From Tennessee To Texas to Saudi Arabia

TL;DR at bottom.

The process started with Dow entering a JV with Saudi Aramco. The new Sadara plant would be the largest petrochemical plant in the world, and lots of manpower and knowledge would be required to design, build and start up.

There were plenty of opportunities, but the timing wasn’t right for our family. Our oldest was getting ready to enter her senior year of high school, and we didn’t want her to miss out on the culmination of so much hard work as a Belle and the closure of friendships built throughout the years.

By the time we were ready to jump, the Sadara job pipeline had dried up. I tried, but my expertise was already represented. So we made the decision to explore every opportunity.

I started with LinkedIn, head hunters, applications on every expat website. I cast a wide net. At the end of December 2014, I received an email from Rilco Engineering, recruiting for Yasref in Yanbu. Hmm, different company, different city. So the research started again. It looked like a perfect place for our family. The size and pace of life was exactly what we were looking for.

I replied that I would be very interested and sent out my resume once more. I was advised that there would be a screening interview over the internet if they were interested in my resume. To my surprise, they immediately advanced me to a face to face interview in Houston.

On January 30th, 2015 I went to the Marriott in the Galleria area. I wasn’t sure what to expect, being more recently accustomed to sitting in the other side of the interview table. I dreaded the situational interview with a panel of 7 or 8 people sitting around the table, jotting notes about me (or their evening plans). I was immediately put at ease when I walked into the interview room to meet only one interviewer. The interview went extremely well, conversational in nature and focused on technical ability and role philosophies. I got to do some drawing on a flip board and explain some very basic equipment.

The interview wrapped up and I was asked to wait in the area. Someone from Rilco sat and talked with me about Yasref, Yanbu, and Saudi life in general. After a few minutes, I was told that the interview was successful and I was being offered a position as a Reliability Engineer.

The next step was a short orientation. I had already found the presentation online, so I gazed through the screen and tried to let it sink in. The negotiations came next. It was a thirty minute ordeal to get the remuneration I expected, but we finally arrived at the same numbers.

I signed a conditional employment agreement and headed back to Lake Jackson. The wife had been kept up to date through the morning by text, but the first phone call home was filled with reserved exuberance. I knew there was still a lot of paperwork to be done and a visa to be approved.

I started with the background check. This was a fairly short process. The medical evaluation was started. I knew this shouldn’t be a roadblock, but I was also aware that the timing on this part would extend out much further. After several doctor’s visits and spending a few hours on the phone with the local labs, all my tests were complete. I then proceeded into degree verification and sending of transcripts. Modern technology made this a very quick process as well. Finally, on May 6th, I had everything ready to send to Rilco, who would then take care of working with the Saudi consulate to get my visa.

It was a few nervous weeks of waiting. There was a hiccup with one of the degree documents, so that had to be resent from UT. I suffered through a few weeks, then called to see how things were going. I was told we were waiting for one more document to be translated and attested. This must have been for my family documents (which we had completed at the same time as my documents, to be used in the future when I apply for the family visa), because the next day (June 3rd) Rilco called and told me that my visa had been approved! I was lucky enough to be riding up the road with my wife, so we got to share that long anticipated moment together. The bonus was that we were riding up to the airport to start welcoming family who were arriving for our oldest’s high school graduation, so we could officially share the news with everyone.

TL;DR

December 18th – first contact from Rilco
December 23rd – resume sent to Rilco
December 29th – selected for interview in Houston
January 30th – interview and offer
February 2nd – accepted offer
February 18th – submitted background check
March 12th – background check completed, medical started
April 15th – medical submitted, degree authentication started
April 20th – received official offer and visa application
May 6th – submitted all paperwork to Rilco
June 3rd – notified that visa approved
June 9th – received visa and family documents
July 7th – left for Yanbu
July 9th – Arrive Yanbu
July 12th – First day of work