Job Description
Piping Lead
Location: Belfast
Department: Operations / Piping
Career Level: Functional & People Management
Reporting to: Piping Manager (with matrix reporting to Construction / Project / Programme Managers)
Shape the future of naval and marine engineering
We’re looking for an experienced Piping Lead to play a pivotal role in delivering complex naval and marine programmes at Harland & Wolff. This is a hands-on leadership position where technical excellence, people leadership, and operational delivery come together.
Working closely with the Piping Manager, you’ll lead the piping function across multiple projects—strengthening capability, driving quality, and ensuring safe, efficient delivery in one of the most iconic shipbuilding environments in the world.
What you’ll be responsible for
Health, Safety & Environment
* Lead by example with a strong preventive safety culture.
* Ensure full compliance with H&W Health, Safety, and Environmental plans within the piping area.
* Actively promote safe systems of work across workshops and onboard vessels.
Leadership & Resource Management
* Support the Piping Manager in planning, deploying, and optimising skilled resources.
* Coordinate piping activities across projects and programmes, ensuring work is delivered to schedule, budget, and quality standards.
* Monitor budgets, productivity, workload, and under-activity, contributing to corrective actions where required.
* Manage in-house and subcontracted piping resources, including supervision of outsourced work when capacity demands it.
* Contribute to hiring and resourcing decisions to meet programme needs.
Technical Excellence & Quality
* Lead the execution of piping strategies, policies, and plans across all assigned programmes.
* Provide expert technical support on piping systems, fabrication, and installation.
* Drive continuous improvement through better processes, digital tools, and skills development.
* Collaborate closely with Engineering, Procurement, and Operations on specifications, technical evaluations, and contracting.
* Champion quality by embedding QMS requirements, ensuring compliance with quality plans, and managing non-conformities, corrective actions, and technical queries.
* Proactively identify opportunities to improve organisation, infrastructure, and investment to enhance performance.
What you’ll bring
Skills & Capabilities
* Proven ability to lead, mentor, and develop high-performing technical teams.
* Strong communicator, comfortable working across multidisciplinary teams and with non-technical stakeholders.
* Excellent planning and organisational skills, with the ability to interpret schedules, assess risk, and recover programme variance.
* Calm and effective under pressure in a fast-paced delivery environment.
* Working knowledge of naval and maritime regulations, classification society rules, and defence standards.
* Experience using ERP systems and Microsoft Office.
* Understanding of Earned Value Management (EVM) to support healthy SPI and CPI performance.
Experience & Technical Background
* Strong understanding of P&IDs, isometrics, piping fabrication, and installation.
* Practical experience delivering piping systems within naval or marine environments (military projects desirable).
* Minimum 3 years’ experience in piping manufacture and systems integration (5+ years preferred).
Working environment
You’ll split your time between the office, workshop floor, and onboard vessels in dock. Travel and overnight stays may be required, and working hours may occasionally exceed the standard schedule to meet programme demands.
Why join us?
At Harland & Wolff, you’ll be trusted with real responsibility, leading skilled teams on high-profile, technically demanding projects. You’ll have the opportunity to influence how work is done, develop future capability, and leave a lasting mark on some of the most complex marine engineering programmes in the UK.
Qualifications
Minimum 3 years’ experience in piping manufacture and systems integration (5+ years preferred).
Additional Information
An immediate start is available for the right candidate, offering a fast-paced and engaging opportunity.
If you experience difficulties or are unable to apply for a role on-line please contact us at people.skills@harland-wolff.com and one of the team will be in contact to help you.