Expert Grid Innovation Engineer

Requisition ID # 163029 

Job Category: Engineering / Science 

Job Level: Individual Contributor

Business Unit: Engineering, Planning & Strategy

Work Type: Hybrid

Job Location: Oakland; Alameda; Alta; American Canyon; Angels Camp; Antioch; Auberry; Auburn; Avenal; Avila Beach; Bakersfield; Balch Camp; Bay Point; Bear Valley; Belden; Bellota; Belmont; Benicia; Berkeley; Brentwood; Brisbane; Buellton; Burney; Buttonwillow; Calistoga; Campbell; Canyon Dam; Canyondam; Capitola; Caruthers; Chico; Clearlake; Clovis; Coalinga; Colusa; Concord; Concord; Corcoran; Cottonwood; Cupertino; Daly City; Danville; Davis; Dinuba; Downieville; Dublin; Emeryville; Eureka; Fairfield; Folsom; Fort Bragg; Fortuna; Fremont; French Camp; Fresno; Fresno; Fulton; Garberville; Geyserville; Gilroy; Goodyear; Grass Valley; Guerneville; Half Moon Bay; Hayward; Hinkley; Hollister; Holt; Houston; Huron; Jackson; Kerman; King City; Lakeport; Lemoore; Lincoln; Linden; Livermore; Lodi; Loomis; Los Banos; Lower Lake; Madera; Magalia; Manteca; Manton; Mariposa; Martell; Marysville; Maxwell; Menlo Park; Merced; Meridian; Millbrae; Milpitas; Modesto; Monterey; Montgomery Creek; Morgan Hill; Morro Bay; Moss Landing; Mountain View; Napa; Needles; Newark; Newman; Novato; Oakdale; Oakhurst; Oakley; Olema; Orinda; Orland; Oroville; Palo Alto; Palo Cedro; Paradise; Parkwood; Paso Robles; Petaluma; Pioneer; Pismo Beach; Pittsburg; Placerville; Pleasant Hill; Point Arena; Potter Valley; Quincy; Rancho Cordova; Red Bluff; Redding; Richmond; Ridgecrest; Rio Vista; Rocklin; Roseville; Round Mountain; Sacramento; Salida; Salinas; San Bruno; San Carlos; San Francisco; San Francisco; San Jose; San Luis Obispo; San Mateo; San Rafael; San Ramon; San Ramon; Sanger; Santa Cruz; Santa Maria; Santa Nella; Santa Rosa; Selma; Shaver Lake; Sonoma; Sonora; South San Francisco; Springville; Stockton; Storrie; Taft; Tracy; Turlock; Twain; Ukiah; Vacaville; Vallejo; Walnut Creek; Wasco; Washington; Watsonville; West Sacramento; Wheatland; Whitmore; Willits; Willow Creek; Willows; Windsor; Winters; Woodland; Yuba City

Department Overview

Help us change the electric utility industry from the inside! Join a small, high-performing team within Pacific Gas & Electric Company that is working on a portfolio of exciting and innovative projects to create a more resilient and smarter grid. The Microgrid Strategy and Implementation team is responsible for leading all aspects (strategy, policy, regulatory, programs, design and engineering, and project development) of multi-customer microgrids for PG&E.  The MSI team is seeking a Grid Innovation Engineer to bring their engineering skills, innovation bias, and problem-solving mindset to bear to help lead the transition to a grid that is designed to meet the resilience challenges of today and tomorrow. 

Position Overview

This Grid Innovation Engineer will play a vital role in developing the technology roadmap for community microgrids at PG&E and will provide technical support to community stakeholders, local and tribal governments considering critical facility microgrid projects.

A strong applicant will be an organized and motivated consensus builder. This execution-oriented candidate will collaborate with PG&E technical subject matter experts and external vendors to develop standard microgrid solutions and documentation and provide technical leadership to drive execution of inflight and planned projects.

This position is hybrid, working from your remote office and your assigned work location based on business need. The assigned work location will be within the PG&E Service Territory. Work location will be determined by hiring leader and successful candidate. This position is classified as a “hybrid remote” (0-3 days in the office) and also may require occasional travel within the PG&E service territory to project site locations.

PG&E is providing the salary range that the company in good faith believes it might pay for this position at the time of the job posting. This compensation range is specific to the locality of the job. The actual salary paid to an individual will be based on multiple factors, including, but not limited to, specific skills, education, licenses or certifications, experience, market value, geographic location, and internal equity. Although we estimate the successful candidate hired into this role will be placed between the entry point and the middle of the range, the decision will be made on a case-by-case basis related to these factors. This job is also eligible to participate in PG&E’s discretionary incentive compensation programs.  

A reasonable salary range is:

Bay Area Minimum: $140,000

Bay Area Maximum: $238,000

And/Or

California Minimum: $133,000

California Maximum: $226,000

Job Responsibilities

• Providing technical guidance and design consultation for proposed community microgrid projects including coordination with 3rd party DER developers, community organizations, critical facility customers and other engineering functions within PG&E including, Planning, Interconnection, Distribution Operations, System Protection, and others

• Developing tools and processes to assess microgrid opportunities and other resiliency alternatives
• Leading development of technical guidelines and standards for microgrid design, configuration, and operational protocols for multi-customer microgrids hosted on PG&E’s distribution grid
• Evaluating inverter and microgrid controls hardware and software suppliers for effective integration into PG&E systems
• Developing and documenting Microgrid best practices and technical standards that can be applied to different geographies and use cases
• Communicating complex technical topics to a variety of audiences (technical and non-technical, leadership, external stakeholders, etc.)

• Acting as a technical subject matter expert in relevant policy and regulatory discussions, working groups or proceedings

Qualifications

Minimum:

• Bachelor’s Degree in engineering or equivalent experience
• Experience with grid modeling software (e.g. CYMDIST, PSLF, Aspen, etc.)
• 7 years of electric utility related experience

Desired:

• Prior experience in distribution planning or distribution control centers
• Master’s in Engineering
• Professional Engineer (P.E.) license
• 5 years of experience deploying distributed energy resources with a developer or EPC firm.
• Experience modeling and designing microgrids
• Power System Protection and Automation Engineering experience
• Experience leading technology pilots and/or implementations, with a focus on emerging/innovative technology
• Experience developing and documenting technical standards and processes or design guide artifacts
• Demonstratable technical knowledge of solar PV, inverters, energy storage, conventional generation and/or microgrid controllers
• Understanding of distribution grid design, system planning/operations engineering practices and tools (e.g., PSCAD, CYME, PSLF, GIS, ASPEN or other equivalent software for power system modeling)
• Working knowledge of control system communication protocols (e.g. Modbus, DNP3, etc.)
• Working knowledge of California Rule 21 and Wholesale Distribution Tariff (WDT) Interconnection process and considerations.

Desired Characteristics

• Ability to work in a matrixed environment and a positive execution-oriented mentality
• Ability to effectively communicate complex ideas with credibility, confidence, and clarity to diverse audiences using a variety of media
• Ability to solve unique and complex technical problems, anticipating issues and developing innovative solutions
• Ability to handle multiple projects and stakeholders and work in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to be creative, versatile, efficient, and productive in the face of ambiguity