possible. Full time. Jakarta, Indonesia.

The Ocean Cleanup is a global nonprofit that develops and scales solutions to rid the world’s oceans of plastic, driving systemic change, and creating a lasting positive impact for people, wildlife, and the planet. One part of the solution is to design, develop, and deploy cleanup systems to stop plastic from reaching our oceans by intercepting it in rivers.

We are seeking a local engineer to support our Indonesia team in the implementation of river deployment projects aimed at achieving successful plastic interception.

The Field Engineer plays a key role in the preparation and execution of complex deployment projects across Indonesia, ensuring that all technical outputs, including reports, designs, and drawings, comply both with The Ocean Cleanup’s standards and with Indonesian regulations. You will be the primary technical presence on the ground, conducting site verifications, guiding surveys, and coordinating with local authorities and stakeholders.

You will work closely with the Deployment Engineering team at our headquarters in Rotterdam and the local Indonesia Project Management team. This position operates under a matrix structure, with the Head of Deployment Engineering within the Deployment & Operation department acting as the Line Manager, while functionally, you will report to the Project Manager located in Indonesia.

• Develop and manage scopes of work for technical surveys, field investigations, and vendor design works, including mooring, anchor designs, and river embankments.
• Support the compilation of any technical designs, reports and drawings required for permitting purposes.
• Support the Indonesian Project Management team and the Deployment Engineering team in ensuring that all technical documents comply with Indonesian regulatory requirements.
• Support the Deployment Engineering team and the Operations team in preparing and supervising vendors for design works, including offloading site designs.
• Provide structured supervision for any surveys, studies, construction, or installation activities.
• Assist and support the Indonesian Project Management team in presenting the deployment concept design to relevant stakeholders, especially at different government levels.
• Frequently travel to project locations across Indonesia, often to remote locations.

“Even if you don’t meet every professional qualification listed, we strongly encourage you to apply if you believe you have the right skills, experience, and motivation to contribute to our mission. We recognize that talent and potential come in many forms, and we value diverse perspectives and unconventional career paths. If you’re passionate about the work we do and confident in your ability to make an impact, don’t hesitate to submit your application—we’d love to hear from you.”

• Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in designing and/or supervising infrastructure projects, preferably water management, maritime, and/or solid waste management.
• Experience in writing technical scopes of work for surveys and vendor design works.
• Sound understanding of geotechnical principles with the ability to develop scopes of work for surveys and assess results.
• Experience in site verifications, including assessing site conditions, reviewing construction quality against designs, and report findings.
• Proven ability to liaise with local authorities, contractors, and stakeholders.
• Experience or familiarity with hydraulic modelling tools (HEC-RAS, HEC-HMS etc.) is a plus
• Experience or familiarity with hydrological calculations and river or flood modelling is a plus
• Proficiency in both Bahasa Indonesia and English, both verbal and written

• Team player – motivated to work collaboratively and support team goals.
• Strong project ownership mentality, taking responsibility for outcomes in the field and in planning.
• Detail-oriented, with an understanding of the importance of accuracy in documentation and reporting.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Curious…