The Executive Director – Turbine Operations and Maintenance is responsible for enterprise-wide operational strategy, reliability performance, and maintenance execution of gas and steam turbine assets. This senior executive leads all aspects of field operations, outage planning, lifecycle engineering, and asset integrity across the turbine fleet. The role ensures operational excellence, cost efficiency, compliance, and long-term asset health. The ideal candidate combines deep turbine technical knowledge with strategic leadership and cross-functional coordination experience.
Define and lead the corporate strategy for gas and steam turbine operations and maintenance.
Oversee day-to-day turbine operations across all facilities, ensuring safe, reliable, and efficient performance.
Establish and track key performance indicators (KPIs) including availability, heat rate, output, reliability, and emissions.
Own long-term maintenance programs, including predictive, preventive, and corrective maintenance plans.
Direct execution of planned outages, major inspections (CI/HGP/MI), rotor replacements, and emergency repairs.
Optimize O&M costs through vendor management, in-house vs outsourced balancing, and maintenance interval optimization.
Lead lifecycle planning including refurbishment, upgrade, and end-of-life strategies.
Develop technical asset management plans aligned with capital investment priorities.
Coordinate root cause failure analysis (RCFA), engineering assessments, and technical governance.
Implement reliability programs using RCM, RBI, FMEA, and condition-based monitoring (CBM).
Integrate data analytics, digital twins, and OEM diagnostics for turbine performance tracking.
Collaborate with performance engineering teams to reduce degradation and improve heat rate and output.
Provide executive oversight for turbine overhauls, retrofits, upgrades, and site turnarounds.
Ensure work execution meets OEM standards, budget targets, and outage timelines.
Manage cross-site outage scheduling and resource optimization.
Ensure compliance with OEM specifications, industry standards (ASME, API, ISO), and regulatory bodies (EPA, OSHA, NERC).
Enforce rigorous safety standards and root cause analysis of safety or reliability incidents.
Lead risk management for turbine-related operational or integrity threats.
Lead multi-disciplinary teams of engineers, planners, maintenance managers, and field operations staff.
Foster a performance-driven, safety-first culture across all turbine operations.
Develop and mentor future technical leaders and high-potential operations staff.
Collaborate with engineering, procurement, capital projects, EHS, and finance teams.
Manage strategic partnerships with OEMs (GE, Siemens, MHI, etc.), long-term service providers, and external contractors.
Represent turbine operations in executive forums, board meetings, investor updates, and regulatory reviews.
Education:
Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Power, or Energy Engineering (Master’s or MBA preferred)
Experience:
18+ years in gas/steam turbine operations and maintenance, with at least 7+ years in a senior or executive leadership role
Proven experience managing a fleet of turbines across multiple facilities
Extensive knowledge of OEM platforms and technologies (GE, Siemens, Alstom, MHI)
Certifications (Preferred):
PMP, CMRP, CRL, or OEM-specific certifications
Training in Six Sigma, RCM, or Lean Operations
In-depth understanding of turbine design, thermodynamics, controls, degradation mechanisms, and component life
Expert in outage execution, reliability engineering, and asset health monitoring
Familiarity with CMMS (SAP PM, Maximo), SCADA/DCS systems, and turbine diagnostic tools
Experience in plant operations, field service logistics, and long-term asset planning
Executive-level communication, stakeholder influence, and change management
High emotional intelligence, decision-making under pressure, and people development skills
Financial literacy in budgeting, O&M cost control, and asset ROI evaluation
Collaborative leadership style that fosters cross-functional alignment
Corporate or regional headquarters with travel to power plants and OEM/vendor sites
Availability during major outages and emergency response scenarios
Interface with internal and external executives, regulators, and clients