Apprentice Power Plant Operator Jobs in Texas (NOW HIRING)

As an NRG employee, we encourage you to think creatively and proactively about your career choices.  Our work environment is dynamic and the career opportunities across our businesses offer variety and challenge.  Providing career growth to our own employees is critical to our ongoing success--take charge of your career goals and empower your future!

Provide maintenance support to troubleshoot, calibrate, and maintain all instrumentation associated with the boiler, turbine, generator, and all auxiliary equipment for the plant.

Available Roles:

• Mechainic Apprentice
• Plant Operator Trainee 
• I&C Apprentice 

Essential Duties/Responsibilities:

• Recognizes safety hazards and follows safety guidelines for personal protection, protection of fellow workers and the protection of the public.

• Learn environmental rules and regulations, and effectively apply them to all work situations.

• Install, calibrate, test, troubleshoot, and maintain protective relays, computers, metering, monitoring, and control systems on boilers, turbines, generators, and plant auxiliary equipment. In shop location includes performing benchwork and component troubleshooting.
• Learn to reads, and interprets electric generating plants P&ID's and CWD's to locate, identify, troubleshoot, and repair plant systems, interlocks, etc.

• Uses test equipment (oscilloscopes, multi-meters electronic bridges, loop calibrators) and hand tools (i.e. drills, screwdrivers) as necessary to troubleshoot and maintain devices and systems for the power plant.

• Learn proper, safe use of tools and maintenance procedures.
• Completes all written and electronic records ( i.e. work orders, calibration sheets, time cards, material requests) required to document the work in progress and as it is completed.
• Learn power plant layout and system operations.
• Continually updates knowledge of plant systems and instrumentation.
• Makes decisions about how best to repair equipment and what resources (tools, time equipment) will be needed.
• Employee must arrange own transportation to work location and may be reassigned to another location at the Company's discretion.

Minimum Requirements:

• Associates' Degree or equivalent education in instrumentation, pneumatics, engineering, or a related technical discipline  
• OR
• Two (2) years military experience in electronics repair and calibration may be substituted for formal training.
• Must live within reasonable commuting distance of the plant in Thompsons, Texas.
• Valid driver's license
• Must receive a rating of Recommended on the NRG Pre-employment Assessment test. 

Additional Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs):

• Ability to complete including classroom and on-the-job training.
• Good mechanical aptitude.

• Ability to communicate orally and in written reports, condition of equipment and status of jobs to crew leader, supervision, operations, and other craft personnel and outside service representatives.

• Knowledge of electricity, voltage, and current relationships.

• Knowledge of Federal, State, and Company environmental guidelines.

• Knowledge of maintenance activities and procedures performed on control systems used in power generation.
• Ability to read and interpret instruction manuals blueprints and control system drawings; applies knowledge to daily tasks.
• Ability to learn mechanical and electrical control equipment and basic power plant equipment operation.
• Ability to use mathematics including algebra and geometry to take measurements and perform computations required for installation and calibration of equipment.

• Ability to troubleshoot and repair pneumatic, electronic and digital controllers used in control loops.

• Ability to calibrate and perform maintenance on temperature, level, and pressure instruments and transmitters.

• Ability to Tag Out/Lock Out equipment per NRG's Tag Out/Lock Out procedure.

• Ability to use a personal computer and associated software.
• Ability to operate Company vehicles and equipment (e.g. forklift, plant vehicles, etc.) and maintain operating licenses and certifications.

• Ability to influence others toward action or a particular point of view.
• Ability to accept responsibility for your activities.
• Ability to apply knowledge of plant operations, equipment and skill area knowledge to daily decision making.

• Ability to do routine cleaning of work area.
• Ability to complete all written and electronic records to document work in progress and completed.
• Ability to safely use hand and shop tools. 

Physical Requirements:

• Power Plant Environment-Work both inside and outside in all temperatures and climate conditions in accordance with Heat Stress procedures. Around large rotating equipment, energized electrical equipment in high noise areas, and/or in confined places, on elevations in excess of 250 feet, or from platforms at heights of 5 feet or greater. Climb stairways, ladders, and work from aerial devices.
• Must be prepared to work irregular or rotating shifts and respond to emergency callout 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.
• Ability to work in mentally stressful environments: must be able to react to crises where immediate action is required to correct or curtail potentially damaging or hazardous situations.
• Daily work expectation requires ability to perform tasks by walking, standing, sitting, kneeling, crouching, squatting, twisting, pushing, pulling, shoveling, climbing, and working with hand tools (up to 25 pounds) in position above and below head, and extended from body to complete repairs.
• Lift, carry, position and use tools and/or equipment (weighing up to 50 lbs.) in awkward positions, swing various weights of sledge hammers, stoop and bend to reach valves, pull on chain-falls or come-a-longs.
• Ability to twist the body and neck while driving company vehicles or operating company equipment.
• Performance of duties may cause frequent jarring of the body.
• Work with and around hazardous and non-hazardous materials (reference the waste management guidance manual).
• Must be able to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) as required i.e....steel-toed boots, respirators, goggles, safety glasses etc.
• Have ability to discern and respond to verbal and auditory signals.
• Ability to discern assorted colors

This job description reflects an assignment of essential functions, it does not prescribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned.  Other duties and tasks may be assigned to this job at the Company's discretion

NRG Energy is committed to a drug and alcohol free workplace.  To the extent permitted by law and any applicable collective bargaining agreement, employees are subject to periodic random drug testing, and post-accident and reasonable suspicion drug and alcohol testing.  EOE AA M/F/Protected Veteran Status/Disability

EEO is the Law Poster (The poster can be found at http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/upload/poster_screen_reader_optimized.pdf)

Official description on file with Talent.