Job Description Summary

The energy transition drives an unprecedented growth in demand for and generation of electricity. To accommodate this growth, the capacity of transmission system is projected to grow three-fold. High voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission systems will play a key role in connecting remote and offshore renewables, interconnecting energy markets and reinforcing AC grids. Converter stations are required to convert AC to DC and vice versa, The heart of such converter stations are the power electronic valves. GE Vernova’s Grid Systems Integration business line offers voltage sourced converter (VSC) as well as line commutated converter (LCC) HVDC valve technologies to meet the transmission planning needs of utilities, system operators, developers and industrial clients worldwide.

GE Vernova’s CTO office is tasked with developing the R&D roadmap for HVDC valve technologies, managing competencies within the company, and supporting projects with specialised technical support. Consulting Engineers, who sit in the CTO team, are the highest technical authority within GE Vernova's Grid Systems Integration and Cross Electrification business. They act as technical consultant, ensuring customer confidence, reviewing and enhancing design practices, acting as a gate keeper for technical reviews, applying lessons learned, leading complex, state-of-the-art technology improvements, engaging with quality reviews and cost optimization exercises both within their specialist domain and across other domains.

GE Vernova is currently looking for an experienced power electronics specialist to join us as a Consulting Engineer for HVDC valves.

Job Description

Consulting Engineers are highly sought after within the GE Vernova business to provide expertise on challenging problems and to facilitate interfaces with adjacent technical domains. They are likely to have a number of publications, including conference papers, and patents. These professionals lead major technical initiatives, advocate for technological advancement, chair design reviews, mentor Principal Engineers and senior engineers, and benchmark their technology domain. They define the need for new design practices, author and review design standards, ensure lessons learned are documented and disseminated, and deliver effective technical presentations to upper management and external parties.

Consulting Engineers lead R&D and product enhancement projects with broad scope and significant impact on the business, acting as recognized experts in specific fields. They are tasked with major and complex assignments that bear long-term business implications, contributing to overall strategy and navigating complex issues within their area of expertise.

Key Responsibilities:

• Serve as a recognized technical authority in HVDC valves both internally and externally, and act as technical advisor to senior leadership levels
• Actively contribute to and drive both internal and external standardization, coordinate working group activities and proactively represent GE Vernova in IEC/CIGRE and similar professional bodies, task forces and industry committees
• Stay abreast of, collect and internally communicate state-of-the-art technology developments in HVDC valves and applications
• Gather external information to determine future market needs
• Work with external parties to identify new requirements, products and solutions
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to develop and maintain a strategic HVDC valves technology roadmap
• Suggest areas for technological advancement and recommend approaches/programs to pursue
• Evaluating and championing innovative ideas
• Contribute to Intellectual Property management in terms of:
  • The creation of patents
  • Participating in patent evaluation board
  • The review of patents to ensure freedom to operate
  • Mentor other engineers in the patenting process
• Oversee various R&D programmes from conception through to industrialisation, integrating new technology smoothly into production and ensuring successful project delivery
• Chair and act as technical authority in technology and product development gate reviews
• Collaborate and promote technology synergies across GE Vernova businesses of Power Conversion Systems, Grid Automation and Power Technology, utilizing shared expertise and resources.
• Support the commercial teams with their technical business development and sales
• Support supply chain and procurement departments with technical expertise
• Lead/support study teams addressing identified project challenges in focused technical areas
• Lead/support the development of technical proposals to collaborate on the development of new technologies, functions and applications sponsored by external funding bodies
• Support project technical tendering and delivery in the introduction of new solutions
• Provide support to quality teams on major quality issues and act as technical authority in root cause analysis processes
• Act as technical authority in competence management
  • Identify and recommend improvements in specific discipline knowledge or technical training needs.
  • Contribute to creating structured training plans and associated training material
  • Delivering training
  • Mentor others to deliver training
  • Act as technical authority in competence assessments of senior and principal engineers
• Lead/support the creation and presentation of conference papers and act as a validator to ensure that papers prepared by others are relevant, correct and of a high standard
• Act as a knowledge ambassador, providing technical education to external universities
• Consult with and support the Chief Engineer’s Office in executing the office’s technical objectives to implement best practice technologies and methods.

Qualifications/Requirements:

The position requires a deep technical understanding of HVDC valves technologies, design processes, manufacturing and testing. The successful candidate will deeply understand the potential solutions offered by different types of HVDC valve design choices, and how to translate this into an effective value proposition to GE Vernova’s customers. This requires a strong foundation in both research and development and project engineering, having demonstrated significant technical depth and recognition as a domain expert, applying state-of-the-art technology to resolve complex technical challenges.

• Masters degree or higher education equivalent in a topic related to the development of power electronic systems preferably for high voltage applications

• Proven experience in power electronics, preferably coupled with strong expertise in converter topologies and technologies relevant to HVDC, and the trade-offs that are made in:

  • Topology selection
  • Operating strategies
  • Device selection
  • Protection
  • Gate drive circuit, power supply designs
  • Dielectric, mechanical, cooling design

• Understanding of system design trade-offs between valve and other converter station components

• Experience with valve design studies

• Good overview of the supply chain for all main components and required (test) equipment

• Familiar with industrial processes for power electronics manufacturing, type testing, commissioning and maintenance

• Future developments in HVDC valves e.g. higher currents, new semi-conductor devices, new topologies

• Overview of and active involvement in pre-standardisation and standardization initiatives for HVDC valves in international bodies such as IEEE, IEC and CIGRE

• Understanding of typical relevant regulatory frameworks and applicable standards for HVDC valves

• Experience with the tools (simulation programs such as PSCAD, Matlab-Simulink, ANSYS) required in HVDC valves design studies preferred

• Familiarity with patent evaluation, application and management

• Open to regular business travel

GE Vernova is looking for valve specialists for both VSC and LCC converter technologies. Expertise in both is an advantage.

Desired Characteristics:

• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Strong interpersonal and leadership skills
• Leadership to pursue correct engineering process in adverse conditions
• Able to interface and communicate effectively with all levels of the organization
• Considered an industry expert and thought leader in the HVDC valves engineering discipline

Additional Information

Relocation Assistance Provided: No