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wave engineer

title: Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Wave Engineer
salary: $80,000 - $130,000
categories: [Engineering, Renewable Energy, Marine]
description: A comprehensive overview of the key responsibilities, required technical skills and professional background for the role of a Wave Engineer.
Comprehensive, recruiter-written responsibilities and skills list for a Wave Engineer (wave energy / marine renewables). Includes detailed hydrodynamics, structural, PTO, control and offshore operations tasks, plus required technical and soft skills optimized for SEO and LLM parsing: wave energy converter, CFD, OrcaFlex, WAMIT, OpenFOAM, PTO design, sea trials, mooring design, FEA, MATLAB/Simulink, SolidWorks.

🎯 Role Definition

The Wave Engineer is responsible for the technical design, analysis, testing and deployment of wave energy conversion systems and components. This role blends hydrodynamic modeling, structural and offshore engineering, power take-off (PTO) system design, and field testing to deliver reliable, cost-effective marine renewable energy devices. The ideal candidate has hands-on experience with CFD/hydrodynamics tools (OrcaFlex, WAMIT, OpenFOAM), FEA, offshore installation practices, and familiarity with grid-connection and certification pathways for marine energy systems.

Primary SEO keywords: Wave Engineer, wave energy converter, hydrodynamics engineer, marine renewable energy, offshore engineering, PTO design, OrcaFlex, CFD, sea trials, mooring design.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Graduate Mechanical / Naval / Ocean Engineer transitioning into marine renewables.
  • Hydrodynamics or CFD Engineer with experience on offshore projects.
  • Structural or subsea engineer joining a wave energy technology team.

Advancement To:

  • Senior Wave Engineer / Lead Hydrodynamics Engineer
  • Technical Lead / Principal Engineer — Wave Energy
  • Offshore Project Manager or Head of Technology for marine renewables

Lateral Moves:

  • Offshore Structural Engineer
  • Floating Platform / Mooring Systems Engineer
  • Power Electronics / PTO Systems Engineer

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead hydrodynamic analysis and performance prediction for wave energy converters (WECs) using frequency- and time-domain tools (e.g., WAMIT, NEMOH, OrcaFlex, AQWA), producing verified power matrices, response spectra, and capture width estimates for device sizing and feasibility studies.
  • Develop and validate CFD models (OpenFOAM, ANSYS Fluent) to resolve nonlinear wave–structure interactions, breakwater effects, free-surface flows and slamming loads, and translate CFD results into design inputs for structural and PTO teams.
  • Design, specify and iterate on power take-off (PTO) systems — hydraulic, direct-drive, mechanical or electrical — including survivability mode, damping/control strategies, component sizing, and integration with generators and power electronics.
  • Conduct static and dynamic structural analyses (FEA with ANSYS, Abaqus or equivalent) for hulls, articulating joints, moorings and subcomponents to ensure fatigue life, ultimate strength and compliance with offshore standards (DNV, ABS, IEC).
  • Generate concept and detailed mechanical designs using CAD (SolidWorks, Creo) for subsea and surface components, providing manufacturing drawings, BOMs and supplier-ready specifications.
  • Model mooring and anchoring systems (OrcaFlex or bespoke codes), assess station-keeping performance, dynamic line tensions, fatigue, and installation sequencing for fixed and floating WECs in various seabed and metocean conditions.
  • Lead sea trial planning, instrumentation specification, test procedure development, in-field commissioning and data collection campaigns; analyze field data to validate numerical models and refine device controls.
  • Define and implement control algorithms for power capture, survivability and reactive control (MATLAB/Simulink, LabVIEW) and coordinate real-time control hardware integration (PLCs, embedded platforms).
  • Perform power systems integration and grid connection studies: power quality, reactive compensation, inverter specification, and compliance with national grid codes and island/grid-tied strategies.
  • Prepare design verification packages for certification bodies (DNV, Lloyd’s Register) including risk assessments, FMEA, structural calculations, and survivability criteria; manage certification project milestones and auditor queries.
  • Produce costed engineering change proposals, RASCI matrices and technical risk registers; quantify impacts to CAPEX/OPEX and propose mitigation strategies to support commercialization path.
  • Collaborate with electrical, controls, manufacturing, naval architecture and operations teams to ensure design for manufacture, assembly, transport and offshore installation.
  • Lead reliability, availability and maintainability (RAM) studies and develop preventative maintenance strategies and spare parts policies for WEC fleets.
  • Perform environmental impact assessments related to device deployment (acoustics, benthic impact, EMF, navigation risk) and prepare technical input for consenting applications and stakeholder consultations.
  • Coordinate supplier engagement, vendor assessments and component qualification testing for critical subsystems (gearboxes, bearings, power converters, subsea connectors).
  • Define factory acceptance tests (FAT) and site acceptance tests (SAT), write test scripts, and work with QA/QC to manage non-conformances and corrective actions during prototype and production phases.
  • Model multi-body interactions and control coupling for multi-device arrays, including wake effects, mooring cross-coupling, and array-level power smoothing strategies.
  • Produce clear, SEO-friendly technical documentation: technical specifications, white papers, performance reports, installation manuals and operations guides for internal and external stakeholders.
  • Support multidisciplinary project schedules, cost estimates and resource plans; present technical progress and risk updates to executive leadership and investors.
  • Mentor junior engineers and interns, lead technical design reviews, and foster knowledge transfer across the engineering organization.
  • Participate in innovation and R&D projects to develop next-generation PTO concepts, materials, coatings and sensor systems to reduce levelized cost of energy (LCOE).
  • Manage health and safety plans for offshore testing and commissioning works, ensuring compliance with maritime regulations, permit-to-work systems and emergency response plans.
  • Lead investigations into failure events and near-misses, root-cause analysis, implementation of corrective design changes and reporting to stakeholders and insurers.

Secondary Functions

  • Support proposal writing and pre-sales engineering by providing technical scopes, feasibility assessments and high-level cost estimates for tenders and grants.
  • Contribute to company technical strategy, roadmaps and intellectual property generation (patent filing support).
  • Assist in cross-functional KPIs tracking such as prototype performance, uptime, mean time between failures (MTBF) and LCOE reduction targets.
  • Collaborate with data science teams to translate sensor streams into performance metrics, anomaly detection and digital twin models for predictive maintenance.
  • Represent the company at conferences, workshops and industry working groups to influence standards and build academic/industrial partnerships.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Advanced hydrodynamics modeling: experience with WAMIT, NEMOH, MOERI, AQWA or equivalent for frequency- and time-domain analyses.
  • CFD proficiency: validated experience with OpenFOAM, ANSYS Fluent or STAR-CCM+ for free-surface and fluid–structure interaction simulations.
  • Offshore dynamics and mooring analysis: practical use of OrcaFlex or similar tools for dynamic mooring and installation simulations.
  • Structural analysis and FEA: hands-on experience with ANSYS, Abaqus or Nastran for fatigue, ultimate strength and buckling assessments.
  • Power take-off (PTO) systems knowledge: design, sizing and integration of hydraulic, mechanical or electrical PTO systems with generator/inverter selection.
  • Control systems and simulation: MATLAB/Simulink model development, real-time control prototyping and tuning for power capture and survivability.
  • Electrical and grid interfaces: power electronics, inverter controls, protection systems and knowledge of grid code compliance and testing.
  • CAD & manufacturing: SolidWorks, Creo or Siemens NX for component design, GD&T, BOM prep and supplier communication.
  • Sea trial planning and instrumentation: specification of sensors (IMU, wave buoys, strain gauges), data acquisition systems and post-processing workflows.
  • Standards & certification: working knowledge of DNV, IEC 62600 series, ISO offshore standards and experience preparing certification deliverables.
  • Software & scripting: Python, MATLAB, or similar for data analysis, automation, model calibration and reproducible reporting.
  • Subsea engineering fundamentals: knowledge of subsea connectors, cable routing, wet-mate systems, and corrosion control.
  • Survey and metocean analysis: processing wave buoy, ADCP and hindcast datasets; statistical extreme event assessment and scatter diagrams.
  • Testing & QA: FAT/SAT procedures, test planning, instrumentation calibration and root cause analysis methodologies.
  • Project delivery tools: experience with MS Project, JIRA, Confluence or similar for scheduling and agile engineering workflows.

(These hard skills are prioritized keywords for CV matching and applicant tracking systems: wave energy converter, hydrodynamics, CFD, OrcaFlex, WAMIT, OpenFOAM, PTO, FEA, MATLAB/Simulink, power electronics, sea trials, DNV.)

Soft Skills

  • Strong written and verbal communication — able to create clear technical reports, present to non-technical stakeholders and lead external technical discussions.
  • Cross-functional collaboration — proven experience working across mechanical, electrical, operations and supply chain teams.
  • Problem solving and analytical mindset — able to translate field data and simulations into robust engineering decisions.
  • Project and time management — deliver against tight prototype schedules, prioritize tasks and manage vendor timelines.
  • Attention to detail — document control, test records and traceability for regulated offshore projects.
  • Adaptability — comfortable working in dynamic R&D environments, offshore conditions and iterative design cycles.
  • Leadership and mentoring — experience supervising junior engineers and fostering a high-performing technical culture.
  • Health & safety focus — champion safe work practices and integrate HSE requirements into engineering deliverables.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Naval Architecture, Ocean Engineering, Marine Engineering, or equivalent.

Preferred Education:

  • Master's or PhD in Hydrodynamics, Ocean Engineering, Naval Architecture, Offshore Engineering, or related discipline.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Ocean / Marine Engineering
  • Naval Architecture
  • Mechanical Engineering (with offshore/fluids focus)
  • Renewable Energy / Power Systems
  • Control Systems and Mechatronics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–8 years of relevant engineering experience in wave energy, offshore renewables, naval architecture or hydrodynamics roles.

Preferred: 5+ years of demonstrated experience with WEC design and sea trials, including hands-on use of OrcaFlex, WAMIT/NEMOH, CFD tools and FEA; previous successful deployments or prototype campaigns strongly preferred.

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