Power Generation - Automation SME

Power Generation - Automation SME

Job Description

Department: Engineering

Job Status: Full-Time

FLSA Status: Salary-Exempt

Reports To: SME Engineering Manager

Location: Houston, TX (Channelview Area)

Amount of Travel Required: Varies

Work Schedule: Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Positions Supervised: N/A

AIP Level: 6

POSITION SUMMARY: The Automation Subject Matter Expert (SME) serves as the organization's technical expert for advanced power generation technologies, automation, digital infrastructure, telemetry, and power station electrical systems. This role provides expert level technical leadership across multiple product lines and serves as a key resource for complex system integration, technical problem solving, technology development, and engineering standardization. The position works closely with Product Engineering, Electrical, Controls, Mechanical, Project Engineering, Product Service, Remote Operations, and Field Operations to ensure specialist knowledge is effectively applied throughout the full product lifecycle, while supporting the advancement of automation, connectivity, data acquisition, system integration, and advanced monitoring technologies to improve the reliability, scalability, and performance of the company's power generation portfolio.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: (The following duties and responsibilities are all essential job functions, as defined by the ADA, except for those that begin with the word "may.")

- Serve as the technical subject matter expert for power generation, automation, telemetry, digital infrastructure, power station generators, protection systems, and associated technologies.

- Maintain technical ownership and expertise for assigned technologies and systems, providing guidance and support across all product lines.

- Act as a senior technical escalation resource for complex engineering, integration, commissioning, and operational issues requiring specialized expertise.

- Provide subject matter expertise for gas turbine and power generation systems, including controls, automation, generator systems, protection, power management, instrumentation, and balance of plant interfaces.

- Develop and standardize automation architectures, control philosophies, communication protocols, system interfaces, and integration requirements across power generation products.

- Support telemetry and digital infrastructure initiatives, including data acquisition, industrial networking, edge computing, communication architectures, remote connectivity, and integration with enterprise and cloud based platforms.

- Contribute to the development and implementation of advanced monitoring, analytics, and predictive technologies utilizing high resolution telemetry and operational data.

- Support the deployment and continuous improvement of AI driven predictive analytics, condition monitoring, anomaly detection, and asset performance technologies.

- Provide technical expertise for power station generator systems, including excitation, synchronization, protection, monitoring, and integration with turbine controls and Power Management Systems (PMS).

- Lead or participate in complex Root Cause Analysis (RCA) efforts to identify failure mechanisms and support implementation of corrective and preventative actions.

- Develop and maintain engineering standards, technical specifications, design philosophies, best practices, and reusable architectures within areas of expertise.

- Evaluate emerging technologies, platforms, vendors, and engineering solutions and provide recommendations for adoption across current and future product lines.

- Support new product development through concept development, design reviews, technical risk assessments, system architecture definition, testing, validation, and commissioning.

- Collaborate with Product Engineering, Electrical, Controls, Mechanical, Project Engineering, Product Service Engineering, Remote Operations, Manufacturing, and Field Operations to resolve complex technical challenges.

- Incorporate lessons learned, field performance data, and operational feedback into engineering standards and future product development activities.

- Document, standardize, and share technical knowledge, lessons learned, and best practices across engineering and operations teams.

- Promote technical excellence, innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement throughout the organization.

- Perform other related duties as assigned to support successful operations and business continuity.