SENIOR MANAGER
SpaceX is building and operating combined-cycle gas turbine power plants that must come online, stay online, and perform. This role owns the design and build of the full power plant: gas turbines, mechanical and electrical balance of plant, and everything else that keeps the plant running at rated output, day after day. This is not a desk job. You will be constructing the power plant, owning commissioning in the control room during startup, and in the field troubleshooting.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Build, lead, and develop a multi-disciplinary power plant team spanning gas turbines, mechanical and electrical balance of plant, controls, and commissioning
- Own the full lifecycle of gas turbine power generation assets - installation, commissioning, startup, operations, and long-term maintenance - and be accountable for plant availability, reliability, and performance
- Set technical direction and execution plans for commissioning, including combustion tuning, control system checkout, protective relay testing, and performance/reliability run verification
- Own root-cause analysis and corrective action for turbine trips, forced outages, and performance degradation; drive fixes that prevent recurrence and hold the team to a no-repeat standard
- Establish and continuously improve operating procedures, startup/shutdown sequences, and abnormal operating condition playbooks
- Serve as the primary technical and commercial interface with OEMs (GE, Siemens Energy, Mitsubishi Power, Doosan) on warranty issues, LTSA scope, outage planning, and technical issues
- Plan, staff, and execute major/minor inspections, hot gas path outages, and combustion inspections in line with OEM maintenance intervals; own outage cost, duration, and quality of return-to-service
- Drive turbine performance analysis (heat rate, capacity factor, degradation curves) to identify efficiency losses and convert findings into funded corrective action
- Coordinate across balance-of-plant teams (HRSG, steam turbine, cooling systems, water treatment) to deliver integrated plant performance, not siloed subsystem success
- Own the construction-to-operations handoff with EPC contractors; ensure a clean transition from construction to commercial operation
- Develop and own spare parts strategy, critical spares inventory, and maintenance budgets; manage spend against reliability and availability targets
- Hire, coach, and retain engineers and technicians; set performance standards and grow the next generation of plant leadership
- Represent the power plant organization to internal stakeholders (operations, grid interconnection, commercial, construction) and make timely field decisions under pressure
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor's degree and 10+ years of experience working in one or more of the following; or 14+ years of experience working utility-scale gas turbines in commissioning, operations, maintenance, or plant engineering roles
- 2+ years of project management experience leading operations
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCES:
- Working knowledge of combined-cycle plant systems: gas turbines, HRSGs, steam turbines, generators, and balance-of-plant equipment
- Experience reading and interpreting P&IDs, single-line diagrams, and turbine control logic
- Direct commissioning or operations leadership experience with GE 7/9HA, Siemens Energy SGT6/8-8000H, Mitsubishi M501/701JAC, or Doosan H-class turbines
- Experience with DCS/turbine control platforms (Mark VIe, SPPA-T3000, or equivalent)
- Familiarity with LTSA structures, OEM contract negotiation, and outage scope development
- Background in root-cause failure analysis (RCA/5-Why/Fishbone) for rotating equipment
- Experience with performance monitoring tools and heat balance modeling
- Exposure to grid interconnection requirements, PPA performance obligations, or capacity market rules
- Experience integrating power generation with co-located industrial or data center loads
- Proven ownership of plant or fleet reliability metrics (availability, forced outage rate, heat rate) and of the budgets that fund them
- Experience standing up a new plant, commissioning organization, or operations team from construction through commercial operation
- A bias toward action: comfortable making a call in the field without waiting for a committee
- Demonstrated ability to work under pressure during startup, outages, or unplanned events, with a sense of urgency and ownership over outcomes
- Experience using SOLIDWORKS, Siemens NX, or similar CAD software
- Knowledge of engineering standards and best practices such as ASME B31.3, ASME BPV Code Section VIII, and AFSPCMAN 91-710