Job DescriptionDNV 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 Do - Serve 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.
Responsibilities- Generous paid time off (vacation, sick days, company holidays, personal days)
- Multiple Medical and Dental benefit plans to choose from, Vision benefits
- Spending accounts - FSA, Dependent Care, Commuter Benefits, company-seeded HSA
- Employer-paid, therapist-led, virtual care services through Talkspace
- 401(k) with company match
- Company provided life insurance, short-term, and long-term disability benefits
- Education reimbursement program
- Flexible work schedule with hybrid opportunities
- Charitable Matched Giving and Volunteer Rewards through our Impact Program
- Volunteer time off (VTO) paid by the company
- Career advancement opportunities
**Benefits vary based on position, tenure, location, and employee election** DNV provides a reasonable range of compensation for this role. The actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors, including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, and specific location. The range of starting pay for this role is $120,000 - $195,000 USD.
QualificationsWhat is Required
- A Bachelor's degree in engineering (mechanical preferred, or related discipline).
- A minimum of Eight (8) years of experience in rotating machinery, with demonstrated expertise (that can be applied) across both:
- A strong thermal rotating machinery foundation
- Demonstrated wind drivetrain or wind turbine generator exposure
- Demonstrated experience evaluating equipment condition, performance, and reliability in operational environments.
- Strong experience conducting root cause analysis (RCA) and failure investigations for rotating equipment
- Familiarity with reliability engineering principles, including failure modes, degradation mechanisms, and lifecycle risk.
- Experience supporting operations, maintenance, or asset management, including major maintenance events (e.g., gearbox replacements, turbine overhauls, outage planning).
- Familiarity with energy project lifecycle elements and key contracts (EPC, O&M) and how equipment performance impacts project risk and value.
- Ability to interpret complex technical data and translate findings into clear, structured insights for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Ability to interpret technical data and translate findings into clear, structured insights for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Strong AI and digital fluency, with the ability to evaluate AI-generated outputs, apply critical thinking, ensure quality and accuracy, and utilize AI responsibily within company governance frameworks.
- Willingness and ability to travel up to approximately 20% of the time.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office and strong written and verbal communication skills in English language.
- We conduct pre-employment drug and background screening.
What is Preferred
- Experience within an OEM, major service provider, or fleet engineering organization supporting rotating equipment.
- Experience supporting or interfacing with technical due diligence, project development, or engineering advisory work.
- Personal Qualifications and Skills we are looking for in a successful candidate:
- Strong technical judgment with the ability to independently assess rotating equipment across both wind and thermal systems
- Practical, operations-focused mindset grounded in real-world equipment behavior and failure mechanisms
- Ability to diagnose complex equipment issues and connect failure modes to operating conditions and maintenance practices
- Clear communicator able to translate complex reliability and engineering concepts into actionable insights
- Effective in multidisciplinary environments, integrating equipment-level expertise into broader technical and financial evaluations
- Comfortable working in fast-paced and ambiguous environments, focusing effort on the issues most relevant to decision-makers
- Strong ownership of technical quality, delivering high-integrity and defensible analyses
- Collaborative team player who supports knowledge sharing and contributes to building team capability
*Immigration-related employment benefits, for example visa sponsorship, are not available for this position 
