After completing his PhD at Imperial College, Bassam spent a year as a post‑doctoral researcher working on methods to reduce topsides structural weight on offshore oil and gas platforms.  He then joined Sir Frederick Snow International as Regional Manager of the Middle East Office where he was responsible for business development and for the management of a number of design projects and supervision of construction.

He joined SCI’s Offshore Division in 1991 and became Senior Manager of that Division in 1997.  He was promoted to Deputy Director of SCI in 1999 and became a Director in 2009.  He oversees work in offshore engineering, composite construction, fire engineering and engineering software, as well as contributing to the overall strategy and direction of SCI. Bassam has provided consultancy services to a number of multi‑national blue chip companies and led several of SCI’s largest projects. These have included studies to improve the understanding of explosion and fire hazards caused by industrial accidents and the development of design rules for composite structures used in nuclear facilities.