Kenneth E. Arnold is a part-time senior technical advisor at WorleyParsons as well as an independent consultant to the oil and gas industry. In 1980 he left a 16 year career at Shell to establish Paragon Engineering Services in Houston. In 2005 Arnold sold the company to AMEC plc, a U.K.–based international project management and services company, and he retired from AMEC in 2007. .
He is co-author of two textbooks, several chapters in technical books, and more than 50 technical articles on production facilities design and safety management. Arnold has been active in the Society of Petroleum Engineers as the first technical director of Projects, Facilities and Construction, Vice President of Finance, editor of the facilities portion of the Petroleum Engineering Handbook, and a three time distinguished lecturer. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Construction and is a past President of The Academy of Medicine, Engineering, and Science of Texas. In 2013 he received the Distinguished Achievement Award for an individual from the Offshore Technology Conference.
He received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Cornell and MS in Civil Engineering from Tulane.