How to Apply to Wood Group

11 min read Last updated April 20, 2026 6 open positions
Blake Crosley
Blake Crosley Researched using publicly available information, hiring data, and ATS analysis.

Key Takeaways

  • Wood is an Aberdeen-headquartered, London-listed (LON: WG.) global engineering, consulting, and project management firm with roughly 35,000 employees in 60+ countries and approximately US$6 billion in FY2024 revenue.
  • The company was founded in 1982 by Sir Ian Wood and remains a core Aberdeen North Sea engineering employer with a substantial global footprint across Energy, Materials, and Infrastructure.
  • 2024-2025 has been turbulent: an accounting review led to the CFO's departure and an FCA investigation, and Sidara Group's takeover approach was ultimately withdrawn after a Wood profit warning.
  • CEO Ken Gilmartin is leading a multi-year turnaround; candidates should expect interview questions about the current context and come prepared with a factual, forward-looking framing.
  • Major hiring hubs include Aberdeen, London, Reading, Houston, Calgary, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Perth, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, and Johannesburg.
  • Apply directly through woodplc.com/careers, tailor your resume to the specific posting, and lead with project portfolio, registrations, and software proficiency.
  • Interviews are technically rigorous with strong HSE and ethics emphasis; expect 4-8 weeks from first screen to offer, faster during project staff-up windows.
  • Compensation is globally competitive: GBP 50-95K+ in the UK (higher in Aberdeen for senior offshore-linked roles), US$110-180K+ in Houston, substantial expat packages in the Middle East, and INR 12-45 LPA in India.

About Wood Group

John Wood Group plc (LON: WG.), known simply as Wood, is a global engineering, consulting, and project management firm headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland. Founded in 1982 by Sir Ian Wood, the company grew out of Aberdeen's North Sea oil patch into one of the world's best-known energy services names, and today employs roughly 35,000 people across more than 60 countries with fiscal year 2024 revenue of approximately US$6 billion. Wood is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250. Wood's business spans three broad markets: Energy, Materials, and Infrastructure. Within Energy the company is a major UK North Sea specialist with deep capability across oil and gas upstream, midstream, and downstream, LNG, and a growing book of hydrogen, carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS), and offshore wind work. In Materials, Wood delivers engineering and project services across mining, minerals, chemicals, and specialty process industries. In Infrastructure the firm works across roads, rail, water, and buildings. The company's competitive set includes Worley, Bechtel, Fluor, AECOM, WSP, Jacobs, Hatch, and KBR, and Wood is most often benchmarked against Worley in energy and Hatch in mining and minerals. The 2024-2025 period has been unusually turbulent for Wood and candidates deserve an honest read of the context. In 2024 the Lebanese-Emirati engineering consortium Sidara Group (formerly Dar Group) made a takeover approach for Wood, valued in the multi-billion-dollar range. The Wood board rejected earlier indicative offers, and Sidara ultimately walked away after Wood issued a profit warning that materially weighed on the share price. Separately in 2024 Wood announced an independent review of prior-year accounting practices, which led to the departure of the chief financial officer and triggered a UK Financial Conduct Authority investigation into the company's disclosures. The share price came under sustained pressure through 2024 and into 2025, and the firm is in the middle of a turnaround led by chief executive Ken Gilmartin, who took the role in 2022. Candidates evaluating Wood should expect to be asked about their view of the company's current situation, and should come to interviews with a factual, calm framing rather than speculation. Within that context, Wood's underlying engineering business remains substantial. The company retains one of the largest engineering workforces in Aberdeen and is a core operator support and brownfield services provider for UK Continental Shelf operators. Its consulting arm is a meaningful growth vector in energy transition, with a stated focus on hydrogen strategy, CCUS deployment, decarbonization roadmaps, and offshore wind engineering. Ian Wood's founding legacy remains visible in the company culture, particularly in the Aberdeen offices, and the firm retains strong community and philanthropic ties to the North East of Scotland through the Wood Foundation. Major operational hubs beyond Aberdeen include Houston, London, Reading, Staines, Calgary, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Perth, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, and Johannesburg.

Application Process

  1. 1
    Search open roles on woodplc

    Search open roles on woodplc.com/careers using the discipline, market (Energy, Materials, Infrastructure), and location filters; shortlist roles tied to specific projects rather than generic pools when possible.

  2. 2
    Create a candidate profile on the Wood recruitment portal, completing employment

    Create a candidate profile on the Wood recruitment portal, completing employment history, education, professional registrations (CEng, IEng, PE, P.Eng, CPEng), and right-to-work disclosures before applying.

  3. 3
    Tailor your resume to the job description, mirroring the exact discipline wordin

    Tailor your resume to the job description, mirroring the exact discipline wording (for example, 'Senior Process Engineer - Hydrogen' or 'Principal Subsea Engineer') and the market-specific terminology used in the posting.

  4. 4
    Submit the application through the Wood careers portal rather than via third-par

    Submit the application through the Wood careers portal rather than via third-party aggregators so the file is tagged to the internal recruiter from the first touch.

  5. 5
    Expect an initial recruiter screen within 1-3 weeks focused on right-to-work sta

    Expect an initial recruiter screen within 1-3 weeks focused on right-to-work status, notice period, location and mobility preferences, salary expectations, and discipline depth.

  6. 6
    Complete a technical screen with the discipline lead or engineering manager cove

    Complete a technical screen with the discipline lead or engineering manager covering 2-4 scenarios from your declared specialty, for example relief device sizing, subsea tie-back concepts, brownfield hook-up sequencing, or hydrogen project interfaces.

  7. 7
    Attend 2-3 panel interviews that typically include a hiring manager, a senior or

    Attend 2-3 panel interviews that typically include a hiring manager, a senior or principal engineer, and an HR or project representative; senior roles often add a project director or operations lead.

  8. 8
    Provide professional references (normally 2-3 recent supervisors or project lead

    Provide professional references (normally 2-3 recent supervisors or project leads) and complete background verification, right-to-work checks, and any medical or offshore survival training requirements for site-based roles.

  9. 9
    Review and negotiate a written offer that includes base salary, pension, bonus e

    Review and negotiate a written offer that includes base salary, pension, bonus eligibility, any long-term incentive participation, and, for expat or rotational roles, housing, hardship, mobilization, and tax-equalization provisions.

  10. 10
    Complete onboarding including HSE and offshore inductions (BOSIET where relevant

    Complete onboarding including HSE and offshore inductions (BOSIET where relevant), ethics and anti-bribery training, and discipline-specific competency assurance before project deployment.

Resume Tips for Wood Group

recommended

Lead with the project portfolio: list specific North Sea assets, LNG trains, min

Lead with the project portfolio: list specific North Sea assets, LNG trains, mining and minerals plants, hydrogen facilities, or infrastructure programs you have worked on, with your scope, capex value, and outcomes.

recommended

Use EPC and operator-support terminology that Wood recruiters recognize: FEED, B

Use EPC and operator-support terminology that Wood recruiters recognize: FEED, BEDP, EPC, EPCM, PMC, brownfield modifications, tie-back, late-life asset management, decommissioning, and integrity management.

recommended

List professional registrations prominently (CEng UK, IEng UK, PE US, P

List professional registrations prominently (CEng UK, IEng UK, PE US, P.Eng Canada, CPEng Australia) and any process safety credentials (FS Eng TUV, CCPS) - these are heavily weighted for senior engineering roles.

recommended

Name the software you have used in production: Aspen HYSYS, Aspen Plus, AVEVA E3

Name the software you have used in production: Aspen HYSYS, Aspen Plus, AVEVA E3D or PDMS, SmartPlant P&ID, SP3D, ETAP, SPI, Caesar II, PV Elite, Primavera P6, and any digital twin, integrity, or BIM platforms.

recommended

Map experience to Wood's growth sectors: hydrogen, CCUS, offshore wind, mining a

Map experience to Wood's growth sectors: hydrogen, CCUS, offshore wind, mining and minerals (especially copper and lithium), and decarbonization consulting - adjacent oil and gas experience is valued if framed for transferability.

recommended

Show standards literacy for the relevant market: API, ASME, IEC, ISO, NORSOK, DN

Show standards literacy for the relevant market: API, ASME, IEC, ISO, NORSOK, DNV, BS EN, and UK HSE specific guidance (PFEER, DCR, SCR) for North Sea roles.

recommended

For consulting roles, lead with advisory outcomes: decarbonization roadmaps, con

For consulting roles, lead with advisory outcomes: decarbonization roadmaps, concept selection studies, optioneering, capex optioneering, and regulatory or policy engagement.

recommended

Keep formatting ATS-friendly: single-column layout, no images, no text in header

Keep formatting ATS-friendly: single-column layout, no images, no text in headers or footers, standard fonts, .docx or PDF, and avoid tables the portal struggles to parse into structured fields.

recommended

Include a one-line mobility statement near the top if you are open to internatio

Include a one-line mobility statement near the top if you are open to international rotations or expat assignments, especially UK to Middle East, UK to North America, or UK to Australia.

recommended

Tailor the summary line to the posting; Wood recruiters review large volumes per

Tailor the summary line to the posting; Wood recruiters review large volumes per requisition and a generic profile is a common reason that otherwise strong candidates get filtered out.

ATS System: Wood Custom Recruitment Portal

Wood operates a custom recruitment portal at woodplc.com/careers that integrates with the company's global HRIS rather than a single off-the-shelf applicant tracking system. Candidates create one profile that follows them across roles, markets, and regions. The portal parses uploaded resumes into structured fields, so clean formatting matters more than visual flourish. Recruiters and discipline leads search the portal database using keywords drawn from the job description, professional registrations, software proficiency, and project sector experience, and they prioritize profiles that are fully populated.

  • Apply through woodplc.com/careers directly rather than via aggregators so your application is tagged to the project recruiter from the first touch.
  • Upload a .docx resume alongside PDF where allowed - .docx parses more cleanly into the portal's structured candidate fields.
  • Mirror the exact discipline title from the posting (for example, 'Principal Process Engineer - Hydrogen' rather than just 'Process Engineer') so internal keyword searches surface your profile.
  • Populate every profile field, including software, professional registrations, languages, clearances, and offshore certifications; partial profiles rank lower in recruiter searches.
  • Use the portal's job alerts to receive notifications when new roles open in your sector and location; Aberdeen and North Sea roles in particular can fill quickly during active campaigns.
  • Update your profile before each new application; the portal stores the latest version and recruiters may browse profiles outside of any specific requisition.

Interview Culture

Wood's interview culture is professional, technically rigorous, and distinctly rooted in Aberdeen engineering pragmatism.

Expect interviewers to test depth before breadth: a subsea engineer applying for a North Sea brownfield role will be asked to walk through tie-back scoping, late-life integrity issues, and interface management rather than broad behavioural prompts. Panels typically include a hiring manager, a senior or principal engineer from the discipline, and an HR or project representative; senior roles add a project director or operations lead. Behavioural questions emphasize HSE leadership, ethical conduct (Wood operates in a number of higher-risk jurisdictions and its anti-bribery posture is visible), and collaboration across distributed teams. Candidates should expect at least one direct question about the 2024 accounting review and Sidara approach. The right posture is factual, brief, and forward-looking: acknowledge the public context, avoid speculation on litigation or personalities, and pivot to what drew you to the role and how you would contribute to Ken Gilmartin's turnaround plan. Interviewers value candor about what you do not know; over-claiming on technical depth is a common reason strong candidates are passed over. The pace is moderate, typically 4-8 weeks from first screen to offer, and faster for project-driven staff-ups. For offshore or expat roles expect explicit conversations about rotation cycles, mobility appetite, and family circumstances. Relocation, expat, and rotational conversations should go both ways; candidates are encouraged to ask hard questions about housing, schooling, rotation patterns, and role stability given the current turnaround context before accepting.

What Wood Group Looks For

  • Demonstrated depth in a specific engineering discipline (process, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and controls, subsea, civil/structural, project controls) with evidence of progressive responsibility on real projects.
  • Sector relevance: meaningful exposure to one or more of Wood's core markets - North Sea oil and gas, LNG, hydrogen, CCUS, offshore wind, mining and minerals, or regulated infrastructure (roads, rail, water).
  • Visible HSE leadership and process safety mindset, including the ability to discuss specific incidents, near-misses, or safety initiatives you have led or contributed to, with North Sea SCR familiarity a plus.
  • Standards literacy and discipline-recognized professional registration (CEng, IEng, PE, P.Eng, CPEng) for engineering roles, and APM PMQ, PMP, or equivalent for project management roles.
  • Project portfolio breadth across FEED, detailed design, brownfield modifications, and operations support, with the ability to articulate scope, schedule, cost, and quality outcomes in EPC and operator-support terminology.
  • Comfort working in a distributed delivery model that spans Aberdeen, Houston, London, Reading, Dubai, Perth, Mumbai, and other hubs, including async collaboration across time zones.
  • Mobility and adaptability for site assignments, offshore rotations, expat postings, or project work in the Middle East, North America, Asia-Pacific, or Africa.
  • Ethical conduct and awareness of anti-bribery and corruption obligations, particularly for roles touching the Middle East, Africa, the Caspian, or South America.
  • Energy transition orientation - candidates who can frame conventional oil and gas or mining experience as transferable to hydrogen, CCUS, offshore wind, or critical minerals are increasingly favoured.
  • Realism and composure about Wood's current public context; interviewers value candidates who engage honestly with the 2024 situation and focus on contribution to the turnaround, not candidates who either ignore it or dwell on it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Wood pay engineers in the UK, the US, the Middle East, and India?
Compensation varies sharply by geography and discipline. In the UK, mid-career engineers typically earn GBP 50,000-75,000 with senior engineers at GBP 75,000-95,000-plus, and Aberdeen roles tied to offshore or senior brownfield work often exceed that range. In Houston, mid-career engineers earn roughly US$110,000-180,000 plus benefits. Middle East expat packages (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and project-driven Saudi Arabia and Oman postings) are substantially higher in total value once housing, schooling, hardship where applicable, and tax-free local treatment are included. In India, mid to senior engineers typically earn INR 12-45 LPA depending on discipline and project. All regions include Wood's standard pension or local equivalent, private healthcare, and globally competitive benefits.
Does Wood sponsor work visas?
Yes, particularly for specialized engineering disciplines and senior project roles where local talent is scarce. Wood operates a global mobility program that supports international transfers and expat assignments across the UK, US, Canada, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Malaysia, India, and elsewhere. Sponsorship is most common for hydrogen, CCUS, offshore wind, subsea, LNG, and critical-minerals specialists, and for senior project management roles tied to specific awards. For early-career roles, sponsorship is less common and candidates with existing right-to-work in the target country are typically preferred.
Does Wood have a graduate or internship program?
Yes. Wood runs structured graduate programs in the UK (notably anchored in Aberdeen), the US, Canada, Australia, the Middle East, and India, and offers industrial placement years and summer internships particularly through UK universities with strong engineering programs. Graduate intakes recruit primarily from chemical, mechanical, electrical, subsea, civil and structural, and instrumentation engineering disciplines. Application windows typically open in the autumn of each year for the following September intake. Wood also partners with universities on industry-linked projects, and the Wood Foundation supports Scottish educational initiatives with a long-standing presence in the North East of Scotland.
What is the career path at Wood?
The standard engineering track runs Graduate or Engineer I, then Engineer, Senior Engineer, Principal Engineer, Engineering Manager or Discipline Lead, and ultimately Director or Vice President of Engineering. A parallel project track runs Project Engineer, Senior Project Engineer, Project Manager, Senior Project Manager, Project Director, and Operations Director. Wood also supports lateral moves into consulting and advisory, decarbonization and energy transition specialist roles, integrity and late-life asset management, and digital and data roles. Long-tenured employees are common in Aberdeen in particular, and internal mobility across geographies and markets is a real feature of the career.
How does Wood compare to Worley, Bechtel, AECOM, and Hatch?
Wood is closest in profile to Worley: a publicly listed global engineering and consulting firm with deep oil and gas heritage and an active energy transition pivot. Worley is ASX-listed and Sydney-headquartered, while Wood is London-listed and Aberdeen-headquartered. Bechtel is privately held with a heavier construction-execution focus. AECOM and WSP are closer to Wood in its Infrastructure market than in Energy. Hatch overlaps most with Wood in mining and minerals. Wood's distinguishing features are its Aberdeen and North Sea heritage, its UK brownfield and operator-support strength, a large consulting arm in energy transition, and the current turnaround context under CEO Ken Gilmartin.
How should I handle interview questions about Wood's 2024 accounting issues and the Sidara approach?
Honestly, briefly, and with a forward-looking framing. The facts are public: Wood announced a review of prior-year accounting practices in 2024, which led to the departure of the chief financial officer and an FCA investigation, and Sidara Group's takeover approach was ultimately withdrawn after a profit warning. Acknowledge that you have read about the situation, avoid speculation on litigation, personalities, or specific financial outcomes, and pivot to what drew you to the role, what you have seen from CEO Ken Gilmartin's turnaround communications, and how you would contribute. Interviewers are not looking for cheerleading or for avoidance - they are looking for composure, realism, and a clear reason why you want to join now.
Is Wood still a good place to build a career given the current turnaround?
For the right candidate, yes. Wood retains one of the largest engineering workforces in Aberdeen, deep North Sea operator-support relationships, a substantial global footprint across Energy, Materials, and Infrastructure, and a growing consulting book in energy transition. Turnarounds are real moments of professional opportunity: they create faster internal mobility, more exposure to senior leadership, and the chance to contribute visibly. The right question is not whether Wood is perfect today but whether the role, the team, and the specific project pipeline fit your career trajectory. Candidates with strong risk tolerance, clear discipline depth, and a constructive temperament often do well in turnaround environments.
What does the Aberdeen office and broader Scottish presence look like?
Aberdeen remains the corporate headquarters and the cultural heart of Wood. The city has been the company's base since founding in 1982, and a meaningful share of the UK engineering and operator-support workforce sits either in Aberdeen offices or offshore on North Sea assets managed from Aberdeen. The wider Scottish presence includes other North East communities and longstanding philanthropic activity through the Wood Foundation, Sir Ian Wood's charitable vehicle, which focuses on Scottish education, youth, and economic development. Candidates joining Aberdeen roles should expect a culture that blends global engineering delivery with a distinctly Scottish operator-support identity.
What sustainability, hydrogen, and offshore wind roles does Wood hire for?
Wood hires across the full energy transition stack relevant to a UK and global engineering firm: hydrogen process and project engineers, CCUS specialists, offshore wind engineering (fixed and floating), decarbonization consultants and advisors, sustainable aviation fuel and biofuels engineers, critical-minerals process engineers (copper, lithium, nickel, rare earths in the Materials market), grid and energy storage engineers, and ESG and sustainability reporting professionals. Wood's consulting arm is especially active in national and corporate decarbonization strategy, concept selection, optioneering, and regulatory engagement work in the UK, Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.
What is Wood's culture like day to day?
The culture is pragmatic, engineering-led, and distributed. Aberdeen carries the founding-culture center of gravity - direct, no-nonsense, safety-first, with deep operator-support DNA. The global delivery network across Houston, London, Reading, Dubai, Perth, Kuala Lumpur, and Mumbai adds a more multinational feel and heavy async collaboration. The workforce skews experienced, with many long-tenured engineers who came up through North Sea and conventional oil and gas work and are now being retrained into hydrogen, CCUS, and offshore wind. Theatrical self-promotion lands poorly; candor, low ego, and visible HSE and ethics commitment land well, and a healthy awareness of the current turnaround context without dwelling on it is an asset.
Who is Sir Ian Wood and why is his legacy still visible at the company?
Sir Ian Wood founded Wood Group in 1982 out of an Aberdeen fishing and shipping family business, and built the firm into one of the defining names of the North Sea oil patch and the global energy services industry. He is one of the most prominent figures in Scottish business, widely credited with leadership in UK Continental Shelf maximization, philanthropy through the Wood Foundation, and long-term civic engagement in the North East of Scotland. Although he stepped down from the chairmanship in 2012, his legacy remains visible in the company's Aberdeen identity, its engineering-first culture, and its continuing philanthropic and educational ties to Scotland. Candidates interviewing for Aberdeen-based roles often find it useful to understand this heritage.

Open Positions

Wood Group currently has 6 open positions.

Check Your Resume Before Applying → View 6 open positions at Wood Group

Related Resources

Related Articles

Sources

  1. Wood - Official Corporate Website —
  2. Wood Careers Portal —
  3. Wood - About Us and Leadership —
  4. Wood Investor Relations - LON: WG. —
  5. Wood News and Project Announcements —
  6. London Stock Exchange - John Wood Group plc (WG.) —
  7. Financial Times - Wood Group Coverage (Sidara approach, accounting review) —
  8. Reuters - Wood Group and Sidara Takeover Coverage —
  9. BBC News - Wood Group Business Coverage —
  10. The Telegraph - Wood Group Business Coverage —
  11. Engineering News-Record - Wood Coverage —
  12. Wood CEO Ken Gilmartin - Public Statements and Turnaround Strategy —
  13. The Wood Foundation - Sir Ian Wood Philanthropy and Legacy —
  14. Glassdoor - Wood (UK and Global) Reviews —
  15. LinkedIn - Wood Company Page —