Power Plant Operations Engineer
industrial_energy_operations › Power Plant Management · P2 — P2 — Developing Professional · Individual contributor
Supports daily operation and maintenance activities of a non-nuclear power or mining plant under general guidance.
Median pay · United States · annual
$72,357 USD
▲ +17% vs P1 on this ladder
Typical range ()
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Key statistics
The identity block — every fact is canon, none is generated.
2 of 8
Track
Individual contributor
Family rungs priced
P1 · P2 · P3 · P4 · P5 · P6
Coordinates
3 / 4 spaces
pay@2 · 2026-07
What this role is
Supports daily operation and maintenance activities of a non-nuclear power or mining plant under general guidance. At the Developing Professional (P2) level, the role owns defined deliverables / small features, applies established patterns, and drives own and immediate-team deliverables. May guide interns.
What this level does
- Control and monitor boilers, turbines, generators, and auxiliary equipment during a shift, adjusting output and regulating voltage within defined procedures to meet dispatch and load requirements.
- Distribute power among generators and regulate electricity flows using DCS interfaces, applying standard operating procedures with routine independence and referring non-standard situations to the shift supervisor.
- Respond to alarms and minor emergencies using established emergency procedures, isolating equipment and initiating corrective steps for familiar fault conditions.
- Perform first-line troubleshooting and simple maintenance or restart actions on plant equipment, escalating complex repairs to technicians or maintenance engineers.
- Maintain accurate operating logs and safety records, and mentor incoming P1 operators on control-room routines.
- Knowledge applied
- Applies working knowledge of boiler, turbine, and generator operation and DCS controls to conventional shift tasks, adjusting output and voltage within defined procedures.
- Complexity & problem solving
- Exercises judgment in familiar situations — responding to standard alarms, first-line troubleshooting, and routine restarts — deferring non-standard cases.
- Collaboration & interaction
- Builds productive relationships within the shift crew and with maintenance technicians; may guide P1 operators.
- Typical experience
- 2+ years of operating experience, typically with operator licensing/certification appropriate to the plant type.
Skills at this level
- Real-Time Generation Control
- — Controls and monitors boilers, turbines, generators, and auxiliary equipment to maintain voltage, regulate electricity flows, and distribute output among generators so the plant stays within safe operating limits while meeting dispatch and load requirements.
- Distributed Control System Operation
- — Operates industrial control software — DCS platforms such as GE Mark VI — to command plant equipment, adjust power flow, and supervise generation from the control room.
- Plant Information System Monitoring
- — Uses the OSI Plant Information (PI) System and plant data-entry software to record, trend, and analyze operating parameters, identifying developing equipment problems before they force a derate or trip.
- Alarm and Emergency Response
- — Responds to plant alarms and emergency conditions by isolating equipment and executing established emergency procedures, restoring safe operation or initiating an orderly shutdown.
- Plant Equipment Troubleshooting and Repair
- — Diagnoses faults in boilers, turbines, generators, and auxiliary systems and troubleshoots and repairs equipment when necessary to restore reliable generation, using hands-on technical competence developed through training and experience.
- Preventative Maintenance Direction
- — Directs implementation of preventative-maintenance schedules and operational plans, verifying that plant equipment is up to date and performing to government and industry standards.
- Regulatory and Safety Compliance
- — Ensures plant operation meets safety, environmental, and regulatory requirements, monitoring operations for compliance and representing the facility to regulators and auditors.
- Shift and Operations Supervision
- — Supervises operators and technicians to keep a steady stream of electricity flowing, directing shift activity and resolving problems while managing plant resources.
- Generation Cost and Budget Management
- — Ensures the plant meets energy production needs while staying within budget, balancing generation targets against maintenance, fuel, and staffing costs and optimizing heat rate and availability.
- Multi-Plant Operations Leadership
- — Sets operating, reliability, and safety standards and directs strategy across multiple facilities as scope expands from a single plant to a region or operations directorate.
- Grid Dispatch Coordination
- — Coordinates plant output with grid dispatch and load requirements, aligning generation to meet system demand and communicating unit status to dispatch and adjacent shifts.
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As of · 2026-07-30
Edition · canon-v2@2.1.0-complete
Source · canon-v2 cell + salary-benchmark (model)
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