Sr Manager, Wind Performance Engineering

Rückbauanlage Gundremmingen•Chicago, IL

17d•Hybrid

About The Position

RWE Americas is seeking an experienced wind turbine engineering leader to lead a team responsible for resolving complex technical challenges, improving fleet reliability, and driving performance across its onshore wind portfolio throughout the Americas. The role spans the turbine lifecycle, from post-construction commissioning and handover through long-term operations. It applies technical expertise and field experience to diagnose complex turbine issues, lead root cause investigations, develop corrective actions, and implement sustainable improvements to asset performance, reliability, and availability. The leader works with Operations, Asset Management, Construction, Commissioning, OEMs, and other engineering disciplines to identify, prioritize, and resolve technical issues. The position also establishes engineering best practices and technical standards and translates field lessons into fleet-wide improvements. The position is primarily office-based with a hybrid schedule of three days a week and some travel to wind sites and field operations. Hands-on engagement in operational environments is expected, including climbing turbines or working in industrial conditions as needed. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States; RWE Americas is unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment visas at this time.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related technical discipline from an accredited university.
At least 7 years of experience in wind energy, power generation, or a closely related industry.
Proven experience leading and developing an engineering team, preferably in renewable energy or power generation.
Significant experience supporting turbines through commissioning, field operations, troubleshooting, and long-term fleet reliability.
Strong analytical and diagnostic capabilities, including identifying failure mechanisms and developing solutions through remote analysis and hands-on field investigation.
Proven ability to lead and facilitate structured root cause analysis, challenge assumptions, identify underlying failure mechanisms, and drive sustainable corrective actions.
Strong understanding of major turbine subsystems and components, including generators, converters, transformers, switchgear, pitch and yaw systems, drivetrain, bearings, hydraulic systems, controls, and associated electrical systems.
Ability to use operational data, failure history, condition monitoring, alarms, and fleet performance trends to identify emerging issues and prioritize reliability improvements.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills and ability to convey technical findings clearly to engineers, operations teams, senior leadership, and external stakeholders.
Demonstrated ability to build high-performing engineering teams, develop technical talent, establish accountability, and foster collaboration, safety, ownership, and continuous improvement.
Legally authorized to work in the United States; employment visa sponsorship or transfer is not available.
Ability to travel to wind sites and field operations and engage hands-on in operational environments, including climbing turbines or working in industrial conditions as needed.

Responsibilities

Lead, develop, and mentor a team of wind turbine engineers supporting the Americas fleet.
Provide technical leadership for complex turbine troubleshooting, failure investigations, and reliability issues.
Lead or oversee root cause analysis investigations and ensure corrective actions address underlying failure mechanisms.
Translate root cause analysis findings for major component failures into actionable corrective measures.
Partner with Operations and field teams to turn engineering analysis into practical field solutions.
Establish technical priorities based on risk, availability impact, failure frequency, and operational consequences.
Provide technical guidance during significant equipment failures, emerging reliability risks, and critical fleet events.
Support long-term strategies to improve availability, reliability, maintainability, and overall asset performance.
Develop and implement fleet-wide maintenance and reliability strategies.
Lead technical programs across multiple teams and platforms.
Anticipate risks, develop mitigation strategies, and resolve high-impact cross-functional technical challenges.
Align engineering priorities and outcomes with operational and compliance requirements.
Manage team performance, staffing, resource allocation, and employee development.
Establish engineering best practices and strengthen technical standards.
Translate lessons learned from field experience into fleet-wide improvements.