Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Wind Turbine Supervisor

🎯 Role Definition

This role requires an experienced Wind Turbine Supervisor to lead safe, efficient, and cost-effective operations, maintenance, and repair activities across a wind farm or portfolio of turbines. The Wind Turbine Supervisor is a frontline operations leader who coordinates field technicians, manages daily schedules and work orders, enforces HSE and quality standards, optimizes turbine availability through preventive and corrective maintenance, and communicates performance to stakeholders. This role requires deep technical knowledge of turbine electrical and mechanical systems, condition monitoring (vibration, oil analysis, SCADA), proven leadership in O&M teams, and solid experience with contractor and vendor coordination.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Wind Turbine Technician / Senior Wind Turbine Technician
Field Service Technician (wind or power generation)
Maintenance Team Leader or Shift Lead in renewable energy

Advancement To:

Wind Farm Operations Manager
Regional O&M Manager / Area Manager
Asset Manager for wind portfolio

Lateral Moves:

Reliability Engineer (wind)
Commissioning Supervisor
Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) Lead – Wind

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Supervise and coordinate daily operations and maintenance activities across assigned wind turbine units to maximize availability and minimize downtime; create, assign, and verify completion of work orders in the CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System).
Lead field teams of wind turbine technicians during planned preventive maintenance (PM) campaigns, blade inspections, gearbox and generator overhauls, and scheduled component replacements, ensuring work is executed to OEM standards and documented accurately.
Act as the primary point of contact for SCADA alarms and condition monitoring systems; triage alarms, coordinate remote diagnostics, dispatch technicians for site visits, and follow up to close root-cause investigations.
Oversee and perform electrical and mechanical troubleshooting on turbine systems including pitch and yaw systems, power electronics, gearboxes, main bearings, hydraulic systems, and generator exciter systems to restore units to service safely and efficiently.
Ensure adherence to strict health, safety, and environmental (HSE) requirements including site-specific permit-to-work procedures, lockout/tagout, working at heights, confined space entry, and emergency rescue plans; lead safety toolbox talks and incident investigations.
Manage spare parts inventory, consumables, and logistics planning: forecast critical spares, place orders, coordinate deliveries, and optimize onsite stock levels to reduce lead-time and operational risk.
Supervise contractor and third-party vendor activities (crane operations, blade repair, civil works), including pre-qualification, scope verification, safety briefings, worksite audits, and performance evaluation.
Implement and verify quality control and workmanship standards for installation, commissioning, repairs, and retrofits; ensure all technical documentation and sign-offs meet OEM and company requirements.
Plan and execute outage coordination: schedule outages with internal teams and external stakeholders, prepare resource plans, secure necessary permits, and minimize revenue loss by optimizing outage durations and sequencing.
Monitor and report key performance indicators (KPIs) such as availability, capacity factor, mean time to repair (MTTR), mean time between failures (MTBF), and safety metrics; prepare weekly and monthly operations reports for senior management.
Direct and mentor wind turbine technicians: provide on-the-job training, performance reviews, competency assessments, skill-gap analysis, and career development plans to build a high-performing operations team.
Coordinate and supervise commissioning and start-up activities for newly installed turbines or major retrofits, including pre-commissioning checks, cold/hot commissioning, grid synchronization support, and final acceptance testing.
Lead incident and near-miss investigations using root-cause analysis methodologies, develop corrective and preventive action plans, and track completion to closure to prevent recurrence.
Develop, review and maintain technical procedures, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and work instructions for safe and efficient execution of O&M tasks; ensure updates reflect lessons learned and regulatory changes.
Control operational budgets and maintenance cost tracking for assigned assets; recommend cost-saving initiatives such as predictive maintenance strategies, vendor renegotiation, or parts pooling.
Ensure regulatory and environmental compliance (local permitting, FAA for lighting and marking, avian mitigation requirements) and liaise with regulatory bodies or landowners as required.
Oversee blade inspection and repair activities, including rope access or platform operations, NDT testing, erosion repair and structural assessments; ensure blade integrity and aerodynamic performance recovery.
Work with reliability and data analytics teams to ingest SCADA, vibration, oil analysis and thermography data into predictive maintenance frameworks and prioritize condition-based interventions.
Manage emergency response and business continuity planning for extreme weather events, grid outages, or major mechanical failures; lead fast-response teams and ensure continuity of power delivery where applicable.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives by implementing reliability projects, retrofits, firmware upgrades, and vendor corrective actions to increase turbine uptime and extend asset life.
Conduct regular site and turbine inspections, towers and foundations checks, lightning protection assessments, and nacelle housekeeping audits to maintain asset health and safety compliance.
Maintain strong stakeholder communication: update asset owners, grid operators, and internal leadership on status, risks, financial impacts, and mitigation measures; prepare clear executive summaries and technical appendices.
Oversee documentation control for maintenance records, work packs, lift plans, handover documents, and asset registers ensuring audit readiness and traceability.

Secondary Functions

Support development and execution of local training programs and competency matrices; facilitate external vendor certifications and on-site practical assessments.
Participate in procurement decisions for technical services and capital equipment by providing technical requirements, acceptance criteria, and cost/benefit analysis.
Assist with environmental monitoring and mitigation programs, including soil and vegetation assessments around turbines, oil spill prevention plans, and wildlife observation logs.
Contribute to technology trials, pilot programs (e.g., digital twins, remote inspections, drone-enabled inspections), and supplier evaluations to drive innovation in O&M practices.
Provide engineering feedback to design and lifecycle teams on recurring failure modes, warranty claims, and recommended technical modifications to improve future turbine deployments.
Coordinate cross-functional planning with transmission, landowners, and construction teams during major works to ensure safety, regulatory compliance and minimal community impact.
Mentor junior operations staff in report writing, technical documentation, and operational readiness tasks to build bench strength in the operations group.
Participate in audits (internal, OEM, ISO, or regulatory) and support corrective action resolution and continuous improvement follow-up.
Maintain and update emergency response contact lists, mutual aid agreements with nearby sites, and verify on-call rosters and escalation procedures.
Manage seasonal work planning and staff rotations to align with weather constraints, peak maintenance windows, and outage windows for grid connections.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Strong hands-on electrical troubleshooting skills: familiarity with medium-voltage (MV) switchgear, transformers, generators, power converters (inverters), relays, and grounding systems.
Mechanical systems expertise: gearbox, drivetrain, main shaft, bearings, yaw and pitch system diagnostics, and alignment procedures.
SCADA and condition monitoring proficiency: alarm management, trend analysis, remote diagnostics, and experience with SCADA platforms (e.g., ABB, Siemens, GE, Vodafone, or proprietary systems).
CMMS experience: creating, prioritizing and closing work orders, preventive maintenance scheduling and inventory control (e.g., SAP, Maximo, Infor).
Vibration analysis and oil condition monitoring knowledge: interpreting spectra, trending wear patterns, and coordinating remedial actions.
Knowledge of hoisting and lifting operations including crane lift plans, rigging, load calculations, and lift supervision for heavy component exchanges.
Blade repair and inspection capabilities: understanding composite repair techniques, erosion mitigation, and use of NDT tools (ultrasound, thermography).
Familiarity with PLCs, control logic and basic programming diagnostics for turbine controllers and power electronics.
Working knowledge of relevant standards and regulations: OEM maintenance standards, IEC 61400, OSHA, and local electrical codes.
Experience with safety and rescue certifications and protocols: GWO certifications (Working at Heights, Manual Handling, First Aid, Fire Awareness), confined space, HAZOP familiarity and emergency rescue coordination.
Proven ability to read and interpret electrical/mechanical schematics, technical manuals, and OEM service bulletins.
Experience with contract management, vendor oversight and performance-based contracting models.

Soft Skills

Strong leadership and people management skills: coaching, performance management, and crew motivation in remote and challenging environments.
Excellent verbal and written communication: concise reporting to senior management, clear briefings to technicians, and effective stakeholder engagement.
Problem-solving and analytical thinking: prioritize tasks under pressure and apply root-cause analysis to recurring failures.
Organizational skills and time management: manage multiple projects, outages and emergency tasks concurrently.
Attention to detail and quality focus: ensure compliance with procedures and robust documentation for audits and warranties.
Decision-making under uncertainty: balance safety, commercial impact, and operational constraints to make timely judgments.
Customer and owner-focused mindset: translate technical information into business impact and manage expectations.
Collaborative team player: work seamlessly with reliability engineers, procurement, HSE and asset owners.
Adaptability and resilience: thrive in outdoor, weather-dependent schedules and extended hours during critical outages.
Coaching and mentoring aptitude: develop technician capabilities and succession planning.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

High school diploma or GED plus technical apprenticeship or equivalent field experience in electromechanical maintenance.

Preferred Education:

Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Renewable Energy Technology, or similar technical discipline.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Electrical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Renewable Energy Technology / Wind Energy Technology
Industrial Maintenance / Mechatronics
Energy Systems or Power Engineering

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

5–10+ years of hands-on wind turbine O&M experience with at least 2–3 years in a supervisory or lead technician role.

Preferred:

7+ years of wind farm operations and maintenance experience, experience supervising multi-disciplinary crews, proven record managing major component exchanges and outage projects, and familiarity with multiple turbine OEMs and SCADA platforms.

Additional preferred qualifications: GWO certifications (Working at Heights, Manual Handling, First Aid, Fire Awareness), valid driver’s license, demonstrated experience with condition monitoring programs, and experience working in remote site logistics and off-grid environments.