Sr Engineer I, Site Suitability

RWE•Austin, TX

32d•$130,000 - $140,000

About The Position

The Site Assessment & Suitability team is a key technical interface to the OEM landscape and their new wind turbine developments. The team provides holistic technical assessment to enable the business to select the most competitive turbine technologies and perform site suitability studies for our development projects. To strengthen the team, we are looking for a Sr Engineer I, Site Suitability to support our onshore wind projects.

Requirements

A minimum of a bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline (or comparable) is required
Comprehensive specialist knowledge and 5 years of relevant professional experience in site suitability assessment, preferably from working for a turbine OEM, is required
Experience in working within international project development organizations
Good knowledge of wind yield assessment, wind turbine concepts, wind turbine loads, CFD software, Wasp, WindPRO, and Windographer
Fluent oral and written communication skills in English are required
Extensive knowledge of international rules and regulations applicable to wind turbines, such as the IEC61400 series, DNV GL standards, etc.
Excellent proficiency with Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook) and Teams
Strong leadership, team orientation, and communication, and the ability to meet deadlines
Motivated self-starter, decision-making, goal-oriented, and strong problem-solving abilities while working independently
Proven ability to empathize, build relationships, and effectively communicate with people from a diverse set of backgrounds
Is detail-oriented, has strong business acumen, and a sound understanding of business concepts

Nice To Haves

Programming skills (e.g., Python) are desirable
Knowledge of acoustic software such as WindPRO, CadnaA, Soundplan, or similar is beneficial
Knowledge of ISO standards pertaining to sound propagation and noise measurements is beneficial
Willingness to travel based on tasks, both nationally and internationally (expected travel time in general <25%)

Responsibilities

Perform site suitability and lifetime assessments, including load, fatigue, and Wind Sector Management (WSM). The role will include managing all site-suitability-related tasks for projects at all stages of development
Serve as a focal point of contact and coordinate on behalf of the Site Assessment & Suitability team the delivery of all work package specific tasks with the relevant internal stakeholders (Project Development, Engineering, Onshore Wind Technology Solutions) and the external stakeholders (OEMs, certification bodies, consultants etc.), including management of specific and special issues and consulting reviews of projects
Conduct, review, and defend an independent assessment of site conditions for each project site (such as wind classification, turbulence, extremes, etc.). Take into consideration all project requirements and timelines, especially regarding the suitability of competitive wind turbine technology for maximizing yield and minimizing the cost of energy
Participate in the pre-selection of wind turbines suitable for the site and establish a wind turbine short list
Support coordination and provision of the necessary inputs to WTG OEMs, so that they can deliver the Site Suitability Report (SSR) / Mechanical Load Analysis (MLA) on time and of high quality
Assess received SSRs/MLAs from OEMs
Perform terrain and measurement sector assessments for power performance tests, and review 3rd party testing entity reports and conclusions
Perform site visits, typically but not limited to WTG turbine micrositing, along with relevant stakeholders
Collect information from operating sites with site suitability issues
Identification and exchange of "Best Practice" and "Lessons Learned" beyond the project boundaries, as well as elaboration and coordination of the implementation of suggestions for improvement
Application and (further) development of relevant in-house standards, tools, techniques, and processes within the area of responsibility
Peer review of complex tasks and mentoring of colleagues with less experience
Support preliminary regulatory statute reviews and input basic constraints into layout models
Perform basic acoustic modeling and shadow flicker assessments using established off-the-shelf tools, in-house tools on Matlab and Python basis, and templates
Contribute to layout iteration discussions by flagging noise‑related constraints or concerns
Support coordination and provision of the necessary inputs to 3rd parties, so that they can perform acoustics and shadow flicker assessments on time and of high quality.
Support coordination of and review of compliance and complaints post-construction noise measurements