What does a wind turbine engineer do?
Wind turbine engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real wind turbine engineer resumes:
- Develop and manage technical procedures for quality control to comply with ISO laboratory accreditation.
- Programme wind tunnel control software using LABVIEW
- Experience with ISO documentation, aviation standards, and FAA procedures.
- Utilize Solidworks to create finite element meshing of the wind tunnel, and conduct 3-D CFD simulations of the aeromechanics.
- Utilize proactive and reactive troubleshooting methodologies to support all IP backbone infrastructures.
- Conduct geotechnical and environmental subsurface investigations.
- Use Catia V5 and AutoCad to create solid models, subassemblies, final assemblies and drawings.
- Develop unique JavaScript framework that allows collaborative modules to be develop and instantiate dynamically for asynchronous single page applications.
Wind turbine engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 38% of Wind Turbine Engineers are proficient in SCADA, Gearboxes, and Technical Issues. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Listening skills, and Mechanical skills.
We break down the percentage of Wind Turbine Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- SCADA, 38%
Monitor and troubleshoot turbines performance with sophisticated software over SCADA.
- Gearboxes, 25%
Prepared generators and gearboxes for operation.
- Technical Issues, 17%
Helped assist contractors on job site with technical issues when wind turbine towers were being erected.
- Electrical Equipment, 6%
Manage the operation of all electrical equipment in the control building such as the MV switchgear and HV control panels.
- MW, 5%
Assisted filed engineers with the installation and startup of 1300 MW turbine generator systems for a coal fired generating station.
- Plant Safety, 5%
Assisted the B/T Shift Engineer in coordinating inter-department activities to ensure employee and plant safety.
"scada," "gearboxes," and "technical issues" are among the most common skills that wind turbine engineers use at work. You can find even more wind turbine engineer responsibilities below, including:
Creativity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a wind turbine engineer to have is creativity. Their role and responsibilities require that "mechanical engineers design and build complex pieces of equipment and machinery." Wind turbine engineers often use creativity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "perform all scheduled component maintenance, troubleshoot complicated mechanical and electrical problems inventory: responsible for spare parts inventory. "
Listening skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling wind turbine engineer duties is listening skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "mechanical engineers often work on projects with others, such as architects and computer scientists." According to a wind turbine engineer resume, here's how wind turbine engineers can utilize listening skills in their job responsibilities: "organize new product concept and design reviews and communicated with customers for customized hdd specifications and features. "
Mechanical skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of wind turbine engineers is mechanical skills. This skill is critical to many everyday wind turbine engineer duties, as "mechanical skills allow engineers to apply basic engineering concepts and mechanical processes to the design of new devices and systems." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "perform scheduled preventative maintenance on wind turbines mechanical, electrical and hydraulic systems. "
Math skills. For certain wind turbine engineer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "math skills." The day-to-day duties of a wind turbine engineer rely on this skill, as "mechanical engineers use the principles of calculus, statistics, and other advanced subjects in math for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what wind turbine engineers do: "designed and implemented a statistics collection library between the high level application layer and the linux device drivers for the 9200. "
Problem-solving skills. Another common skill required for wind turbine engineer responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." This skill comes up in the duties of wind turbine engineers all the time, as "mechanical engineers need good problem-solving skills to take scientific principles and discoveries and use them to design and build useful products." An excerpt from a real wind turbine engineer resume shows how this skill is central to what a wind turbine engineer does: "resolved mechanical and electrical problems on changeable speed turbines. "
The three companies that hire the most wind turbine engineers are:
- ICF33 wind turbine engineers jobs
- Shell Energy North America
3 wind turbine engineers jobs
- Constellation Energy Partners2 wind turbine engineers jobs
Compare different wind turbine engineers
Wind turbine engineer vs. Team lead engineer
A team leads engineer is in charge of spearheading and overseeing the efforts of an engineering team, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Although the duties may depend on one's industry of employment, it typically includes designing and developing systems according to project requirements, setting objectives and construction guidelines, delegating tasks, managing budgets and schedules, and monitoring the workflow, performing corrective measures as needed. Furthermore, as a team leads engineer, it is essential to encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while enforcing the company's safety standards and regulations.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, wind turbine engineer responsibilities require skills like "scada," "gearboxes," "oem," and "hps." Meanwhile a typical team lead engineer has skills in areas such as "python," "architecture," "java," and "c++." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
On average, team lead engineers reach lower levels of education than wind turbine engineers. Team lead engineers are 5.9% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Wind turbine engineer vs. Staff engineer
Staff engineers are responsible for designing, developing, and inspecting various products, equipment, or structures. These professionals may perform varied duties depending on their specialization that includes overseeing the design and construction of buildings, bridges, sewer systems, and other infrastructure, estimating the financial costs of construction projects, and ensuring compliance with health and safety laws and regulations. Other duties include designing and developing machinery, tools, and engines, solving design problems, and building the manufacturing equipment needed to create their products.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that wind turbine engineer responsibilities requires skills like "scada," "gearboxes," "technical issues," and "hps." But a staff engineer might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "java," "python," "architecture," and "software development."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Staff engineers tend to reach similar levels of education than wind turbine engineers. In fact, they're 4.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Wind turbine engineer vs. Senior principal engineer
A senior principal engineer is responsible for leading engineering tasks within an organization and reports project updates to senior management. Senior principal engineers develop strategic methods and principles to improve the technical stability and efficiency of the company's systems, creating business proposals according to clients' specifications, and negotiating contracts with suppliers and other service providers. They also train new staff and identify innovations and business opportunities that would generate more revenue resources for the company.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from wind turbine engineer resumes include skills like "scada," "gearboxes," "technical issues," and "hps," whereas a senior principal engineer is more likely to list skills in "python," "architecture," "java," and "cloud. "
Senior principal engineers typically earn similar educational levels compared to wind turbine engineers. Specifically, they're 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 5.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Wind turbine engineer vs. Research engineer
Research Engineers are responsible for a wide range of duties, including researching and developing new technologies and prototypes, and finding solutions to improve techniques, procedures, and technologies.
Types of wind turbine engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
