Female Engineer

It's not entirely clear to me from your post - are you (and your wife?) being offered jobs with the "large western company" or with Saudi Aramco?

I have to say I have never heard of a female engineer being hired by Aramco before arrival in kingdom, when accompanying her husband. With Aramco, typically the husband gets hired first, then after the couple arrive, the spouse can apply for a job as a "casual" employee - meaning they get paid a salary but do not get the "full" package with housing, leaves, medical etc as those are provided as part of the husband's package.

Sometimes the job for the wife is informally discussed first but since it depends on the company being able to get a work permit after the couple's arrival in kingdom, which is never guaranteed and can take quite a while to come through, this is never more than an informal arrangement. There are no cast-iron guarantees that a wife can definitely get a job as it depends on factors outside the company's control.

For instance, there have been times when the Saudi Ministry of Labour has put a freeze on the issuance of work permits for expat females already resident in kingdom. In my old dept we had to wait 6 months one time to get a female "casual" engineer into the job she had been "promised," because she could not get a work permit for that length of time.

The lady engineers that I have known, whether expat or local, have worked mainly in the office, with perhaps the occasional visit to the field thrown in from time to time. I have not known any to be involved with commissioning in the field as their main function.

Wives do get jobs inside Aramco, including technical jobs. You will need to go to HR and find out if there is a job available and apply for it. The hiring process is one that requires patience, just like when your husband applied. Use the time prior to having a job to connect with people and activities and settle in. And do not give up trying to get a job if you want one. It does happen.