Imagine standing on the ladder of an offshore wind turbine, watching the sunlight glint upon the sea. Or witnessing the blades of a windfarm you helped to build spin more clean energy into existence.
Such unique experiences can be found across the green energy sector, along with abundant international travel opportunities and roles on geographically diverse projects.
“The wind industry is truly global,” says Kiaya Pandya, a 27-year-old offshore wind construction project manager for Siemens Gamesa who is based in Copenhagen, Denmark. “So you end up travelling to places to meet people where they are, [because often] you have to be in the room to understand the context and perspective of that party.”
This ability to work without borders can have a positive impact on career progression and personal growth. In fact, 93% of employees believe that an international assignment can be life-changing for themselves and their families, according to a survey by professional services network EY.
As well as spanning multiple countries, careers in the green energy sector also have great environmental credentials. “I have the honour of physically installing the technologies that will help us achieve the energy transition,” says Pandya.
For someone studying engineering, as she did, it can often feel like there are only two options for graduates who want a well-paid career: working in the oil and gas industry or working in the defence industry.
Instead, Pandya negotiated a trainee position with Siemens Gamesa working on Hywind Tampen, the world’s largest floating wind project, based near Bergen, Norway. “The idea was to employ somebody who hadn’t gone down the traditional route of technician [to] site manager,” she says. “It was one of the best situations that I could have landed in because you’re immediately adding value … and really owning a process or a task.”
Born in Brighton, England, Pandya now lives in Denmark – and travel is a big part of her role. After working on France’s first floating wind pilot project, Provence Grand Large, situated near Marseille, she is now a construction project manager on the Noirmoutier offshore windfarm off the Pays de la Loire coast. Each new location she has worked in has come with a unique set of local challenges, which is partly what makes her job so interesting.
“When you get sent somewhere new, a big part of the task is setting up a support structure,” she says. “There’s a lot of work put in to comply with local processes – how local regulations are structured, who you need to call to make things happen and what rules might not be written down.”
Like Pandya, Damjan Jošić, a 28-year-old software and IT solutions engineer for Siemens Energy in Belgrade, Serbia, is also proud to be working on solutions to solve the climate crisis – the “greatest challenge our generation faces”.
After studying new energy technologies during his master’s in electrical engineering, he was keen to work for Siemens Energy. “Many of the courses I pursued aligned with [the company’s] vision of electrification through sustainable energy sources while decreasing CO2 emissions,” he says.
Since joining the company, he has worked on application software for multiple systems that help automate industrial equipment and processes within power stations or manufacturing plants. “Rather than focusing on a single method or narrow field, this diversity has enhanced my problem-solving abilities and adaptability in complex projects,” he says.
When Siemens Energy established a competence centre for industrial solutions in Belgrade, it also allowed him to work on some high-impact European and Middle Eastern projects. “Being part of this engineering team has helped me grow both technically and professionally,” he says. “I’m involved in a wide range of projects focused on efficient, reliable decarbonisation technologies.”
His achievements have made him a two-time winner of the Siemens Energy Rising Star award, which recognises the work of the company’s young leaders. “From my perspective, receiving the Rising Star award is not solely a personal accomplishment, but also reflects the success of the entire software and IT team within Siemens Energy Serbia,” he says. “The support from my team members and managers motivates me to continue contributing to our shared goals and pushing the boundaries of what we can achieve together.”
Recently he’s been collaborating with colleagues at Siemens Energy Erlangen, in Germany – a centre of automation and software programming that focuses on complex projects. His work has included the development of a library of software modules that are used in the control system of fuel-cell units – devices that convert chemical energy from a fuel (in this case, hydrogen) directly into electrical energy through an electrochemical reaction.
Unlike traditional engines, fuel cells don’t use combustion to generate electricity, leading to higher efficiency and lower emissions. The outcome of this particular project was an auxiliary fuel cell system for use inside a ship or yacht, which can provide cleaner power for a vessel. “I have a real sense of pride that I participated in the development of a control system solution for this project from Serbia, and it has been deployed and is on location in Italy,” says Jošić.
Lucian Novac, a 44-year-old offshore commissioning technician for Siemens Gamesa, based in Constanta, Romania, describes his job as his small contribution toward “helping to make a better world” for his eight-year-old daughter and future generations.
He transitioned from a career in photovoltaics to wind energy in his 20s when a friend helped him find work with a small company that cleaned, maintained and serviced onshore wind turbines. Later, he switched to working on offshore sites before securing a role with Siemens Gamesa.
He feels the company encourages collaboration across different regions and cultures, which is important for the global energy transition. During his career, he has worked in Norway, Finland, Germany, Sweden and New Zealand, and has learned a lot in the process.
“[When] you go to a different country, you find out that life can be very different from the one you’ve lived,” he says. “You learn how to deal with different characters and different mindsets … and that is very, very important for everybody.”
In previous roles at other companies, he was often on assignment for two or three months at a time, which took a toll on his family life. Now he works on a two-week on, two-week off basis, which allows him to spend more time with his wife and daughter. “This is the perfect rotation for me,” he says. “Because you don’t have to stay away from your family for too long.”
There are elements of his job that feel truly unique, he says, such as climbing up the ladder of a wind turbine offshore and looking out across the sea in calm conditions. “You and your team feel like the only people in the world,” he says. “The view, with the sun reflecting on the water, is unforgettable.”
