Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Wind Turbine Director

🎯 Role Definition

The Wind Turbine Director is a senior leadership role responsible for the safe, reliable, and cost-effective performance of an operator's wind turbine portfolio. This role combines frontline operational leadership for operations & maintenance (O&M), asset management, lifecycle planning, and commercial oversight with strategic responsibilities such as capital planning, vendor and contract management, regulatory compliance, and continuous performance improvement. The Director ensures turbines meet availability and production targets, drives reliability programs (including predictive and condition-based maintenance), and represents the company with stakeholders, grid operators, and regulators.

Primary SEO keywords: wind turbine director, wind farm operations, O&M director, renewable energy leadership, asset management, SCADA, condition monitoring, reliability engineering.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Wind Farm Manager / Operations Manager with multi-site experience
O&M Manager or Maintenance Engineering Lead in utility-scale projects
Senior Reliability or Asset Manager with wind-specific background

Advancement To:

Vice President, Operations (Renewables)
Head of Asset Management / Director of Renewable Portfolio
Chief Operations Officer (COO) for a renewables business unit

Lateral Moves:

Director, Solar & Wind Asset Management
Head of Technical Services / Engineering Director (Renewables)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead and be accountable for the operational performance, availability, and output of a multi-site portfolio of wind turbines, ensuring annual energy production targets and P50/P90 forecasts are achieved while minimizing unplanned downtime.
Develop, implement and continuously optimize the operations & maintenance (O&M) strategy including preventative, predictive and condition-based maintenance programs to extend asset life and reduce total cost of ownership.
Oversee SCADA, condition monitoring systems and remote operations centers to ensure real-time visibility, alarm management, and data-driven decision-making for turbine performance and fault response.
Create and manage multi-year asset lifecycle plans, including major component replacement schedules (gearboxes, generators, blades), refurbishment projects and end-of-warranty strategies to preserve value and plan CAPEX.
Direct the development and execution of reliability improvement initiatives such as root-cause analysis (RCA), failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA), and reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) programs.
Build, lead and mentor site operations, field technicians, engineers, and regional O&M teams; establish staffing models, career development plans and competency matrices to ensure a high-performing workforce.
Own budgeting and P&L for the turbine portfolio: prepare annual O&M budgets, forecast capital expenditures, track costs, identify savings opportunities and report financial performance to senior leadership.
Manage vendor, OEM and service provider relationships; negotiate and oversee service level agreements (SLAs), performance guarantees, warranties, and large maintenance contracts to ensure delivery and compliance.
Ensure strict compliance with HSE policies, create a zero-harm culture, lead incident investigations, and deliver training and continuous improvement programs to meet OSHA/industry safety standards.
Coordinate commissioning, acceptance testing and handover of newly installed or repowered turbines; validate performance through acceptance tests and confirm contractual milestones.
Lead outage planning and execution for scheduled maintenance, blade inspections/repairs, major component swaps and turbine upgrades, minimizing production losses through efficient logistics and contingency planning.
Interface with commercial teams to align operational realities with power purchase agreements (PPAs), availability guarantees, and performance-based remuneration — provide data and evidence for contractual claims or disputes.
Oversee grid interconnection performance and compliance (grid codes), coordinate with Transmission System Operators (TSOs) and distribution utilities on curtailment, fault ride-through and reactive power support requirements.
Implement and govern data analytics and reporting frameworks: define KPI dashboards (availability, AEP, MTBF, MTTR), deliver performance reviews and provide actionable insights to stakeholders.
Lead environmental permitting compliance and community relations initiatives, ensuring operations meet environmental commitments, noise, wildlife and land-use conditions and proactively engage stakeholders.
Drive digital transformation activities for operations, including introduction of AI/ML for predictive maintenance, automated inspection (drones, rope access imagery), digital twins, and integrated asset management platforms.
Manage supply chain and spare parts strategy: optimize inventory levels, define consignment and just-in-time models, and ensure critical spares availability for fast response.
Champion continuous improvement and cost optimization programs (OPEX reduction, process standardization, benchmarking), deploying LEAN and Six Sigma techniques where appropriate.
Represent the company in technical forums, industry associations, regulatory consultations and investor meetings; prepare technical summaries and operational reports for board-level review.
Ensure quality assurance and technical governance: set standards, approve SOPs, commissioning protocols, operational checklists and vendor quality plans.
Oversee emergency response planning, rapid mobilization for severe weather events and risk mitigation strategies for hurricanes, icing, lightning and other site-specific hazards.
Direct statutory inspections, NDT programs, blade condition monitoring campaigns and certification activities required by local regulators and insurers.
Lead technology evaluation and procurement for new turbine controls, retrofit packages and performance enhancements including wake steering, blade add-ons and power curve tuning.
Establish and govern training, competency and certification programs for technicians (rope access, HV switching, confined space) and engineering staff to ensure regulatory and OEM compliance.
Coordinate cross-functional programs with development, construction and commercial teams during repowering projects, major upgrades and lifecycle extensions to ensure seamless transitions.

Secondary Functions

Support stakeholder management including landowners, local authorities, OEMs and insurers; act as primary liaison for site-specific operational issues.
Lead ad-hoc technical investigations and provide subject-matter expertise for litigation, insurance claims and contractual disputes.
Contribute to the organization’s technology roadmap by piloting new inspection tools, remote monitoring solutions and digital asset management platforms.
Collaborate with finance and development teams to evaluate repowering, retrofit and end-of-life options through techno-economic analyses.
Participate in executive leadership planning sessions, provide input on portfolio acquisition due diligence and post-acquisition integration checklists.
Drive workforce planning and resource allocation across sites to balance cost, safety and production objectives.
Champion sustainability initiatives at the site and corporate level, including decommissioning planning, recycling of blades and circular economy practices.
Maintain documentation control and ensure all technical, safety and environmental records meet audit and regulatory standards.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

In-depth knowledge of wind turbine mechanical and electrical systems (gearboxes, drivetrains, hubs, pitch systems, yaw systems, generators).
SCADA and remote monitoring system expertise, including alarm management and data acquisition (FRT, IEC 61850 awareness desirable).
Hands-on experience with condition monitoring tools (vibration analysis, oil analysis, thermography) and predictive maintenance platforms.
Strong reliability engineering and root cause analysis capabilities (RCA, FMEA, RCM).
Experience with asset management and ERP systems (e.g., SAP PM, IBM Maximo, Infor or equivalent).
Proven track record managing large O&M contracts and working with OEM service agreements.
Knowledge of HV electrical systems, protection relays, switchgear, transformers and grid interconnection requirements.
Familiarity with industry standards, regulatory compliance and safety frameworks (OSHA, ISO 45001, ISO 55000).
Proficiency with performance analytics and AEP modeling tools; ability to interpret power curves and wake loss impacts.
Project and program management skills for capital projects, repairs and repowering initiatives (PMP or equivalent desirable).
Experience with drone-based inspection, NDT methods, blade repair techniques and rope access operations.
Financial acumen: budgeting, CAPEX/OPEX control, KPI finance reporting and cost-benefit analysis.
Knowledge of environmental permitting, wildlife/avian risk mitigation and community engagement best practices.
Data literacy: ability to manage and extract insights from large operational datasets; exposure to Python, R or analytics platforms is a plus.

Soft Skills

Strong leadership and people management skills with experience leading geographically dispersed teams.
Excellent stakeholder engagement and negotiation skills with internal and external partners including OEMs, regulators and community leaders.
Strategic thinker with the ability to translate technical information into business outcomes and executive-level reporting.
Decision-making under pressure; effective crisis management and emergency response leadership.
Clear and persuasive communication skills — both written and verbal — for safety briefings, technical reports and board presentations.
Results-oriented with strong problem-solving skills and continuous improvement mindset.
Change management capability to lead digital transformation, process standardization and cultural shifts.
High emotional intelligence and ability to build trust across multicultural teams and international operations.
Time management and prioritization skills to balance reactive troubleshooting with long-term strategic initiatives.
Coaching and talent development aptitude to grow and retain technical talent within the organization.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Renewable Energy, or a related technical field.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree (MSc/ME) in Engineering, Renewable Energy, Reliability Engineering or an MBA with technical orientation.
Professional certifications such as PMP, Certified Reliability Engineer (CRE), NEBOSH, or industry-specific training.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Mechanical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Renewable Energy / Wind Energy Technology
Reliability / Maintenance Engineering
Industrial Engineering

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 10–20+ years of progressive experience in wind operations, O&M, reliability or asset management roles.

Preferred:

Minimum 5–10 years in senior management or director-level positions with responsibility for multi-site wind turbine portfolios.
Experience with utility-scale onshore wind farms, multi-MW turbines and cross-functional leadership across operations, engineering and commercial teams.
Proven track record implementing predictive maintenance, cost reduction programs and digital operations solutions.
International experience, grid code knowledge and prior work with OEMs and major service providers is highly desirable.