Principal Engineer – Controls & Software

Tribonet; Greenwood Village (CO); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Tribonet in Greenwood Village, CO seeks a Principal Engineer – Controls & Software to lead controls development for high-speed machinery and power systems. The role emphasizes non-managerial leadership, mentoring, and advancing turbine controls technology.

The candidate should have extensive experience with gas turbines, PLCs, power electronics, and software development in C, C++, and C#. This is a direct hire opportunity based in Colorado with a focus on innovation and robust engineering

Qualifications

• BS in Mechanical, Electrical, or Chemical engineering; graduate degree preferred.
• Recognized gas turbine controls expert with deep discipline knowledge.
• Experience with gas turbines, turbomachinery, and controls hardware.
• Proven ability to lead engineering development and tool/method improvements.
• Expertise in IEC61131 programming languages or ladder logic.
• Proficiency with MSP Visual Studio and Team Foundation Server for code development.

Responsibilities

• Lead controls development for gas turbines, compressors, and power generation.
• Mentor engineers and participate in recruiting top talent.
• Coordinate prototyping, testing, and production releases of electrical and controls hardware.
• Develop new design processes to shorten cycles and improve analysis accuracy.
• Provide field support and remote diagnostics to ensure on-time delivery.
• Prepare customer-friendly documentation and reports.

Skills

C

C++

C#

Power Electronics

Ladder logic

Team Foundation Server

MS Visual Studio

Education

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical/Electrical/Chemical engineering

Graduate degree preferred

Tools

AutoCAD Electrical

PLC/Client systems

Job description

An educational platform on tribology — the science of friction, wear and lubrication

Who is it for

Engineers, researchers, students and industry professionals

Principal Engineer – Controls & Software

Principal Engineer – Controls & Software

GavinHeath is partnering with a client in Greenwood Village, CO looking to add a Principal Engineer – Controls & Software to their team. The role is a Direct Hire position.

Responsibilities :

• The incumbent will be an experienced controls engineer with a broad range of skills in control of high-speed rotating machinery, PLC/Client applications, power electronics and related hardware components.
• This position recognizes personal expertise and engineering leadership, and provides a non-managerial career path to empower experienced and successful engineers.
• This position is key to developing and improving company products that are recognized for their appropriate and innovative use of technology.
• The position leads efforts to develop new design processes and techniques, enabling shorter cycle times and more accurate analyses.
• The position actively mentors other engineers, and helps recruit and retain top talent to improve the organizational expertise and depth of knowledge.
• This position will be responsible for turbomachinery control, power distribution, low voltage power distribution as well as remote communications and diagnostics.
• Lead technical development of large programs (product development, options development, VAVE, reliability improvement)
• Lead all aspects of controls relating to the business, including gas turbines, compressors and power generation.
• Manage, write, test and release machine software as needed to address specific requirements dictated by special customer orders, product enhancements or field reliability items.
• Take a lead role in project to advance controls hardware of the turbine to next generation product.
• Coordinate prototyping, testing and releases into production of electrical and controls hardware.
• Follow company processes for requesting, developing, performing and documenting engineering programs in the areas of product development, special application orders, field issue resolution and cost reduction.
• Support Field Service team through on-line, teleconference or other remote support methods as well as travel to field sites for direct hand‑on assistance.
• Support Operations as needed to resolve any issues in assembly and test to ensure product is delivered on‑time and in compliance with all company and customer requirements.
• Work through and resolve vendor‑related issues that arise due to supplier quality or parts availability issues.
• Identify and qualify alternatives and solutions.
• Provide leadership with respect to training.
• Present training to internal personnel on a variety of controls topics.
• Recommend software parameter adjustments or logic changes to address customer issues related to fuel quality, utility interconnections or other items specific to the customer site.
• Recognized expert in relevant field (gas turbines) both within and outside of the company.
• Able to identify external resources that can solve difficult questions.
• Able to bring in experts, consultants, etc. for failure investigations.
• Generates internal and external documentation of work.
  • This includes customer manuals, key permit applications, customer reports, internal reports, test plans, and test reports.
• Actively involved in recruiting and retaining top‑notch talent. Leverages summer programs and internships, contacts, and interviews to attract key engineering talent.

Qualifications :

• BS in Mechanical, Electrical, or Chemical engineering is required. A graduate degree in a related discipline is preferred.
  • Candidate is expected to interact with academic institutions of higher learning, surveying and accessing technology development that could be relevant to business plans.
• Recognized gas turbine controls expert. A minimum of 10 years of experience required to enable incumbent to understand vital areas of risk, realistic development schedules, understand customer requirements, and develop solutions.
  • Detailed knowledge of gas turbine performance, with in-depth discipline knowledge in a key specialty.
  • Detailed combustion design, development, emissions, fuels, and materials lifing knowledge are examples of personal expertise.
  • Other disciplines could include turbomachinery aerodynamics, heat transfer, rotor dynamics, tribology, vibrations, electrical design, controls, etc.
• Knowledgeable of project engineering discipline and techniques.
• Can plan programs, identify resource requirements, and perform risk identification and mitigation plans.
• Can track program progress, identify variances, and take action in response.
• Solid communication skills. Position requires frequent communication of plans, results, reports, presentations, and specifications.
• Proven leader. Able to lead teams for engineering development or lead tools and method developments.
• Understanding of industry technologies and when intellectual property protection is required.
• Persuasive. Able to influence decision makers, customers, partners, and other stakeholders to make business decisions.
• Able to recruit engineering talent for key positions.
• Recognized business acumen. Makes decisions based on fundamental economic principles to ensure long‑term strategic contributions to the revenues and profit margins of the company.
• Emerson, Allen Bradley, or similar PLC/Client product family knowledge.
• Expertise in IEC61131 programming languages or ladder logic.
• MS Visual Studio and Team Foundation Server for developing code and maintaining repository.
• Expertise in C, C++, and C# programming languages.
• Windows CE or other embedded OS experience.
• Commonly used industrial communications protocols (Modbus, Profinet).
• Knowledge of Power Electronics.
• AutoCAD Electrical for producing electrical schematics and panel layouts.

GavinHeath is an equal opportunity employer. GavinHeath will extend equal opportunity to all individuals without regard to race, religion, color, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, disability, age, creed, ancestry, genetic information, or any other status protected under applicable federal, state, or local laws.