Global HVDC Control System Commissioning Leader (m/f/d)

AL8238 UK Grid Solutions Limited; Stafford; On-site; GBP 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Global exposure

Career development programs

Competitive compensation

Excellent pension and benefits

Job summary

GE Vernova Grid Solutions is seeking a Global HVDC Control System Commissioning Leader to drive a standardized, safe, and efficient commissioning function worldwide. You will bridge NPI, Engineering, and Site Execution, ensuring resources and governance support a growing HVDC portfolio.

The role requires strong leadership, technical depth in HVDC (LCC/VSC), RTDS testing, and global collaboration across diverse teams to deliver high-value projects.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering or related field.
• Extensive experience in HVDC control, protection, or large-scale power system commissioning.
• Proven track record leading large, multicultural, geographically dispersed engineering teams.
• Deep technical knowledge of HVDC technologies (LCC/VSC), control system architecture, SCADA, and cyber-security.

Responsibilities

• Provide global leadership for HVDC control system commissioning and standardize procedures.
• Balance strategic leadership with technical oversight and risk management across the portfolio.
• Chair gate reviews and ensure safety, quality, and readiness for energized testing.
• Collaborate with NPI and Design teams to ensure commissioning aligns with lab and site realities.

Skills

HVDC control expertise

Global leadership

Risk management

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering

Tools

RTDS

SCADA

PSCAD/MATLAB-Simulink

Job description

Job Description Summary

GE Vernova is experiencing strong growth, and we are currently scaling up our teams, building new capabilities, and helping bring our industry to the next level. Join us on this mission! At GE Vernova Electrification, we are electrifying the world with advanced grid technologies. As leaders in the energy space, our goal is to accelerate the transition toward a more energy-efficient grid that fulfills the needs of tomorrow. With a focus on growth and sustainability, GE Vernova Grid Solutions plays a pivotal role in integrating renewables into the grid and driving the journey toward carbon neutrality. Due to the growth of our HVDC business, we are looking for a Global HVDC Control System Commissioning Leader to lead the global capability, standardization, and execution excellence of our control system commissioning function. This role will report directly to the HVDC Solution Line Leader.

Job Description

Your Mission: You will be responsible for the strategic management of the global HVDC control system commissioning function. While the Lead Commissioning Engineers focus on site-specific execution, your mission is to ensure the business has the qualified resources, standardized processes, and technical governance required to deliver a global portfolio of projects safely and efficiently. In this role, you will balance high-level functional leadership with senior technical oversight and risk management, serving as the bridge between New Product Introduction (NPI), Engineering, and Site Execution.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Operational Excellence: Drive "First-Time Pass" rates at Ready for Energization (RFE) gates and reduce commissioning cycle times through process industrialization.
• Resource Management: Optimize global team utilization and ensure 100% on-time mobilization of qualified staff to project sites.
• Quality & Safety: Maintain a Zero-Harm culture and ensure 100% integration of "Return of Experience" (REX) into global commissioning standards.
• People Development: Maintain robust succession plans for critical roles and improve the team’s

Main Tasks & Responsibilities

• Functional Leadership & Strategy
  • Global Resource Management: Define and execute the resourcing strategy for the commissioning function. Manage the mobilization and assignment of Lead Engineers and specialists across the global project portfolio.
  • Process Standardization: Own and industrialize the global commissioning procedures for HVDC control systems. Drive consistency across projects to ensure a uniform approach to testing and documentation.
  • Talent Development: Lead, coach, and mentor a global community of Control System Commissioning Leads. Conduct competency assessments and design training programs for next-generation commissioning experts.
  • Financial & Lean Accountability: Manage the functional budget and drive Lean initiatives to eliminate waste in the "Engineering-to-Site" handover. Identify and implement cost-out opportunities within the commissioning phase.
  • Succession & Recruitment: Proactively manage the talent pipeline and succession planning for key technical roles to support business growth.
• Technical Oversight & Governance
  • Senior Technical Authority: Serve as the ultimate functional escalation point for complex technical issues during site commissioning, including unpredicted system behavior or grid interaction challenges.
  • Technical Gate Reviews: Chair functional gate reviews to validate that control system scopes are technically sound, safe, and ready for energized testing.
  • NPI & Engineering Liaison: Partner with the NPI (New Product Introduction) and Design teams to ensure new technologies are "commissionable" and that laboratory testing (RTDS) strategies align with site realities.
  • Risk Management: Identify cross-project technical risks and coordinate global corrective actions to ensure safe and successful project delivery.

Qualifications / Essential Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering or a related technical field or equivalent experience.
• Extensive experience in HVDC Control & Protection or large-scale power system commissioning.
• Proven track record of leading large, multi-cultural, and geographically dispersed engineering teams.
• Deep technical knowledge of HVDC technologies (LCC/VSC), control system architecture (e.g., eLumina), SCADA, and Cyber-security.
• Experience in laboratory-based testing using Real Time Digital Simulators (RTDS).
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to influence stakeholders in a matrix organization and manage functional budgets.
• Strong health and safety mindset with a focus on international high-voltage safety standards.
• Ability to travel globally to project sites and laboratory hubs as required.

Desired Requirements

• Experience in New Product Introduction (NPI) cycles and the industrialization of engineering processes.
• Proficiency in Lean management principles and Agile methodologies.
• Competence in PSCAD/MATLAB-Simulink and knowledge of industrial protocols (IEC61850).
• Ability to demonstrate GE Vernova ways of working centered around Lean, Innovation, Customer, One Team, and Accountability.

What We Offer

• Professional Growth: Leadership of a global function with extensive resources and training for executive development.
• Cutting-Edge Projects: Involvement in high-profile, innovative projects that are shaping the global energy transition.
• Global Exposure: Collaboration with a diverse, global network of industry experts and leadership.
• Competitive Compensation: Robust compensation package plus GE Vernova corporate benefits.

No Addressing the climate crisis is an urgent global priority and we take our responsibility seriously. That is our singular mission at GE Vernova: continuing to electrify the world while simultaneously working to help decarbonize it. If we want our energy future to be different... we must be different. Our mission is embedded in our name. We retain our treasured legacy, "GE," in our name as an enduring and hard-earned badge of quality and ingenuity. "Ver" / "verde" signal Earth's verdant and lush ecosystems. "Nova," from the Latin "novus," nods to a new, innovative era of lower carbon energy that GE Vernova will help deliver. Together, we have The Energy to Change the World.

www.gevernova.com