EMS and Power Systems Engineer

~ NaturEner USA and NaturEner Canada develop and operate utility-scale renewable energy projects in North America. ~

Using advanced renewable integration solutions and leveraging ownership of strategic transmission positions, we unlock and optimize renewable generation. NaturEner owns and operates three wind farms in Montana (Rim Rock, Glacier Wind 1 and Glacier Wind 2), two NERC-certified Balancing Authorities (Wind Watch and Power Watch), and the Canadian based Wild Rose 1 and Wild Rose 2 projects.  NaturEner is currently seeking an EMS & Power Engineer to work our San Francisco office.

Position Overview

The EMS & Power Systems Engineer is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the Energy Management System as well as the interfaces to various Power Systems Operational Technology.  This position develops/maintains real-time applications, databases, and displays used by System Control and Balancing Authority Operations to primarily monitor and control the generation assets.   This position is also responsible for maintaining the connections to the various power systems at the plants including RTUs, Relays, Data concentrators.

The position will be filled based upon qualifications and work experience and will have the following support responsibilities:

 EMS/SCADA, Automatic Generation Control, Balancing Authority/Market interfaces, OSIsoft PI interfaces, communication and interface protocols (DNP, Modbus, ICCP), coordination of real-time information exchanged with RTOs, ISOs, and other utilities.  The preferred candidate would have a bachelor’s degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science or related field, have a moderate background in utility operations, close familiarity with AGC and SCADA, and be proficient in using programming and scripting languages such as VB/VBA, C/C++/C#, Fortran, PowerShell, Perl, Python, and T-SQL.

The EMS & Power Systems Engineer applies an intensive and diversified knowledge of power system engineering principles and practices in broad areas of assignments in related fields; makes decisions independently on engineering problems and methods; and represents the organization in meetings to resolve important questions.   

Responsibilities

• Implementation, testing, training, and commissioning of new assets in the EMS AGC/SCADA system
• Develop, deploy, support, and maintain EMS HMI (Human-Machine Interface) and one-line displays and other real-time displays
• Verification of the functionality of applications on a regular basis to ensure that they perform as anticipated and that the data collected is reasonable
• Perform modeling and testing of various SCADA devices and validate data in EMS applications
• Support AGC application customization, data flow and performance optimization techniques
• Represent the organization in meetings to support new and emergent projects
• Work with business/user community to determine functional or technical requirements to solve specific application problems or issues
• Coordinate ICCP data exchange requirements with RTOs, ISOs & other utilities
• Support departmental NERC Compliance requirements
• Participate in projects to implement new generation systems
• Participate in a multi-year project to upgrade SCADA communications
• Maintain and create where necessary documentation where the incumbent is a Subject Matter Expert
• Support for EMS modeling of Generation and Distributed Energy Resources such as combined cycle, wind, Solar Photovoltaic generation, Battery Energy Storage Systems, Demand Response, MicroGrids, etc.
• Support and troubleshoot related communication protocols (DNP, Modbus) and SCADA telemetry systems
• Support and troubleshoot configuration & connectivity of Power Systems including RTUs, Relays & data concentrators among other hardware
• Participate in scheduling meetings with field resources
• Provide 24 X 7 on-call support to control centers on a rotating basis
• Assist with Disaster Recovery testing and configuration

Qualifications

Requirements/Qualifications:

• 5 or more years of applied exempt working experience
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science or related engineering field is preferred
• Experience with GE/Alstom e-terra® EMS and associated environments and applications is a plus; eterra-habitat suite, e-terraplatform, e-terrasource, WebFG, e-terracomm, e-terracontrol
• Experience with Power Systems including RTUs, Relays, data concentrators, SEL relays and DCS
• Experience with programming languages such as: Visual Basic, Perl, C/C++ & Fortran
• Knowledge of ICS communications protocols: ICCP, DNP, 3.0, OPC & Modbus

Skills/Abilities:

• Strong communication skills (ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing)
• Strong interpersonal skills (ability to develop and maintain good relationships with others)
• Strong organizational skills, software and hardware release planning and ITIL change management adherence
• Ability to see the ‘big picture’ of EMS, Power Systems and OT Infrastructures across multiple entities and organizations

Location/Working Conditions:

• Flexibility in office location (the position is currently based in downtown San Francisco but maybe relocated outside of San Francisco in the near future)
• Works in a typical office environment