Wind Field Service Engineer

Description

• Develop field inspection documentation and checklists for field technicians to conduct inspections to support project tracking and deliverables.
• Work directly with wind farm operations teams to troubleshoot, investigate, and resolve equipment issues.
• Support and review QA/QC and commissioning processes used on site during project development.
• Support Wind Operations across the full lifecycle spanning installation and commissioning, operations in and out of warranty, repower and decommissioning.
• Support site weekly availability calls to identify site/platform/fleet trends and identify opportunities for projects via common issues.
• Attend vendor teardowns to build knowledge and experience to diagnose and recognize component-specific failure modes.
• Support operational activities for corrective and preventative maintenance of wind turbines.
• Support various programs focused on wind fleet performance optimization (includes topics related to mechanical, electrical, software, blades, and foundations).
• Supervise vendors and contractors in the field to ensure Engineering work procedures and quality standards are followed and to support technical due diligence and issue resolution.
• Act as a pseudo-Program Manager for Engineering projects to ensure cross-company communication between various Clearway groups, sites, and vendors.
• Support specialized field repairs and major component replacements, particularly new procedures, technology, and vendors that require Engineering validation.
• Leverage site visits to identify opportunities for future Engineering projects from site need, open-eyed inspections of towers while on site, opportunities for improved tooling, processes, or safety issues.
• Support development of maintenance procedures, work instructions, and safety procedures, including implementation of Reliability Centered Maintenance practices for the fleet.
• Develop relationships with site managers and technicians to build trust and improve/sustain working relationships and garner support for projects and work requests.
• Perform field investigations and generate reports on equipment failures.
• Adhere to appropriate company health, safety, environment, and quality processes for the business utilizing industry best practice.
• Support transition of new projects from construction to operations phase by becoming familiar with critical construction/assembly processes and commissioning instructions.
• Make recommendations on equipment maintenance, equipment manufacturers, and tooling based on objective observations, empirical measurements, and operational data.
• Support root cause analyses (RCAs) of turbines, main components, and other high-impact failures/faults.
• Provide engineering support to field personnel for corrective and preventative maintenance of turbines.
• Collect data on site and contribute knowledge and insight that will drive engineering actions and projects.
• Participate in continuous improvement processes relating to fleet-wide initiatives.
• Conduct field surveys pulling together info from multiple sites and vendor/supplier input to drive and direct programs, make decisions about key processes, and turn the results into Engineering programs.
• Keep records, maintain documentation, and compile reports as required by company policy and procedures.
• Attend industry trade shows and conferences to identify emerging trends/technology/vendors that can support Clearway issues.

Requirements

• Must have an in-depth understanding of electrical or hydraulic pitch systems (both are preferable).
• Must possess excellent skills to troubleshoot turbine faults, failures and recommend appropriate corrective action plans.
• Must possess an excellent understanding of maintenance plans and protocols.
• Must be able to effectively communicate and work with site personnel as well as third-party contractors.
• Demonstrated experience in failure investigations of major components such as main bearings, gearboxes, and generators.
• Experience with technical writing for work instructions and technical specifications.
• Ability or willingness to learn Computer Aided Drafting & Modeling to develop in-house design solutions to be installed/retrofit into Clearway turbines.
• Ability to climb wind turbines with or without a climb assist. Capable of working at heights of up to 390’.
• Ability to interpret/follow/develop technical instructions in verbal, written, diagrammatic, and schedule formats.
• Ability to travel with short-term notice to Clearway Energy sites throughout the continental U.S.
• Must have an in-depth understanding of electrical (controls and power systems) and mechanical systems.
• Experience developing reliability, maintenance optimization, and repair/upgrade options for wind turbines.
• Must have experience with converter systems and blades.
• In-depth level knowledge of various drivetrain system designs employed in wind turbines.
• Ability to communicate technical concepts to both a technical and non-technical audience, including all levels of the organization, from upper management to site personnel.
• Enthusiasm to trial new products, hardware, software, and solutions using incremental risk strategies.
• Willingness to learn a wide range of technical Engineering topics and use that experience to execute field programs and solutions.
• 10 years of direct experience with multiple wind turbine platforms and 5+ years in field engineering or similar role.
• Experience in gearbox and generator root cause analysis and development of up-tower mitigation options, repair processes, and upgrade solutions.
• Experience with analytical processing and analysis of turbine operational data to assess turbine, site, and cross-site performance.
• Must possess understanding of lubrication and tribology and basic knowledge of oil analytics.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in engineering or field operations and maintenance is required.
• Must have familiarity with BOP components: PMT, transformer vaults, capacitor banks, substations.
• Experience following and developing reliability programs.
• Knowledge of proper use of LOTO for energy isolation.
• Experience developing requirements and selection processes for approved 3rd party major component service providers.
• Experience with setup and design of experiments for field measurements as well as experience with Engineering measurement tools.
• BS in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering is highly preferred. Will consider years’ experience in lieu of an undergraduate degree. High school diploma minimally required.
• Demonstrated experience or willingness to learn boroscoping techniques, especially for gearboxes and generators.
• Experience with statistics and analytics around fault frequency and impact to production.
• Ability to read and interpret drawings, technical manuals, and commissioning instructions.

Benefits

• Travel, including overnight on short notice (up to 50%) with occasional flexible hours.

Training + Development

Interview process

Visa Sponsorship

Security clearance