Rotating Machinery Senior Engineer

DNV GL USA, INC.; Oakland (CA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

DNV Energy Systems North America seeks a Rotating Machinery Senior Engineer SME to support advisory services across M&A, Independent Engineering and Owner's Engineering.

The role emphasizes hands-on experience with both thermal rotating equipment and wind turbine drivetrains, deep knowledge of failure mechanisms, and the ability to translate findings into decision-grade guidance for developers, owners, lenders, and investors.

Qualifications

• Experience with rotating equipment across wind and thermal assets.
• Ability to perform root cause analysis and reliability assessments.
• Skilled in translating technical findings into actionable guidance.
• Familiar with advisory services in M&A, IE or OE contexts.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical evaluations of rotating equipment close to customer portfolios.
• Review turbine systems, drivetrains, and plant configurations.
• Perform RCA to identify failure modes and mitigation strategies.
• Support due diligence, site visits, and client discussions.

Skills

Rotating machinery

Root cause analysis

Reliability engineering

Advisory services

Job description

Are you an experienced engineer with hands‑on expertise in rotating equipment across both wind and thermal generation? Do you thrive on diagnosing complex equipment behavior, understanding failure mechanisms, and translating those insights into meaningful guidance for technical and investment decisions? DNV Energy Systems North America is seeking a Rotating Machinery Senior Engineer Subject Matter Expert (SME) in rotating machinery to support advisory services across Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Independent Engineering (IE), and Owner's Engineering (OE). This role is designed for engineers with strong practical experience in both (that can be applied) thermal rotating equipment and wind turbine drivetrain systems. Candidates bring deep understanding of equipment behavior, failure mechanisms, and maintenance strategy, and are experienced in applying root cause analysis and reliability engineering to real-world assets. Our advisory work spans the full project lifecycle, requiring the ability to assess equipment condition and performance and translate those findings into clear, decision‑grade insights for developers, owners, lenders, and investors. This role is based at our DNV Advisory offices in Austin, TX; Houston, TX; Dallas, TX; San Diego, CA; Oakland, CA; Seattle, WA; Portland, OR; or Medford, MA presenting a dynamic hybrid schedule where employees will typically spend three (3) days per week working from either a DNV office or client location/site. Other DNV locations in North America may also be considered. Further details regarding role‑specific requirements will be shared during the interview process.

What You'll DoServe as DNV's rotating machinery SME across advisory engagements involving both thermal generation (priority) and wind generation assets.

Lead technical evaluations of equipment and portfolios, including:

• Gas turbines, steam turbines, and associated generator systems
• Wind turbine generators and drivetrain systems (gearboxes, bearings, shafts)
• Assess asset condition, performance, and reliability using operating data, inspection findings, maintenance history, and failure trends across both wind and thermal technologies.
• Evaluate equipment behavior under different operating regimes (e.g., cycling and load‑following in thermal assets, variable wind conditions and transient loads in wind turbines).

Support technical due diligence, independent engineering, and owner's engineering scopes, including:

• Review of turbine systems, drivetrain components, and plant configurations
• Assessment of asset condition, operational performance, and reliability risk
• Evaluation of operations and maintenance practices, including major maintenance strategies (overhauls, gearbox replacements, outage planning)
• Validation of technical inputs to financial models, including availability, performance, and lifecycle costs
• Participation in site visits, inspections, and technical interviews

Perform root cause analysis (RCA) for rotating equipment failures across both wind and thermal assets, including wind turbine generators, gearboxes, bearings, and turbine‑generator systems

• Identify failure modes, assess recurrence risk, and recommend mitigation strategies based on reliability engineering principles
• Interpret and contextualize RCA findings and failure history to inform asset‑level risk, performance expectations, and investment decisions
• Provide independent technical judgment, constructively challenging assumptions and conclusions to ensure alignment with observed equipment behavior

Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to integrate rotating machinery insights into broader engineering, financial, and transaction evaluations.

Support client interactions, including diligence discussions, workshops, and technical reviews.

Contribute to technical reports and client deliverables, synthesizing complex findings into clear, concise, and decision‑oriented insights.

Mentor team members and contribute to building internal capability in rotating machinery across wind and thermal technologies.