Xcel Energy
Wind Reliability Staff Engineer (Senior or Principal)
Xcel Energy, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55400
Overview
Wind Reliability Staff Engineer (Senior or Principal) This is a hybrid role with three days in the office and two days remote. Up to 25% travel, with options for using a company vehicle or submitting mileage for reimbursement. The Renewables Reliability Engineering team elevates the reliability and availability of renewable energy systems while optimizing costs. The team uses technical expertise, data-driven insights, and teamwork to deliver resilient, safe, and cost-effective solutions across wind, solar, and battery storage portfolios. The successful candidate will be placed at a level commensurate with skills and experience as responsibilities vary for Senior and Principal levels. Role involves supporting substation maintenance, outages, and reliability improvement programs. Develop and apply wind turbine electrical and control subsystem expertise to an expanding fleet of wind farms across service territories. Provide operational and performance engineering support for a 4GW+ fleet of Vestas, GE, and Siemens wind turbines. Occasional turbine climbing for educational and small project purposes may be required. Occasional on-call availability is needed for outage troubleshooting and restoration. Familiarity with component failure rate calculations and reliability engineering concepts is strongly preferred. Responsibilities
Perform complex problem solving of technical issues to reduce equipment downtime. Equipment includes wind turbine subsystems, 34.5kV – 345kV substations, and 34.5kV underground collection system equipment. Quantify equipment risk and develop corrective action plans to mitigate risk. Analyze equipment failure rates, failure causes, and risk trends to prioritize maintenance and future investments. Ensure implementation and optimization of equipment maintenance strategies. Define critical spare parts strategy based on failure modes, asset criticality and failure history. Perform root cause analysis and identify corrective action plans to prevent repeat failures. Provide technical and operational insights to influence new equipment design specifications. Participate in industry networking and research new technologies to improve equipment reliability. Leverage software and analytics to streamline processes and improve efficiency. Minimum Requirements — Staff Engineer
Bachelor’s degree in engineering from ABET-accredited program; electrical engineering preferred. 2+ years of relevant engineering experience. Demonstrated broad knowledge in the specialty area and related disciplines. Ability to demonstrate the unique technical skills and core competencies for this engineering level as established by the organization. EIT/FE strongly preferred. Minimum Requirements — Senior Engineer
Bachelor’s degree in engineering from ABET-accredited curriculum; electrical engineering preferred. 5+ years of relevant engineering experience. EIT/FE required. Ability to demonstrate the unique technical skills and core competencies for this engineering level as established by the organization. PE registration may be required depending on business need. Minimum Requirements — Principal Engineer
Bachelor’s degree in engineering from ABET-accredited curriculum; electrical engineering preferred. 9+ years of relevant engineering experience. PE (Professional Engineer) registration required. Ability to demonstrate the unique technical skills and core competencies for this engineering level as established by the organization. Preferred Requirements for All Levels
Project Management experience Knowledge of Wind Turbines Experience in Electric Controls and Computer Networking Experience with Substation Relays Familiarity with Transformers, Generators, and NERC Compliance Activities (a plus) About Xcel Energy
As a leading combination electricity and natural gas energy company, Xcel Energy serves 3.4 million electricity and 1.9 million natural gas customers across eight states. We are committed to being the preferred and trusted energy provider. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. Accommodation requests: contact recruiting@xcelenergy.com. Deadline to Apply: 09/10/25 EEO is the Law | EEO is the Law Supplement | Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination | Equal Opportunity Policy (PDF) | Employee Rights (PDF) Accessibility
Xcel Energy strives to make its website accessible to all users. For accessibility assistance, contact Xcel Energy Talent Acquisition at recruiting@xcelenergy.com.
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Wind Reliability Staff Engineer (Senior or Principal) This is a hybrid role with three days in the office and two days remote. Up to 25% travel, with options for using a company vehicle or submitting mileage for reimbursement. The Renewables Reliability Engineering team elevates the reliability and availability of renewable energy systems while optimizing costs. The team uses technical expertise, data-driven insights, and teamwork to deliver resilient, safe, and cost-effective solutions across wind, solar, and battery storage portfolios. The successful candidate will be placed at a level commensurate with skills and experience as responsibilities vary for Senior and Principal levels. Role involves supporting substation maintenance, outages, and reliability improvement programs. Develop and apply wind turbine electrical and control subsystem expertise to an expanding fleet of wind farms across service territories. Provide operational and performance engineering support for a 4GW+ fleet of Vestas, GE, and Siemens wind turbines. Occasional turbine climbing for educational and small project purposes may be required. Occasional on-call availability is needed for outage troubleshooting and restoration. Familiarity with component failure rate calculations and reliability engineering concepts is strongly preferred. Responsibilities
Perform complex problem solving of technical issues to reduce equipment downtime. Equipment includes wind turbine subsystems, 34.5kV – 345kV substations, and 34.5kV underground collection system equipment. Quantify equipment risk and develop corrective action plans to mitigate risk. Analyze equipment failure rates, failure causes, and risk trends to prioritize maintenance and future investments. Ensure implementation and optimization of equipment maintenance strategies. Define critical spare parts strategy based on failure modes, asset criticality and failure history. Perform root cause analysis and identify corrective action plans to prevent repeat failures. Provide technical and operational insights to influence new equipment design specifications. Participate in industry networking and research new technologies to improve equipment reliability. Leverage software and analytics to streamline processes and improve efficiency. Minimum Requirements — Staff Engineer
Bachelor’s degree in engineering from ABET-accredited program; electrical engineering preferred. 2+ years of relevant engineering experience. Demonstrated broad knowledge in the specialty area and related disciplines. Ability to demonstrate the unique technical skills and core competencies for this engineering level as established by the organization. EIT/FE strongly preferred. Minimum Requirements — Senior Engineer
Bachelor’s degree in engineering from ABET-accredited curriculum; electrical engineering preferred. 5+ years of relevant engineering experience. EIT/FE required. Ability to demonstrate the unique technical skills and core competencies for this engineering level as established by the organization. PE registration may be required depending on business need. Minimum Requirements — Principal Engineer
Bachelor’s degree in engineering from ABET-accredited curriculum; electrical engineering preferred. 9+ years of relevant engineering experience. PE (Professional Engineer) registration required. Ability to demonstrate the unique technical skills and core competencies for this engineering level as established by the organization. Preferred Requirements for All Levels
Project Management experience Knowledge of Wind Turbines Experience in Electric Controls and Computer Networking Experience with Substation Relays Familiarity with Transformers, Generators, and NERC Compliance Activities (a plus) About Xcel Energy
As a leading combination electricity and natural gas energy company, Xcel Energy serves 3.4 million electricity and 1.9 million natural gas customers across eight states. We are committed to being the preferred and trusted energy provider. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. Accommodation requests: contact recruiting@xcelenergy.com. Deadline to Apply: 09/10/25 EEO is the Law | EEO is the Law Supplement | Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination | Equal Opportunity Policy (PDF) | Employee Rights (PDF) Accessibility
Xcel Energy strives to make its website accessible to all users. For accessibility assistance, contact Xcel Energy Talent Acquisition at recruiting@xcelenergy.com.
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