OT Network Engineer

Job summary

Responsible for the architecture, design and management of operational‑technology (OT) systems that support Platte River’s EMS, SCADA and other mission‑critical platforms. Engineers ensure reliability, security and performance in alignment with NERC CIP and related industry standards. Level and focus area (Infrastructure or Network) determine the depth of technical responsibility; senior‑level engineers provide greater strategic oversight and mentoring.

Platte River has one opening to hire for a systems engineer whose primary focus will be in OT networks.

This posting closes on August 28 at 5:00 pm MT.  

Work environment and schedule

This position works a typical workweek schedule in a general office environment (2-3 days per week in office). The successful candidate should reside within a commutable distance of Platte River's headquarters and Rawhide Energy Station. Performing this work requires occasional physical effort to lift and carry light objects and is primarily sedentary; minimal walking or standing is required on an as-needed basis.

Essential duties and responsibilities

Systems engineers may have knowledge and assignments in both focus areas; duties are grouped for clarity.

Core (all engineers, all levels)

- Model the organization’s mission, vision, values and culture, and practice safe work behaviors.

- Design and maintain secure, highly available OT architectures

, ensuring scalability and performance.

- Implement, monitor and continuously improve cybersecurity controls in compliance with NERC CIP and other standards.

- Proactively monitor, troubleshoot and perform root‑cause analysis

 to restore OT services rapidly.

- Lead or contribute to technology projects that align OT capabilities with business objectives and integrate with enterprise IT.

- Collaborate with technology, operations, engineering and compliance teams to ensure service continuity.

- Prepare clear status, performance and compliance reports for stakeholders.

- Maintain lifecycle roadmaps

—upgrades, patching and optimization—for OT hardware and software.

- Enforce standardized configuration and security policies (e.g., segmentation, CIS benchmarks, group policies).

- Provide technical leadership and mentor junior staff.

OT Infrastructure focus

- Design, implement and maintain compliant virtualization and compute platforms (Windows, Linux, hypervisors).

- Maintain architecture baselines (Linux security, Active Directory/Entra group policies) for governance.

- Execute timely patch management and configuration changes to protect servers and applications.

- Coordinate with vendors for advanced support and hardware/software repairs.

- Develop and exercise disaster‑recovery and business‑continuity plans; track KPI‑driven improvements.

OT Network focus

- Design and implement secure EMS/SCADA/substation networks across WAN/LAN segments.

- Configure and manage NGFW, IDS/IPS, SIEM and other OT‑specific security appliances; enforce segmentation via firewalls/VPNs.

- Deploy and tune network‑monitoring and packet‑analysis tools (e.g., SolarWinds, Wireshark, etc.).

- Plan and execute lifecycle roadmaps for network hardware/software, including SDN, cellular and industrial IoT adoption.

- Establish test benchmarks, conduct vulnerability scans, and support penetration testing to validate network security.

Knowledge, skills and abilities (all engineers)

- In‑depth knowledge of NERC CIP compliance and OT cybersecurity best practices.

- Experience designing and supporting industrial/utility OT architectures.

- Strong change‑management discipline and incident‑resolution skills.

- Excellent written and verbal communication; able to translate technical concepts for non‑technical audiences.

- Superior analytical and problem‑solving abilities; keen attention to detail.

- Ability to juggle multiple priorities in a fast‑paced, mission‑critical environment.

Minimum qualifications

- Bachelor’s degree in computer information systems, computer science, electrical engineering or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

- Experience

- Level II – 3–4 years supporting IT/OT infrastructure

- Level III – 4–5 years supporting IT/OT infrastructure

- Senior – 6+ years supporting IT/OT infrastructure with demonstrated leadership - Ability to obtain ITIL 4 and GIAC GCIP certifications within one year of hire.* - Maintain driver eligibility per corporate fleet policy.

*Platte River covers the cost of the ITL 4, GIAC GCIP, and relevant professional certifications and provides employees with dedicated preparation and testing hours.

Pay

Systems Engineer II, III and Senior are classified as exempt; salaries are paid bi-weekly and with annualized figures listed below.

Factors that may be used to determine actual salary include specific skills, years of experience, education, and certifications.  

Systems Engineer II

- Full range: $97,586 to $136,685

- Hiring range: $97,586 to $117,189

Systems Engineer III

- Full range: $109,262 to $152,967

- Hiring range: $109,262 to $131,222

Senior Systems Engineer

- Full range: $119,974 to $173,963

- Hiring range: $119,974 to $146,969

Recruitment notice:

Platte River Power Authority does not accept unsolicited resumes from headhunters, recruitment agencies or fee-based placement services. No agency emails, calls, or solicitations to staff are accepted without a valid agreement. Any unsolicited resume submitted to staff will be considered property of Platte River Power Authority and with no obligation to pay any referral fees.