Senior Mechanical Engineer - Power Generation

Position Overview

OPPD is a publicly owned electric utility committed to providing affordable, reliable, and environmentally sensitive energy services to the communities we serve. The Power Generation Engineering team provides the technical leadership needed to safely expand, operate, maintain, and modernize OPPD¿s generation fleet while supporting long-term reliability and evolving customer needs.

As a Senior Power Generation Engineer, you will provide expert technical leadership for mechanical generation systems and major capital projects. You will establish technical direction, lead high-risk engineering workstreams, and guide decisions involving turbines, pumps, water systems, piping, rotating equipment, and other critical generation assets.

A primary focus will be providing senior engineering leadership for the construction of new generation at Cass County Station. You will oversee complex design reviews, resolve significant technical and cross-disciplinary issues, identify project and operational risks, and help ensure that designs and installed systems meet OPPD¿s safety, reliability, performance, and lifecycle requirements.

You will support Cass County Station, Turtle Creek Station, Jones Street Station, and other OPPD generation facilities by directing complex troubleshooting, establishing system health strategies, leading major upgrades, and developing the technical capabilities of engineers and cross-functional teams.

The Impact You¿ll Have

• Provide senior technical leadership for the construction of new generation at Cass County Station, including design governance, technical decision-making, construction support, testing, commissioning, and resolution of high-impact issues.
• Lead comprehensive design reviews to verify that turbines, pumps, water systems, piping, heat exchangers, and associated mechanical infrastructure meet OPPD¿s technical, operational, safety, and reliability requirements.
• Establish technical strategy and provide expert-level direction for complex, ambiguous, or high-risk engineering challenges.
• Oversee the planning, execution, and integration of major engineering workstreams across mechanical, electrical, controls, operations, maintenance, construction, and project-management teams.
• Serve as a recognized subject matter expert for assigned mechanical equipment and systems by applying extensive knowledge of operating principles, configurations, historical issues, maintenance strategies, failure modes, and industry practices.
• Establish long-term lifecycle and reliability strategies for critical plant assets across multiple OPPD generation sites.
• Lead system health monitoring and advanced equipment analysis using operating data, inspections, testing results, vibration and condition-monitoring data, maintenance history, and risk assessments.
• Anticipate emerging equipment and system risks and direct implementation of mitigation strategies that support sustained safety, reliability, efficiency, and operational flexibility.
• Direct resolution of the most complex and high-impact equipment or system issues, including emergent conditions affecting plant availability, personnel safety, project delivery, or regulatory obligations.
• Lead structured root cause analyses and translate findings into sustainable corrective actions, engineering standards, maintenance strategies, and organizational learning.
• Plan, budget, and lead major equipment upgrades, replacements, overhauls, modifications, and high-risk project work across multiple generation facilities.
• Provide technical leadership for turbine and rotating-equipment inspections, repairs, outages, performance evaluations, and lifecycle decisions.
• Champion configuration control by ensuring calculations, drawings, specifications, equipment data, and operating documentation remain accurate and aligned with approved plant configurations.
• Develop engineering standards, tools, methodologies, and workflows that improve technical quality, decision-making, reliability, and organizational performance.
• Advise plant and organizational leadership regarding technical risks, investment priorities, equipment lifecycle decisions, outage strategies, and long-term generation needs.
• Coach and mentor engineers and cross-functional team members, strengthen troubleshooting capability, and promote effective knowledge transfer.
• Represent Power Generation Engineering in significant technical discussions with project partners, contractors, original equipment manufacturers, consultants, and industry organizations.

What You'll Bring

• Demonstrated ability to successfully complete essential duties with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Registration as a Professional Engineer in the State of Nebraska or ability to obtain Nebraska registration within 6 months through reciprocity and relevant experience.

Preferred Experiences

• Bachelor¿s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related engineering discipline.
• Extensive and progressively responsible engineering experience involving power generation, rotating equipment, industrial mechanical systems, or comparable critical infrastructure.
• Expert-level knowledge of multiple mechanical generation systems, such as turbines, pumps, compressors, water systems, piping, valves, heat exchangers, and auxiliary systems.
• Demonstrated success leading complex design reviews, engineering workstreams, major equipment modifications, construction activities, outages, or commissioning efforts.
• Demonstrated ability to make and communicate technically defensible decisions involving significant operational, safety, reliability, financial, or project risk.
• Experience developing long-term asset, system health, lifecycle, maintenance, or reliability strategies.
• Advanced troubleshooting, failure analysis, and root cause analysis capabilities.
• Ability to lead multidisciplinary teams and align technical work across engineering, operations, maintenance, construction, contractors, and project management.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor engineers, build organizational technical capability, and improve engineering processes.
• Strong written, verbal, facilitation, and leadership-level presentation skills.
• Ability and willingness to work at and travel among OPPD generation facilities as business needs require.
• Commitment to operational excellence, safety, technical integrity, configuration control, and regulatory compliance.
• Experience providing technical leadership for the design, construction, commissioning, or modernization of power generation facilities.
• Experience with gas turbines, steam turbines, reciprocating engines, or other utility-scale generation technologies.
• Experience leading major upgrades, overhauls, or replacements involving turbines, pumps, compressors, water systems, piping, or heat-recovery equipment.
• Experience with vibration analysis, lubrication analysis, thermal-performance testing, nondestructive examination, or other equipment condition-assessment methods.
• Experience developing outage scopes, inspection strategies, repair plans, equipment specifications, or lifecycle investment recommendations.
• Experience working with original equipment manufacturers, engineering and construction contractors, consultants, regulatory organizations, or industry groups.
• Experience developing engineering standards, asset-management strategies, system health programs, or fleet-level reliability initiatives.

Salary/Wage Info

Grade: S6

Minimum: $109,942

Midpoint: $137,428

Apply online at www.oppd.com on or before November 27th.

Our Culture & Mission

At Omaha Public Power District, everything starts with people - our teams, our communities, and the customer owners who count on us. As the 12th largest public power utility in the U.S., we serve more than 900,000 people across 13 counties, and we take that responsibility seriously.

We lead with integrity, support one another, and do what's right, because how we serve matters just as much as what we deliver. Our goal is simple: provide affordable, reliable, and environmentally responsible energy today and for generations to come.

We create power with purpose. Your work here has real impact; on families, on the environment, and on the future of energy. And we believe great ideas can come from anywhere.

If you want to be part of a team that takes care of the community and the people who serve it, you're in the right place. We back up our mission by taking care of our employees, too; which is why our benefits are among the most comprehensive and competitive in the region.

Ready to apply?

When you apply, be sure your resume highlights the skills and experience that will help you succeed in this role.

EOE: Protected Veterans/Disability

If you would like to request an accommodation in order to apply for a position with OPPD, please email OPPD Talent Acquisition at TalentAcquisition@OPPD.com .

Recruiter Information

Recruiter: Michael Fierro - mrfierro@oppd.com