Principal Field Service Engineer

Babcock & Wilcox; Akron (OH); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Babcock & Wilcox seeks an Advisory Engineer to lead the development and management of Field Managed Contracts. The position requires strong project management skills and deep technical knowledge to oversee contracts, offer field support, and ensure compliance with standards.

Responsibilities include conducting site inspections, mentoring service engineers, and fostering customer relationships. Candidates must have a Bachelor’s degree in related fields and over 10 years of relevant experience, especially with Bowl Mill Pulverizers.

Qualifications

• 10+ years’ of experience in the power segment required.
• Advanced knowledge of Bowl Mill Pulverizers and gearboxes.
• Ability to work independently and in teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and management of Field Managed Contracts.
• Provide field technical support and troubleshooting.
• Mentor and train field service engineers.

Skills

Project management skills

Advanced communication skills

Field service experience

Mechanical systems knowledge

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical, or Civil Engineering

Job description

The Advisory Engineer role is responsible for leading the development, proposal, and management of Field Managed Contracts while collaborating closely with sales, engineering, and service teams. This position requires strong project management skills to oversee multiple contracts, define scope, develop estimates, and maintain accurate cost and performance tracking.

A key component of the role is providing extensive field technical support, including hands-on troubleshooting of complex mechanical systems (specifically Bowl Mill Pulverizers), analyzing equipment performance issues, and developing practical, cost-effective solutions in real time at customer sites. The engineer serves as a technical subject matter expert, guiding maintenance teams during installations, repairs, and upgrades, while ensuring compliance with customer specifications and industry standards. This responsibility also includes mentoring and training company field service engineers, supporting warranty or repair investigations, and contributing technical insights to improve product design and reliability through collaboration with engineering and R&D.

Additionally, the role involves direct customer engagement to strengthen relationships, identify service opportunities, and promote inspections, upgrades, and parts sales. Success in this position requires deep field service experience, strong communication skills, and advanced technical knowledge of rotating equipment and mechanical drive systems.

Duties

• Performs site inspections and technical assistance during plant outages, which may extend for prolonged durations depending on outage scope and project requirements
• Manages multiple contracts of varying size, scope, and duration simultaneously
• Interacts with external customers, A&Es, and vendors to support project execution
• Collaborates with B&W engineering, manufacturing, and purchasing teams on field project development and execution
• Defines project scope and proposes solutions to meet customer needs and objectives
• Reviews customer specifications to establish accurate project and proposal scopes
• Develops project estimates and generates estimates to support contract execution
• Maintains accurate field contract cost tracking against estimates
• Participates in onsite meetings, project activities, and field engagements as required
• Prepares technical engineering documentation and project reports
• Develops innovative technical solutions to resolve customer issues and operational challenges
• Supervises and directs service engineers in project support activities
• Trains and mentors service engineers on field project execution and best practices
• Assists District Engineers with office responsibilities, including customer communication and scheduling when needed
• Promotes inspection services and parts sales opportunities
• Trains and develops new sales engineers on products and service offerings
• Leverages existing customer and vendor relationships to drive business growth
• Supports research and development initiatives through field feedback and technical input

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical, or Civil Engineering from an ABET/EAC accredited program required.
• 10+ years’ of relevant field experience required in the power segment
• Advanced knowledge of Bowl Mill Pulverizers including journal assemblies
• Advanced knowledge of integral-type and double/triple reduction Pulverizer gearboxes
• Possesses advanced oral and written communication skills
• Must be able to work both independently and in a group setting
• Must be comfortable communicating with both internal and external clients on behalf of B&W
• Ability to function on multidisciplinary teams
• Ability to travel, sometimes for extended periods of time
• Ability to stand, squat, crawl, etc. for extended shifts (10+ HRS at times) in an industrial environment
• Ability to wear required PPE during on site support