Principal Engineer - Wind Turbine Blade Structural Components

Job Description Summary
As the Principal Engineer of wind blade structural components, you are responsible for the overall technical underwriting and release of design concepts, specifications, and practices of blade structural components. Blade structural components include spar caps, shells, shear webs, bonding, add-ons, root close out, and other structural components in wind turbine blades. You will support defining rigor for acceptance of the design decisions for wind blade structural components that will result in safe, high-quality products and services that meet customer needs.

The areas associated with wind turbine blade structural components includes development and ownership of design concepts, design principles and methods, design values, material partial safety factors, acceptance criteria, and Design Failure Modes and Effect Analysis (DFMEA) for structural components. For these areas, you will support Senior Principal Engineers (SPEs) and Chief Engineers (CEs) to set and execute a strategy associated with design processes, field issue resolution, and design tools and technology.
You will collaborate with design teams, cross-functional teams and other designated experts across Design, Systems, Quality, Supply Chain, and Manufacturing to achieve desired outcomes, sometimes executing the work yourself. You will mentor and develop engineering talent, creating technical depth within the blade structural component domain.

This is a leadership position and requires technical proficiency and adept problem-solving skill while developing fundamental capabilities for organizational advancement.

As the Principal Engineer - Wind Turbine Blade Structural Components, your curiosity, problem-solving skills, and ability to lead design teams will be crucial in ensuring we can technically underwrite that our products and services are of high quality and meet customer needs. Your passion for innovation, your capacity to solve technical challenges head-on, and your ownership to develop technical talent will drive your success in OneWind Engineering.

Job Description

Roles and Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and guidance to the design teams involved in wind blade structural components within the OneWind engineering team across all stages of the project lifecycle, spanning from conceptualization and design development to product launch and ongoing fleet operations.
• Support of field quality issues, new product design, new technology design, and repair.
• Accountable for overall technical underwriting of design concepts, design specifications and practices for wind blade structural components.
• Develop wind blade component design concepts that are manufacturable. Set acceptance criteria accounting for both structural requirements and manufacturing capabilities. Where there is a disconnect develop an execution action plan to resolve.
• Collaborates in IP, competitiveness opportunities, & roadmap development across multiple domains, sites, or organizations. Stay informed and participate in relevant industry regulations and standards committees to influence the outcome of regulations and standards.
• Identify and drive system level continuous improvement in engineering design processes and design practices for wind blade structural components to enable engineering design execution that results in safe, high-quality products and services by working with design teams, Control Title Holders (CTHs), and cross functional teams.
• Assist the design team and sometimes execute the optimization of the design of wind blade structural components ensuring compliance with industry standards, safety regulations, and customer requirements.
• Provide technical support and expertise to internal and external stakeholders, including customers, suppliers, and regulatory authorities.
• Perform risk assessments and assist teams in developing mitigation strategies to address technical challenges and ensure safe, high-quality products and services.
• Cultivate a psychologically safe culture of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and professional growth through coaching & mentoring for controlled title holders and broader engineering team in your discipline.
• Work with people leaders and CTHs to mentor and develop technical talent.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited university or college in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Engineering Mechanics or related discipline.
• Minimum 10 years working experience in composite component design, composite component testing, or relevant experience.
• Ability and willingness to travel globally up to 10% of the time.

Desired Characteristics

• In-depth knowledge of composite component design and testing, composite mechanics, composite failure modes analysis, and building-block approach.
• Familiar with composite manufacturing.
• Prior relevant technical leadership experience guiding teams through the design process to deliver safe, high-quality products.
• Postgraduate degree.
• Strong technical expertise in wind blade composite structural components with demonstrated ability to design and own engineering outcomes regarding safety, quality, and fulfillment of customer needs.
• Experience in statistical analysis, holds APQP Level 2 certifications, and has familiarity with the TRL/MRL processes.
• Demonstrated ability to lead multidisciplinary engineering teams, including remote teams, through design assessments and root cause assessments.
• Experience in complex issue resolution by coordinating cross-functional teams and demonstrating analytical problem-solving skills utilizing tools such as (FMEA), RCA 8D process, etc.
• Knowledge of wind turbine industry standards and regulations as it pertains to wind turbine blade structural components.
• Experience in project management by creating a clear, executable path from high level objectives, and demonstrating operational execution rigor by ensuring the objectives are realized.
• Demonstrated communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly and concisely to individuals at all levels of the organization while ensuring transparency and gaining alignment with internal/external stakeholders.
• Track record of curiosity and a strong passion for identifying and turning new ideas, technologies, and methodologies into product differentiated outcomes.
• Experience with coaching, mentoring, and developing technical engineering talent to guide their professional growth and career advancement.

GE Vernova offers a great work environment, professional development, challenging careers, and competitive compensation. GE Vernova is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.

GE Vernova will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States for this opening. Any offer of employment is conditioned upon the successful completion of a drug screen (as applicable).

Relocation Assistance Provided: Yes

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