Principal Grid Innovation Engineer

Requisition ID # 166043 

Job Category: Engineering / Science 

Job Level: Manager/Principal

Business Unit: Engineering, Planning & Strategy

Work Type: Hybrid

Job Location: Oakland

Department Overview

The Utility Partnerships and Innovation (UP&I) Leadership team is focused on enabling  an electrified, clean energy 2040 with rates affordable for our customers, via innovation and partnerships to deliver transformative, scalable solutions to interlocking utility challenges; electrification of vehicles and buildings to achieve beneficial electric load growth that delights customers; and electric load management solutions to support load growth while mitigating infrastructure and procurement spend.

In 2022, PG&E articulated its True North Strategy (TNS), a bold, breakthrough vision that charts a course over the next 15 years toward achieving our purpose and climate commitments. The Load Management Strategy & Policy (LMS&P) team leads the ongoing development and deployment of the TNS Supply & Load Business Plan, including crafting, implementing, and refining plans to move strategy into action. In this capacity, the team directs the company’s strategy, policy, market development, solutions design, and alignment of current and future solutions in support of the Load Management strategy.

Position Summary

The Principal, Grid Innovation Engineer is responsible for advancing the integration of flexible load resources into the Transmission, Distribution and Energy Procurement planning processes to unlock new flexible capacity and delay, or eliminate, the need to expand existing infrastructure, construct new power lines, or procure additional energy supply. The Principal, Grid Innovation Engineer will work closely with professionals in Utility planning and engineering organizations, solutions design, and load management strategy to provide insights on best placement and orchestration of distributed energy resources (DERs), and how to incorporate and scale the use of flexible load resources in PG&E’s planning processes and into PG&E’s operations.

This position is hybrid, working from your remote office and your assigned work location based on business need. The work location is Oakland, CA.

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: $151,000.00

Bay Area Maximum: $257,000.00

Job Responsibilities

Strategy

• Develop detailed knowledge of the Transmission and Distribution planning cycles and processes, including key inputs that inform planning assumptions.
• Identify opportunities to, and develop criteria for, injecting flexible load resources into planning scenarios.
• Advice strategy and policy team on ways to address regulatory and other barriers to the use of flexible resources for planning and operations.
• Develop and present executive and board-level materials to gain buy-in from key decision makers.

Analysis

• Provide modeling support to quantify the grid value of flexible load resource alternatives and develop analytical ‘what if?’ tools that compare these to traditional infrastructure projects.
• Leveraging research and analysis, provide insights to planning and operations professionals on cost effective ways to leverage flexible load resources to solve grid constraints.
• Scope and implement field studies that validate the firmness and duration of load relief provided by various load management pilots and programs.
• Use insights from planning scenarios and field studies to validate the ability of DERs to deliver firm flexible capacity at both local and system level.
• Assess rate and other financial impacts associated with the increased use of flexible resources for planning.
• Develop an inventory of technical requirements to inform future load management program design and regulatory filings aligned with PG&E’s True North Strategy.

Project and Change Management

• Apply project managerial skills to act as main liaison between the LMS&P and Transmission and Distribution planning teams before and during planning cycles.
• Apply learnings into developing and implementing new planning and business processes to leverage flexible resources at scale as a standard part of PG&E’s planning and procurement processes.
• Conduct benchmarking studies and use relevant industry data to support program and strategy development. Serve as the point person for cross-Utility initiatives.

The successful candidate is expected to have the technical, analytical, and power systems skills to structure analysis, process data, and at times run system studies. In addition, the ideal candidate will be an organized self-starter who is biased towards action, can operate with general direction only, and can fill-in the blanks and drive concepts to reality, while being mindful and sensitive to building trust, consensus and buy-in across the organization. This execution-oriented candidate will collaborate with PG&E subject matter experts, leaders, and partners across the organization, as well as other utilities and industry partners and vendors.

Qualifications

Minimum:

A strong applicant will be organized and motivated, with a strong track record of success in building consensus and managing many moving parts within matrixed teams.

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or equivalent experience.

• Experience with grid modeling software (e.g., CYMDIST, PSLF, Aspen, etc.)

• 10 years of electric utility related experience.

Desired:

• Electrical Engineering Degree with Power Systems emphasis
• Master’s in Business Administration, Engineering or other Advanced Degree
• Experience with data processing tools such as Excel, Access, SQL, etc.
• Experience in Transmission or Distribution System Planning
• Experience in Transmission or Distribution Operations
• Knowledge and experience with communications protocols, preferably DER (Distributed Energy Resource) protocols such as IEEE 2030.5, CSIP 2.1, Open ADR, Aggregator APIs etc.
• Demonstrated experience in project, product, or program management in the context of utility operations, IT systems or DER product deployment.
• Familiarity with California utility regulations, regulatory processes, and policy context.

Desired Characteristics and Technical Competencies

• Deep understanding of overall electric grid design, energy system, and operations.
• Knowledge of industry relevant best practices and trends.
• Knowledge of power electronics, computer systems, and telecommunication.
• Knowledge of the technical impact of distributed generation to grid operations.
• Strong drive for results and continuous improvement.
• Strong ability to lead initiatives from concept to completion.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Proficiency with MS Word, Excel, and Power Point
• Ability to work in a matrixed environment and a positive, execution-oriented mentality.
• Ability to be creative, versatile, efficient, and productive in the face of ambiguity.
• Attention to detail/high-level of organization.