Wind Energy Engineers

What the job really is

Design underground or overhead wind farm collector systems and prepare and develop site specifications.

At a glance

• Sector: Architecture & Engineering
• O*NET-SOC code: 17-2199
• O*NET job zone: 4 — considerable preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• Create or maintain wind farm layouts, schematics, or other visual documentation for wind farms.
• Recommend process or infrastructure changes to improve wind turbine performance, reduce operational costs, or comply with regulations.
• Create models to optimize the layout of wind farm access roads, crane pads, crane paths, collection systems, substations, switchyards, or transmission lines.
• Provide engineering technical support to designers of prototype wind turbines.
• Investigate experimental wind turbines or wind turbine technologies for properties such as aerodynamics, production, noise, and load.
• Develop active control algorithms, electronics, software, electromechanical, or electrohydraulic systems for wind turbines.
• Develop specifications for wind technology components, such as gearboxes, blades, generators, frequency converters, or pad transformers.
• Test wind turbine components, using mechanical or electronic testing equipment.
• Oversee the work activities of wind farm consultants or subcontractors.
• Test wind turbine equipment to determine effects of stress or fatigue.
• Monitor wind farm construction to ensure compliance with regulatory standards or environmental requirements.
• Direct balance of plant (BOP) construction, generator installation, testing, commissioning, or supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) to ensure compliance with specifications.

Tools and technology

ANSYS simulation software, Amazon Web Services AWS software, Apache Subversion SVN, Autodesk AutoCAD, Bentley MicroStation, C#, C++, Dassault Systemes SolidWorks, ESRI ArcGIS software, Extensible markup language XML, Git, JUnit

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Wind Energy Development Managers
• Solar Energy Systems Engineers
• Energy Engineers, Except Wind and Solar
• Electrical Engineers
• Mechanical Engineers
• Aerospace Engineers
• Water/Wastewater Engineers
• Civil Engineers

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 4 (considerable preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

Browse the verified job sources directory, or explore more occupations.

Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Wind Energy Engineers — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.