Ignition Incident Specialist, Principal

Requisition ID # 171039 

Job Category: Environmental Management / Safety 

Job Level: Manager/Principal

Business Unit: Energy Delivery

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; Watsonville; West Sacramento; Wheatland; Whitmore; Willits; Willow Creek; Willows; Windsor; Winters; Woodland; Yuba City

Department Overview

The Wildfire Mitigation Organization is responsible for assisting the company to act decisively and transparently to prevent fires of consequence from being caused by our equipment.  The organization will develop objectives to 1) prevent fires of consequence originating from our equipment; 2) meet all commitments outlined in our Wildfire Mitigation Plan; 3) continue to foster trusted relationships with key stakeholders; and 4) develop consistent processes and work standards through the implementation of the Lean Operating System for sustainable operations.

Position Summary

Ignitions Incident Specialists are responsible for understanding where wildfire risk has actualized, in terms of PG&E facility ignition events, to inform experts where there may be gaps in our barriers intended to prevent wildfires in support of our stand that Catastrophic Wildfires Shall Stop. This team is charged with maintaining the source of truth on PG&E electric ignitions and leading a matrixed team of experts tasked with understanding the cause of ignition events which help to inform/drive wildfire mitigation strategies. This includes reporting on incidents to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), investigating electric ignition events to determine the origin and cause and to help inform corrective or preventive measures to mitigate recurrence. The ignitions investigations team at PG&E is a first of its kind in the utility space and, as such, as other utilities from around the world begin to recognize the importance of addressing wildfire risk, they will benchmark with this team as a model for their own investigations team development. 

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.

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 towards the middle or entry point of the range, the decision will be made on a case-by-case basis related to these factors.

Bay Minimum: $144,000
Bay Maximum: $244,000

&/OR

CA Minimum: $137,000
CA Maximum: $232,000

This job is also eligible to participate in PG&E’s discretionary incentive compensation programs. 

Job Responsibilities

• Perform ignition investigations with very limited supervision.
• Develop comprehensive reports and analyses to provide visibility to long-term, company-wide issues which contribute to ignition events.
• Work with stakeholders, including first responders in the field, to best categorize the root cause of ignitions and determine PG&E attributability,
• Perform onsite ignition investigations by combining investigative methods and tools with a knowledge of wildland fire behavior and electric utility assets.
• Perform In-Field reviews of assets involved in incidents and surrounding assets.
• Liaise with first responder agencies (in coordination with Law) on incidents of high consequence. 
• Provide technical and substantive review and approval of all reports generated by team.
• Thoroughly document, review, oversee and write complex investigation cases without supervision
• Focus on continuous improvement and ensure all ignition investigations meet compliance, regulatory and professional investigatory standards while maintaining our mission to stop catastrophic wildfires. 

Qualifications

Minimum:

• Bachelors Degree or equivalent experience
• 8 years related work experience in the utility industry and/or fire services and/or investigations requiring complex case development.
• State Fire Marshal Certified Fire Investigator
• FI-210 Wildland Fire Origin and Cause Determination Certification 

Desired:

• Masters Degree or equivalent experience
• 8+ years of job-related work experience conducting investigations as the lead investigator for fire related incidents or BA Degree in Engineering, Science or Equivalent 
• ICS-Incident Command System 100-800 certification
• NWCG FI-310 Wildfire Investigations Case Development Certification
• NWCG FI-311 Wildland Fire Civil Case Management Certification
• FAA Part 107 Current, Remote Pilot Certificate, Small UAS-Unmanned Aerial System
• Ability to make sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information and translate to actionable key takeaways and visualizations (e.g., Tableau dashboard), iterating to meet customer needs.
• Experience collecting and reviewing data (e.g., searching for anomalies/data gaps/inconsistencies), utilizing repeatable processes and adding controls, when possible, to increase data integrity.
• Excellent oral (phone and in-person) and written (e-mail, presentations, dashboard summaries/key takeaways) communication skills, including technical writing and presentations.
• Ability to pay attention to details, ensure consistency across concepts, be careful about details and thorough in completing work tasks.
• Ability to work independently and collaborate, removing obstacles or escalating to get work done.
• Ability to plan and prioritize work to meet commitments aligned with organizational goals.
• Experience working in an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) or similar environment at a utility, communicating directly with field offices and/or field employees.
• Understanding of investigation concepts, methods, and techniques
• Demonstrated ability to conduct training and train less-senior staff members