Senior/Lead Transmission Planning Engineer

Company Description

Elevate Energy Consulting was formed to elevate

clients across the electricity ecosystem as we strive for a reliable, resilient, and affordable clean energy future. With a blend of deep expertise across bulk power system planning, design, control, protection, and operations, we support our clients tackling the most challenging issues facing the energy transition. Our experience and deep regulatory background in North America also enable us to support clients to ensure compliance with existing and future obligations.

We work on diverse projects to help

elevate

our clients across a broad spectrum of reliability-centered topics – modeling, studies, protection settings, event analysis, optimization, systems integration, process improvements, internal controls, compliance evidence, etc. Our goal is to

uplift

and

elevate

our clients and to ensure that our work has a positive impact for the betterment of our industry and society. Join our rapidly growing team to tackle imminent challenges facing the grid of the future.

Role Description

This role will play a key part in helping the organization tackle exciting transmission planning projects related to studying the reliability impacts of a changing power system due to inverter-based resources (IBRs), such as solar, wind, and energy storage resources, large loads such as data centers, and advanced technologies on the transmission systems. We are seeking a versatile and motivated individual to join our team as a Senior or Lead Transmission Planning Engineer. This is a technical engineering role that requires a proactive professional with strong engineering, analytics, and project management skills. The ideal candidate will be adept at power system modeling, steady-state analysis, dynamic stability analysis, short-circuit analysis, FERC interconnection process and NERC reliability standards. This is a unique and rare opportunity to join highly technical industry leaders with a clear mission and vision.

Roles and Responsibilities

This senior/lead engineering role will be responsible for serving as a subject matter expert on a range of planning projects and grid interconnection studies. The role will involve technical analysis, client interaction, report writing and supporting regulatory activities and filings.

The following are a list of roles, responsibilities, and projects related to this position:

- Perform comprehensive transmission planning activities, such as base case model development, steady-state analysis, contingency analysis, stability analysis, short-circuit analysis, and mitigating transmission overloads and other identified reliability issues.

- Support generator interconnection studies (e.g., cluster system impact studies) and large load interconnection studies for transmission providers.

- Study the changing resource mix and growth of large loads and overall impacts on bulk power system reliability including areas involving low system strength conditions; explore the deployment of advanced technologies to support grid reliability.

- Develop advanced automations to handle large network simulation studies such as contingency definition development, screening tools, parallel processes, results analysis automation, and other topics.

- Conduct phasor domain transient (e.g., PSLF, PSS®E, PowerWorld, TSAT) and/or EMT (PSCAD) studies related to impacts to frequency response, voltage stability, control interactions, and subsynchronous oscillations.

- Support the industry and clients in improving tools, processes, requirements, and understanding of the changing resource mix, changing demand types and patterns, grid transformation, and the energy transition broadly.

- Serve as a technical engineering resource to advise/support transmission providers, transmission planners, system operators, renewable energy project developers, generator owners and operators, large load owners and operators, and regulatory entities across North America.

- Support the development of technical project proposals for customers and clients.

- Develop engineering reports, presentations, and documentation based on project deliverable requirements.

- Leverage first principles, engineering fundamentals, and microcosm systems to help drive best practices around emerging reliability risk areas and other topics of interest.

- Deliver technical presentations to clients and broadly across industry to help

elevate

industry best practices.

- Successfully deliver exceptional value to clients through world-class analysis and the delivery of key milestones and deliverables.

- Meet with clients (virtual and in-person as needed) to understand needs; successfully communicate with clients both verbally and in writing.

- Work with the leadership team and project leads to monitor progress, adjust as necessary, and ensure project success.

Qualifications

Candidates should have the following

required qualifications:

- A bachelor’s or master’s degree in electrical engineering with a specialization in power systems engineering (or closely related field) from an accredited college or university.

- Specialized experience focused on grid reliability, inverter-based resources, renewable energy interconnections, the integration of large loads, power system studies, transmission planning etc.

- At least 3 years of deep technical experience in transmission planning, operations, or other related grid engineering role that include the use of power system simulation platforms.

- Experience conducting powerflow, dynamics, short-circuit, and/or EMT simulations, including the modeling and representation of renewable energy resources or large load facilities.

- Experience using power system analysis tools such as PSS®E, PSLF, TARA, Power World, TSAT, and PSCAD/EMTP; some experience in automation and programming, such as using Python preferred.

- Excellent communications skills including both written and verbal communication, and examples of successfully leveraging these skills across the industry.

- Strong interpersonal skills, compelling presentation skills, and the ability to establish strategic relationships.

- A highly-motived self-starter and driven individual with the ability to work independently and in the face of uncertainty.

Preferred Experience:

- Senior Engineer: 3+ years - Lead Engineer: 8+ years

Physical requirements for this role include:

- Must be able to sit and/or stand for prolonged periods of time at a computer.

- Ability to travel to job sites, both in an office environment and in the field.

Company Benefits:

- Competitive salaries

- Up to 20% performance-based bonus structure

- Full suite of health benefits including medical, dental, vision

- Annual home office stipend

- Annual employee health and wellness stipend

- Competitive time off and company holidays

Additional Details

- The title for this role will be determined based on the qualifications of the candidate and on performance through the interview process.