Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Onsite
About this opportunity:
Join our Thermal Development team as a Senior Reservoir Development Engineer, where you will play a key role in shaping the future of Cenovus’ SAGD assets through innovative reservoir and well development strategies. In this role, you will lead the design and scoping of sustaining SAGD pads and wells, integrating subsurface characterization, reservoir engineering, and completion design to optimize long-term asset performance and value. Working collaboratively with geoscientists, operations, drilling, and multidisciplinary stakeholders, you will help drive high-impact development decisions while advancing data-driven insights that improve SAGD performance predictability and operational efficiency.
What you’ll do:
Collaborate with geoscientists, Production, and Reservoir Optimization teams to develop and advance SAGD pad and well pair projects from concept through drilling and completion.
Generate and refine reservoir forecasts to support development planning, facilities design, budgeting, and execution activities.
Analyze historical production and reservoir performance data to improve forecasting accuracy and optimize future development strategies.
Apply thermal reservoir engineering principles to optimize well placement and completion design while maximizing recovery and minimizing operational risk.
Identify subsurface development risks and evaluate mitigation strategies using simulation studies and operating analogues.
Support continuous improvement initiatives and foster effective cross-functional communication across technical and operational teams.
Who you are:
Our ideal candidate will have the following minimum requirements:
Legally authorized to work in Canada
Professional Engineer designation (P.Eng.) in good standing with Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA), with a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering required; Petroleum, Chemical, or Reservoir Engineering preferred. Advanced degree considered an asset.
Minimum 8+ years of progressive experience in reservoir, production, development, or completions engineering, including direct experience supporting commercially operating SAGD assets.
Strong subsurface engineering expertise including well design, fluid flow in porous media, rock and reservoir properties, and integration of geoscience and reservoir engineering disciplines.
Proven experience with numerical reservoir simulation, reservoir modeling, and forecasting using CMG STARS or comparable thermal reservoir simulation software.
Demonstrated ability to work effectively in uncertain and multidisciplinary environments, applying probabilistic analysis and sound technical judgment to support business and development decisions.
Strong understanding of SAGD processing facilities and their interaction with reservoir performance; experience with PowerBI, Spotfire, SQL, Python, R, VBA, or Matlab considered an asset.
We acknowledge the value of transferrable skills and may consider equivalent combinations of experience and education should you not meet a specific requirement.
Note: The application deadline for this position is 11:59 PM MT June 8, 2026.
Cenovus was ranked one of Canada’s Best Employers in 2025. We’re committed to being an employer of choice in our industry by offering a competitive total rewards package and employee programs and rewarding career development opportunities. Learn more.
If you require accessibility assistance to complete the on-line application or otherwise apply for an open position with Cenovus, its subsidiaries and affiliates, please email careeropportunities@cenovus.com.
Who we are:
Ranked as one of Canada’s Best Employers in 2025, Cenovus is an integrated energy company headquartered in Calgary. We’re committed to maximizing value by developing our assets in a safe, responsible and cost-efficient manner. We operate in Canada, the United States and the Asia Pacific region. Our operations include oil sands projects in northern Alberta, thermal and conventional crude oil and natural gas projects across Western Canada, crude oil production offshore Newfoundland and Labrador and natural gas and liquids production offshore China and Indonesia. Cenovus’s downstream operations include upgrading, refining and marketing operations in Canada and the United States.
Find Cenovus on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.
The Cenovus experience
Total rewards
We’re committed to being an employer of choice through competitive compensation and our comprehensive total rewards package, including:
Paid vacation (including a flex day program for eligible staff)
Health & dental benefits
Substantial mental health coverage
Life insurance
Disability benefits
Employee family assistance
Virtual healthcare coverage
Our development philosophy
We foster a culture of continuous learning and development to support employees as they build meaningful careers. We offer a variety of employee development initiatives, including:
Internal course offerings
Education assistance for additional development
Opportunities to work on special projects
Leadership development programs for emerging and established leaders
We actively promote internal job movement, recognizing the value of gaining new perspectives, building connections across teams, and applying expertise in new ways. As a fully integrated energy company, we believe that sharing knowledge across our business and operations creates stronger outcomes—for employees and for the company as a whole.
Our culture
Our purpose: We energize the world to make people’s lives better.
Our values:
Protect what matters
Do it right
Make it better
Do it together
Cenovus Cares: We believe in the power of purpose-driven work. Our Employee Giving and Volunteering Program, Cenovus Cares, connects our people to our purpose, inspiring action and elevating impact year-round.
Support causes you care about with volunteer opportunities in and outside of work.
Earn donation grants while volunteering (up to $1,000 per event).
Receive donation matching up to $25,000 annually.
Staff resource groups: We have various staff resource groups to help ensure our people feel a sense of belonging and can grow and do their best work. These voluntary groups are employee-led and all groups are open to all staff in all locations.
Equal opportunity employer
We believe a workplace where everyone has merit-based opportunities to grow, achieve career aspirations and feel a sense of belonging benefits our people, our company and the regions where we live and work. We embrace and encourage different perspectives and approaches, which help us make better business decisions. We believe that through this approach, we can solve challenges, seize opportunities and unlock innovative solutions.
To achieve an unbiased and respectful workplace, individuals are evaluated based on qualifications, merit and abilities, and we encourage applications from all qualified candidates. We also acknowledge the value of transferrable skills and may consider equivalent combinations of experience and education should you not meet a specific requirement.
For more information about working at Cenovus, visit cenovus.com.
The requirements of this posting may be modified to support business needs. Title and compensation administration will be based on the skills and capabilities of the successful incumbent.
Interested in this opportunity? Click the Apply link.
If you are a CURRENT EMPLOYEE, please apply by going to our Internal Career Site.
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