Geomechanics Research Engineer

Geomechanics Research Engineer

Location:

Spring, TX, US, 77389 Company Name:
Exxon Mobil

At Exxon Mobil, our vision is to lead in energy innovations that advance modern living while reducing emissions. As one of the world's largest publicly traded energy and chemical companies, we are powered by a unique and diverse workforce fueled by the pride in what we do and what we stand for. The success of our Upstream, Product Solutions and Low Carbon Solutions businesses is the result of the talent, curiosity and drive of our people.

They bring solutions every day to optimize our strategy in energy, chemicals, lubricants and lower-emissions technologies. We invite you to bring your ideas to Exxon Mobil to help create sustainable solutions that improve quality of life and meet society's evolving needs.

The campus was constructed to the highest standards of energy efficiency and environmental stewardship. Its design incorporates extensive research into best practices in building and workplace design through extensive benchmarking of the world's top academic, research, and corporate facilities.

We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Research Engineer with strong expertise in Geomechanics to support advanced technology development for oil and gas applications. Candidates will bring deep technical knowledge, creativity, and a passion for solving complex subsurface challenges through numerical modeling and integration of experimental and observational data. The position is based at the Exxon Mobil Campus in Spring, Texas.

Perform state-of-the-art research in Geomechanics, including numerical modeling and integration with laboratory, log, and field data. Explore new concepts, develop innovative workflows, and advance fundamental understanding of subsurface mechanical behavior. Create, refine, and implement new tools, recommendations, procedures, and software solutions with minimal supervision. Adapt and integrate geomechanics technologies into operational workflows to support completions, injection, production, and reservoir management. Manage and execute research initiatives through effective project planning, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and technical leadership.

Prepare and deliver high-quality technical presentations and reports for internal leadership and external audiences (e.g., conferences, collaborators). Collaborate with colleagues in the Global Business Line, external academic institutions, and others in technology organizations within Exxon Mobil.

Candidates must possess experience in mechanics of porous media, constitutive models of rock and phenomenological models for rock strength, poroelasticity, poroplasticity, rock physics, multi-scale analytical and numerical modeling, advanced numerical simulation and experimental geomechanics. Candidates are also expected to have
1) outstanding oral and written communication skills;
2) a strong work ethic with the ability to work independently as well as in a research team; and
3) good project management skills. Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Engineering Mechanics. In-depth knowledge of numerical methods used in geomechanical modeling, including finite-element methods. Application of mathematical models, numerical methods, laboratory experiments and statistics for the purpose of predicting the mechanical behavior of solid, fluid and multi-physics systems at various scales under static or dynamic conditions. Analyses types include Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluid flow, flow in porous media, elastic, inelastic and creep deformation, heat transfer, damage and contact mechanics, structural stability and coupled fluid-structure interactions.

Relevant analysis examples include subsurface geomechanics, hydraulic fracturing, fault contact / slip, design of casing and completions (injectors, producers, sand control).

Demonstrate familiarity, experience using, or the ability to learn and work with specific geomechanical modeling tools such as ABAQUS, ANSYS, Reveal, VISAGE, Elfen, and HPC environments. Familiarity with Mechanical Earth Models (MEM) workflows and applications in geomechanics is desirable. Capability to…