Head of Rigline, 24/7 Operations
Nabors Industries
Houston, TX · Posted October 6, 2026
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Where Houston, TX ranks
Where Houston, TX placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.
November 2026
- #1Best cities for manufacturing and industrial jobs887 openings · of 100
- #1Best cities for energy and utilities jobs704 openings · of 27
- #1Cities hosting the most energy & utilities conferences11 conferences · of 15
- #2Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the Southwest481 jobs · of 38
- #2Best cities for software and engineering jobs in the Southwest1,018 openings · of 33
- #2Best all-round cities for mid-career professionals in the Southwest74 / 100 · of 15
Rankings about operations jobs
- Best cities for operations jobs #1 New York (1,429 openings)
- Best cities for operations pay after cost of living #1 Reston ($177k)
- Most requested AI skills in operations jobs #1 AI tools in daily work (2.5%)
- AI tools named most often in operations jobs #1 Claude (0.28%)
- Employers with the most operations jobs #1 Amazon (1,480 roles)
How AI is used in this kind of work
Among general and operations managers, AI is already used for some of the tasks. Measured exposure for general and operations managers: 14% (some).
Share of this job’s tasks that AI is already used for at work, from real usage. It is not a forecast of job loss, and a low number means no use seen yet. Source: Anthropic Economic Index.
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About the job
Lead Rigline 24/7, the centralized technical operations center supporting Nabors and third-party rig fleets. You’ll set the strategy, operating model, and service standards for continuous fleet support, develop technical leaders, and coordinate critical response across field operations, Controls & Automation, Engineering, and Digital Solutions. Your mandate is to improve rig uptime and service reliability, expand remote resolution, reduce unnecessary field intervention, and use fleet-wide data to eliminate recurring failures.
You’ll have the opportunity to shape how a global drilling organization supports its fleet—bringing together operational expertise, advanced technology, and data to solve complex challenges with measurable impact on safety, reliability, and performance.
Rigline Strategy, Service Model & People Leadership Primary Skills: Strategic Leadership • Service Management • Workforce Management • Budget Development • Talent Development
Lead Rigline 24/7 as the fleet’s single, continuously staffed point of contact for equipment, controls, automation, software, connectivity, and technology issues, ensuring every case has clear ownership from first call through resolution.
Set department strategy, operating model, organizational structure, shift coverage model, staffing plans, performance expectations, and budget; lead and develop the managers, supervisors, and technical teams responsible for day-to-day service delivery.
Build a strong safety, service, and accountability culture while sustaining organizational capability through structured training, knowledge management, succession planning, and career development.
Remote Technical Support, Escalation & Major Events Primary Skills: Technical Support • Incident Management • Risk Management • Cross-Functional Leadership • Proactive Communication
Advance remote resolution as the default support model by expanding the use of remote access, system data, alarms, configuration information, and case history to resolve issues without field dispatch wherever possible.
Lead coordination of major technical events, including uncontrolled equipment movement, major controls failures, repeat failures, and critical downtime, by establishing the response bridge, convening accountable technical groups, maintaining communication, and tracking actions through closure.
Define and maintain the escalation framework, severity levels, and service expectations between Rigline and partner organizations, clarifying disciplinary ownership and Rigline’s ownership of the connecting support process.
Partner with Engineering, Operations, Maintenance, and other support functions as needed to troubleshoot issues, coordinate response, remove barriers, and drive timely resolution.
Software, Controls, Connectivity & Configuration Support Primary Skills: Software Deployment • Systems Integration • Configuration Management • Connectivity • Remote Support
Own the operational process for PLC/code deployments, software upgrades, patches, and configuration changes across the fleet, including version tracking, prerequisite verification, deployment confirmation, and after-hours support when a change creates operational issues.
Oversee support for RigCLOUD connectivity, communications, data availability, and remote access, partnering with digital teams to protect the infrastructure that remote troubleshooting depends on.
Represent Rigline in technology rollout and product planning so supportability, documentation, and training are in place before new equipment, code, or systems are deployed to the fleet.
Fleet Technical Assurance, Reliability & Corrective Action Primary Skills: Reliability Management • Root Cause Analysis • Corrective and Preventive Action • Quality Assurance • Risk Assessment
Lead fleet health and technical assurance programs, including Static Brake Test compliance, code and version tracking, major-event tracking, technical audits, and fleet-wide reporting.
Use fleet-wide case data to identify repeat failures, weak components, code and configuration defects, procedure and training gaps, and district trends.
Drive root-cause analyses, Intelex items, engineering actions, and other corrective actions through verified closure across the fleet.
Operational Intelligence, KPI Governance & Executive Reporting Primary Skills: Performance Analysis • Data Analysis • Monitoring and Reporting • Dashboard Development • Business Presentations
Establish, track, and report department KPIs such as remote resolution rate, response and resolution time, downtime avoided, repeat failure rate, and compliance.
Convert case and fleet-health information into decision-ready operational intelligence and present fleet reliability insights to executive and operations leadership.
Use performance trends and verified closure data to prioritize systemic reliability, process, training, and technology improvements.
Participate in customer, partner, technology-planning, and operational-review forums related to fleet technical support and reliability.
Support field visits, technical audits, training events, and lessons-learned workshops when operationally appropriate.
Contribute to support playbooks, knowledge articles, standards, and continuous-improvement initiatives consistent with the role’s purpose.
Required
Bachelor’s degree in operations management, project management, business administration, engineering, engineering technology, industrial technology, logistics, information systems/MIS, or a related field; equivalent directly relevant industry experience may be considered.
8–12+ years of progressive experience in drilling, rig equipment, controls and automation, operations leadership, technical operations or service delivery, or a related safety-critical industrial environment, including 5+ years leading managers or supervisors.
Demonstrated success leading complex operational organizations, including managing performance, developing leaders, setting priorities, resolving competing demands, and balancing operational risk, customer needs, service levels, resources, and cost.
Strong practical knowledge of drilling operations, rig systems, field workflows, controls and automation, with sufficient technical depth to effectively lead technical teams, challenge recommendations, and make informed operational decisions.
Experience leading a 24/7 operations center, remote-support organization, or technical-service function, or similarly complex service-delivery environment, including shift coverage, escalation management, and service-level performance.
Strong project and change management capability, including leading cross-functional initiatives, establishing ownership, managing milestones, and driving execution.
Working knowledge of software release, version management, configuration management, industrial connectivity, and data platforms used in production operations.
Demonstrated ability to use operational and service data to identify trends, lead root-cause analysis, improve performance, and influence decisions across organizational boundaries.
Strong decision-making and communication skills, including the ability to translate complex technical issues into clear operational priorities and actions for field and leadership teams.
Demonstrated customer-service orientation, including responsiveness, ownership, follow-through, and credibility with rig, field, internal and external customers.
Ability to support major operational events and escalations outside standard business hours when required.
Preferred
Experience with Nabors rig systems, Canrig controls and automation, RigCLOUD, or comparable drilling-technology environments.
Experience establishing remote-resolution, fleet-health, technical-assurance, or reliability-improvement programs.
Experience governing PLC/code deployments, software upgrades, patching, and configuration changes across distributed industrial assets.
Experience presenting fleet reliability, operational performance, and risk insights to executive leadership.
#LI-SMO
Nabors is a leading provider of advanced technology for the energy industry. With operations in about 20 countries, Nabors has established a global network of people, technology and equipment to deploy solutions that deliver safe, efficient and responsible hydrocarbon production. By leveraging its core competencies, particularly in drilling, engineering, automation, data science and manufacturing, Nabors aims to innovate the future of energy and enable the transition to a lower carbon world.