Principal Engineer - Wind Turbine Blade Bonding & Joints

Job Description Summary

GE Vernova is seeking a Principal Engineer to provide technical leadership in Bonding & Joints for wind turbine blades-an area critical to structural integrity, safety, quality, and long-term performance. This Control Title Holder (CTH) role owns the technical underwriting of Bonding & Joints design concepts, specifications, practices, issue resolution approaches, and defect acceptance criteria across the full product lifecycle.

Bonding & Joints represent the primary structural interfaces that integrate the wind blade into a complete system. These interfaces include adhesive and resin-based bonded joints (co-infused and secondary bonded), as well as mechanical joints where applicable. Examples include web-to-shell bond lines, leading and trailing edge bond lines, joints between prefabricated components and shells, aero add-on bonding, repair interfaces, and select mechanical joints. In this role, you will define and enforce the technical rigor required to ensure design decisions result in safe, high-quality products and services that meet customer and regulatory expectations.

You will collaborate closely with blade design teams, cross-functional partners, and designated technical experts across Design, Systems, Quality, Supply Chain, and Manufacturing-providing both technical oversight and hands-on contribution as needed. You will support the Blades Chief Engineer in setting and executing strategy related to design robustness, factory and field issue resolution, and technology development within the Bonding & Joints domain. A key responsibility of this role is mentoring and developing engineering talent, building sustainable technical depth within blade structural components.
This is a senior technical leadership role requiring deep domain expertise, strong systems thinking, and disciplined problem-solving, while actively advancing organizational capability and engineering excellence.

Job Description

Roles and Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and guidance in Bonding & Joints for new product development, new technology introduction, factory quality issues, field issues, and repair solutions.
• Underwrite Bonding & Joints design concepts, specifications, practices, issue resolution approaches, and defect acceptance criteria across the entire product lifecycle.
• Drive manufacturable, high-quality Bonding & Joints solutions aligned with internal design requirements, customer expectations, and applicable industry standards.
• Oversee and underwrite risk assessments, including Design FMEA (D-FMEA), and drive effective mitigation strategies.
• Identify and drive system-level continuous improvement opportunities in engineering design processes and design practices related to wind blade Bonding & Joints by working with design teams, other CTHs, and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Collaborate effectively across Design, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and Systems organizations to achieve technical and business objectives.
• Partner with people leaders to mentor, coach, and develop technical engineering talent.
• Own and evolve the Bonding & Joints technology roadmap, aligned with product and business strategy.
• Stay informed and participate in relevant industry standards bodies, regulatory forums, and intellectual property initiatives to influence technical direction and external requirements.

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited university or college in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Engineering Mechanics, or a related discipline.
• Minimum of 10 years of professional experience in composite bonding and joints design, testing, or closely related technical work.
• In-depth knowledge of composite mechanics, composite failure modes, and the building-block approach to structural validation.
• Working knowledge of composite manufacturing processes.
• Prior experience in technical leadership roles guiding teams through structured design processes to deliver safe, high-quality products.

• Master's or PhD degree preferred.
• Direct experience with wind turbine blade composite structural design.
• Knowledge of APQP, TRL/MRL, and statistical process control methodologies.
• Demonstrated ability to lead multidisciplinary engineering teams, including globally distributed teams, through design reviews, technical assessments, and root cause investigations.
• Proven experience resolving complex technical issues through cross-functional collaboration and structured problem-solving tools such as FMEA and RCA / 8D.
• Knowledge of wind turbine industry standards and regulations applicable to blade structural components.
• Experience in project execution, translating high-level objectives into clear, actionable plans and driving disciplined operational execution.
• Track record of curiosity and passion for identifying, developing, and implementing new technologies, methods, and ideas that result in differentiated product outcomes.
• Experience coaching, mentoring, and developing engineering talent to support long-term professional growth and succession.