Numerical simulations using ANSYS Fluent 17.2 are carried out to explore the heat transfer characteristics of jet impingement on a protruded leading edge of a gas turbine blade. Many researchers have found that inclusion of protrusion does not improve Nusselt number though this contributes to augmentation in heat transfer due to an increase of surface area. In certain cases, the protrusion has also been found to degrade the heat transfer performance. Therefore, this work focuses on the effect of single protrusion to determine the effect of position of the protrusion on a concave surface and finally obtaining an optimized position of protrusions. The position of the single protrusion is varied at several angles with respect to the centre of the plate to explore the corresponding heat transfer characteristics. Thereafter, multiple protrusions are considered at desired positions to determine optimum effective location of protrusions for maximum heat transfer. The optimal position is determined using Genetic Algorithm. © 2021, The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.