Performance Engineer / Senior Performance Engineer - Oahu

We believe in our people, who share our vision of meeting the needs of employees, customers, and communities while driving the company’s continued success. Our employees are committed to foundational values: integrity, excellence, teamwork, environmental stewardship, and community commitment. In return, we invest in our employees with opportunities for challenge, advancement, and a competitive compensation package.

About the role

This position is within the P IV PS Reliability and Performance Engineering Department of the Power Supply Engineering Division at Hawaiian Electric Company. The posting seeks to fill either a Performance Engineer or Senior Performance Engineer role, depending on the candidate’s qualifications.

Responsibilities

• Monitor and diagnose equipment performance issues using technical specifications, instrumentation data, and advanced analytics software.
• Provide advanced condition monitoring and data analysis of critical plant systems and components.
• Interface and collaborate with key stakeholders to diagnose developing plant and equipment-related problems.
• Offer technical consulting services to enhance equipment performance and reliability, troubleshoot operational problems, and optimize maintenance and operational practices.
• Perform daily monitoring of site-critical components using advanced analytics software (e.g., Advanced Pattern Recognition).
• Respond to, evaluate, and prioritize alarms for potential equipment issues; interact with station personnel to provide optimization recommendations.
• Predict component health and alert subject matter experts (SMEs) and station personnel of anomalies that could affect reliability, availability, maintainability, and performance.
• Identify and classify risks to the plant, provide mitigation recommendations, and track resolutions to completion.
• Support the implementation of advanced analytics software models (e.g., AVEVA PI Vision, AVEVA PI Asset Framework, AVEVA PI Datalink, Microsoft Excel, VBA, and APR).
• Develop, maintain, and use advanced analytics models and plant operational data to detect changes in equipment behavior.
• Communicate equipment anomalies to plant operations, engineering personnel, and field technologists.
• Collaborate with power plant staff to troubleshoot and resolve operational problems identified by thermal performance monitoring.
• Perform economic evaluations, including cost/benefit analyses, and recommend cost-effective equipment modifications.
• Maintain records and statistics to develop performance metrics for distribution.
• Seek opportunities to improve operational and maintenance practices and procedures.
• Participate in company emergency response activities as assigned.

Senior Performance Engineer Additional Responsibilities

• Provide expert-level field engineering and technical consultative services to generating stations.
• Train and coach Performance Engineers.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable codes and regulations.

Requirements

• Thorough knowledge of engineering principles, typically acquired through advanced college-level engineering courses and several years of professional experience.
• Working knowledge of advanced analytics and software such as APR or other reliability/condition-based predictive diagnosis tools.
• Strong working knowledge of rotating components (e.g., pumps, motors, steam turbines, generators, field instrumentation).
• Familiarity with Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) programs, vibration analysis, and oil-based steam Rankine cycle units, combustion turbines, and reciprocating internal combustion engine (RICE) technologies.
• Thorough knowledge of engineering fundamentals (e.g., physics, chemistry, thermodynamics, power systems, electronics, materials).
• Working knowledge of federal, state, industry, and company regulations, codes, and practices.
• Proficiency with personal computers, mainframe systems, and software applications (e.g., Microsoft Office, VBA, SAP CMMS).
• Knowledge of power plant systems, operations, and performance monitoring programs (highly desired).
• Familiarity with ASME Performance Test Codes, power plant controls, and AVEVA PI system (a plus).

Skills

• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work with individuals at all levels within and outside the company.
• Analytical, conceptual, and administrative skills to assess job demands, recommend actions, and manage multiple systems/projects with minimal supervision.
• Problem-solving and troubleshooting skills; ability to perform root-cause analyses is a plus.
• Flexibility to adapt to a demanding work environment and rapidly changing priorities.
• Effective verbal and written communication skills for internal and external stakeholders.
• In-depth analytical and computational skills for technical writing, statistical computations, and economic analysis.
• Valid or ability to qualify for a State of Hawaii driver’s license; must meet company driving standards.

Experience

• 5–7 years of experience, with at least 3 years in power plant engineering, operations, or maintenance.