International Trainee - R&D Engineer in Digital O&M

Now you can shape the path towards fossil free living. We're searching for 16 talented individuals to join us on our journey towards fossil free living. Individuals that challenge the way we think, lead us down new paths and contribute to solving the biggest challenge of humankind – climate change. Is this you? 

Become one of our 16 International Trainees at Vattenfall. Each of the trainee positions is unique, linked to a department within a specific business area and a working location. This means that each position has its own specific responsibilities, challenges and matching profile. 

Next to your personal development in this unique position you will be enjoying one year of all we have to offer. Your trainee year will be filled with meetups with your international trainee team with likeminded individuals. You will be meeting up virtually to work on assignments and live during four seminar weeks where you will be visiting our power plants and growing your superpowers with a variety of trainings.  

Your role as a Trainee - R&D Engineer in Digital O&M 

Vattenfall is one of the pioneers of wind power in Europe, both on- and offshore. This trainee position in Vattenfall R&D is tailored to support our journey. You will be strengthening the R&D team Lifetime & Operation (L&O). The team supports the Business Area (BA) Wind developing expertise in Operation and Maintenance (O&M), lifetime extension and operation in extreme conditions, e.g. cold climate. 

Your daily activities: 

• Identify the R&D needs of our stakeholders and support the development of custom-made solutions  

• Contribute to ongoing R&D projects related to operation of wind turbines in cold climate environment: data analysis, operation recommendations, development of internal expertise 

• Contribute to the development of a long-term strategy for data management in the wind area, relevant use of digital twins and artificial intelligence 

Lifetime & Operation is part of the Wind R&D portfolio. The program supports Business Area (BA) Wind with questions regarding Operation and Maintenance, lifetime extension, operation in extreme conditions (such as cold climate) and measurement expertise. 

Your daily activities:

• Identify the R&D needs of our stakeholders and support the development of custom-made solutions 

• Contribute to ongoing R&D projects related to operation and maintenance (O&M) for wind energy 

• Support the development of digital O&M which may include digital twins for our offshore and onshore wind assets or sensor based monitoring 

• Testing solutions in our R&D laboratory

You will be part of R&D Infrastructure Laboratory and report to the recruiting manager Holger Ecke (Infrastructure Laboratory). Frequent interactions will be expected with the product owner of L&O program (Pauline Beltrando) for progress reporting and technical questions. Main receivers are colleagues from BA Wind, e.g. the Wind Turbine Generator (WTG) team and the Business Unit (BU) Onshore.

Working at R&D in itself is an opportunity for constant growth and competence development. Topics are varied and business dependent. Some projects need laboratory testing which is the opportunity to do hands-on work. You will be given the chance to collaborate with our team in a spirit fostering creativity, co-creation and regenerative growth.

We share knowledge openly and frequently within our team. In addition, your trainee development path is designed to cultivate a sense of the possible and to prepare you for the challenging future of the energy sector. There are opportunities for career development in the Wind portfolio, within R&D as well as within Vattenfall. Are you ready to think beyond convention?

Your profile

Who are you? 

Whether you want a climate smarter career as an energy specialist, visionary manager, or inspirational project lead in the energy sector, we offer you these possibilities within the Trainee Programme.  

As a Trainee - R&D Engineer in Digital O&M, you recognize yourself in the following: 

• You enjoy facilitating innovation processes and driving such processes from idea to implementation. 

• You are an active learner and identify yourself as interested in learning through experimentation.  

• You have engaged in interdisciplinarity in the past and can display curiosity beyond the specialty of your diploma. 

• You appreciate having a leading role in harmonizing, co-creating and making things possible together.  

• You have some experience with data analysis as well as algorithmic language and coding. 

You are our ideal trainee if you are a recent graduate with an academic degree and have maximum one year of work experience, or you graduate before March 2024. You are fluent in English. Skills in other world languages can be a merit. You are willing to relocate for possible assignments throughout the organization. And of course, you identify yourself with our principles: active, open, positive and safe. 

Location: You will be affiliated with the R&D unit Infrastructure Laboratory and the position is located in Älvkarleby or Solna, Sweden. 

Additional information

What we offer you  

Vattenfall International Trainee Programme is the kickstart of your career within Vattenfall. You will have the opportunity to develop your professional and personal skills over the course of a year. In the Trainee Programme you will take part in international workshops and site visits during the seminar weeks. You will have the opportunity to work abroad and get a good overview of our entire organization. Each position comes with a competitive salary and an excellent remuneration package. Read more about the elements of the Vattenfall International Trainee Programme here.  

Our Organization 

At Vattenfall you can free your superpowers! We are one of the European market leaders in the generation of renewable energy and are primarily active in Scandinavia, Germany, Denmark, UK and the Netherlands. We take our responsibility seriously and together we are making the change towards fossil freedom. Our goal is to enable a fossil-free living within one generation. We are a dynamic company with an international focus and a social face at the heart of society. Diversity and inclusion is in everything we do, read more about D&I within Vattenfall. 

Application process 

We welcome your application in English, including resume and cover letter via the application button on this page. Last day to apply is October 15th. Selection period starts after the application period is closed with online tests followed by interviews in November.  An assessment is also part of the recruitment process and will take place in the end of November. The recruitment process will be finalized in December. The last step will be a pre-employment screening. Starting date of the Vattenfall International Trainee Programme will be March 4th, 2024.  

We are hosting an online event on the 26th of January where the team managers, trainees from previous years and a programme manager will answer all of your questions about the application, role and programme content. You can read more on how to attend here. If your question is still not answered, please contact your responsible recruiter, Teri-Anne Brink at teri-anne.brink@vattenfall.com 

Vattenfall is a critical part of Sweden’s infrastructure and as such subject to a number of specific rules and regulations, in example security protection, nuclear non-proliferation and export controls. For these reasons there is an approval process prior to employment for a large number of positions. In addition, if candidates have applied for positions which will give them access to sensitive information or secured premises they must undergo a security vetting process in accordance with the Swedish Security Protection Act. 

At our FAQ site you can find answer to most of the questions regarding the Trainee programme and the selection process. Please read the FAQ page first and if your question is still not answered, please contact your responsible recruiter, Teri-Anne Brink, teri-anne.brink@vattenfall.com

Trade union representatives in Sweden:  Shahriar Badiei (Akademikerna), Christer Gustafsson (Ledarna), Juha Siipilehto (SEKO) and Anders Bohlin (Unionen). You can also reach them through the main switchboard: 08 739 50 00.
 
The security of Vattenfall and its employees is essential. For that reason, a pre-employment screening will be part of your recruitment process. The screening is based on the role you will fulfill within Vattenfall. The screening will be performed by a third party, Validata. 

Since Vattenfall is a part of the Swedish critical infrastructure, many of our services are security classed. If this position is security classed the final candidates might be subjected to a security vetting process, according to the Swedish legislation.

We look forward for your application!

About the company

Vattenfall is one of Europe’s largest producers and retailers of electricity and heat. Our main markets are Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the UK. The Vattenfall Group has approximately 20,000 employees. We have been electrifying industries, powering homes and transforming life through innovation for more than 100 years. We now want to make fossil free living possible within one generation and we are driving the transition to a sustainable energy system.