Senior Engineer – Power Plant Performance

NovaSource Power

  • Full time
  • 2 months ago
  • Houston,TX
  • OnSite

Job Description

About NovaSource

NovaSource Power Services is the service partner for renewables asset owners ready to fuel smart growth. As an O&M-focused company with 20 years of operating experience, NovaSource has the global reach and strategic capabilities to achieve our clients renewables goals around the world.

To serve our clients, we invest in our people. On hire, we assess each employees experience and expertise, then mentor them to grow engaging and satisfying careers.

Our turn-key services optimize each step of our clients project lifecycles from commissioning to decommissioning and everything in between. Our approach delivers creates success for our clients, stability for our teams, and enables us to build a world-class culture of excellence. And thats how we empower a renewable world.

Summary of Role

At a high level, the Senior Performance Engineer is managing the portfolios of solar PV generating fleets. This is an internal stakeholder and external customer facing role. Key responsibilities will center around maintaining operating indicators at high levels, alerting service managers of trending issues, providing research and analytical support for diagnosing field problems, creating and executing on plant betterment action plans, and developing advanced computational methods. Also, as a core member of the O&M team, the Performance Engineer may be involved in complex contract negotiations as the representative subject matter expert.

The Senior Performance Engineer will grow into a high-level position and will eventually become an expert on solar generation theory was well as data evaluation and diagnostic techniques.


Experience:

  • At least seven (7) years of experience with power generation or similar systems including systems analysis and troubleshooting.
  • Significant experience conducting performance analysis of power generation systems, root cause analysis, working with large data sets, visualizing data in a variety of graphical formats, identifying trends and outliers.
  • Practical knowledge of data mining techniques and application of basic statistical principles.


Education:

  • Four (4) year engineering degree, required.


Required Skills:

  • Superior analytical ability including ability to accurately describe the relationship between physical events and trends in measured data for highly complex systems.
  • Ability to take direction, identify problems, develop solutions, conduct analysis independently and in collaboration with others.
  • Willingness to take responsibility for completion of projects to professional standards and a set schedule.
  • Superior verbal and written communication skills.
  • Proficiency with database query language such as SQL, required.
  • Proficiency with JMP, desirable.
  • Project execution training in PMI, Critical Chain or TOC, desirable.
  • Ability to demonstrate a high level of commitment to the teams success.
  • Ability to share technical expertise with team members and mentor them for success.
  • Ability to prioritize and execute multiple projects and tasks.
  • Good work habits including appropriate documentation of analysis and ability to follow procedures and processes.
  • Ability to collaborate with regionally dispersed team members via email, instant messaging and phone.
  • Significant hands-on experience operating, maintaining, and repairing any physical system (electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, etc.).
  • Ability to lead a team of peers to efficiently accomplish highly complex projects over a medium to long length time frame.
  • Demonstrated ability to make sound strategic and tactical decisions in areas including tools. development, customer negotiations, and high impact problem resolution.
  • Proficient use of all Microsoft Office Suite programs.
  • Available to travel periodically to remote PV Plant and Owner/Customer locations in US and Canada, not to exceed 10%.
  • Ability to work onsite at our Chandler, AZ or Houston, TX offices.


Essential Functions & Responsibilities:

  • Use existing analytical tools to generate periodic internal and external performance reports independently (with occasional peer review but no oversight or direction).
  • Use existing analytical tools to generate ad-hoc reports independently (with occasional peer review but no oversight or direction).
  • Independent identification of performance problems or data anomalies from existing reports and using analysis methods, plant logs, and inquiries to explain and remedy the source of those problems.
  • Investigate specific PV Plant performance questions and concerns independently (with occasional peer review but no oversight or direction).
  • Independently troubleshoot common problems with plant measurement equipment and remedy those problems by working with site technicians or traveling to the site to address the problem in person.
  • Drive continuous improvements by identifying deficiencies in existing tools and methods.
  • Suggest and developing new techniques for PV Plant and Fleet analysis and communicating the advantage of these techniques and training team members in the proper use of these tools.
  • Participate in planning for teamwork flow and strategic decision making.
  • Validate efficacy of techniques and tools for PV Plant and Fleet analysis.
  • Lead teams to complete specific project efforts such as root cause investigations, software development efforts, or other projects.
  • With little to no oversight, communicating efficiently and accurately with customers while conveying a sense of professionalism, courtesy, and competency.
  • With minor involvement of contract manager, negotiating with customers over contract terms and testing/reporting requirements.
  • Other duties as assigned.
  • Job Description subject to change at any time.


Office Physical Requirements:

All positions in our office require interaction with people and technology while either standing or sitting. In order to best service our customers, internal and external, all associates must be able to communicate face-to-face and on the phone with or without reasonable accommodation. NovaSource is committed to compliance with its obligations under all applicable state and federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. In keeping with this commitment, it attempts to reasonably accommodate applicants and employees in accordance with the requirements of the disability discrimination laws. It also invites individuals with disabilities to participate in a good faith, interactive process to identify reasonable accommodations that can be made without imposing an undue hardship.

Potential candidates will meet the education and experience requirements provided on the above job description and excel in completing the listed responsibilities for this role.

US: Diversity Statement Equal Employment Opportunity

It is NovaSources policy to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees. NovaSource disapproves of, and will not tolerate, unlawful discrimination against any applicant or employee because of race, color, national origin or ancestry, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender identity, age, religion, disability, family care status, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, or any other basis protected by local, state or federal laws.

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