Consulting Engineer – HVDC Valves in Stafford

GE Vernova’s Grid Systems Integration business line offers voltage-sourced converter (VSC) and line-commutated converter (LCC) HVDC valve technologies to meet the transmission planning needs of utilities, system operators, developers and industrial clients worldwide. In this role you will serve as a technical leader within GE Vernova’s CTO office, ensuring customer confidence, enhancing design practices, governing technical reviews, and driving innovation in HVDC valve technologies.

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 internal and external standardisation, 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 programmes to pursue.
• Evaluate and champion innovative ideas; contribute to intellectual property management in terms of: Creation of patents, Participation in patent evaluation board, Review of patents to ensure freedom to operate, Mentoring 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, utilising 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; deliver and mentor 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 validator to ensure 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

• 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 standardisation 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 valve design studies preferred.
• Familiarity with patent evaluation, application and management.
• Open to regular business travel.

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 organisation.
• Considered an industry expert and thought leader in the HVDC valves engineering discipline.