Principal Grid Innovation Engineer

Requisition ID # 167195 

Job Category: Engineering / Science 

Job Level: Manager/Principal

Business Unit: Engineering, Planning & Strategy

Work Type: Hybrid

Job Location: Oakland

Department Overview

At PG&E we’re reimagining the future of energy—and we need passionate, purpose-driven professionals to help us get there. As part of Grid Research Innovation & Development (GRID) team, you’ll be at the forefront of transforming California’s electric system to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving energy landscape.

In 2022, PG&E launched its True North Strategy (TNS), a bold 10-year vision to advance our breakthrough commitments to people, climate, and prosperity. Innovation on our high voltage electric transmission system is a critical component of reaching our TNS vision, with the sharp rise of interconnection requests from large-load customers, especially data centers, creating significant opportunities to reduce rates through beneficial load growth.

The GRID department is focused on bringing technologies and solutions that support the implementation of TNS from conception to reality. The Innovation Framework & Execution (IF&E) team plays a critical role within GRID by enhancing PG&E’s capacity to assess, test, and deploy novel solutions and technologies. The team is comprised of experienced innovation practitioners that are directly embedded into some of our highest priority R&D initiatives, including transmission innovation, to drive successful outcomes and accelerate new technologies’ paths to scaling.

Position Summary

We’re seeking a curious, tenacious professional to support cross-departmental innovation efforts on PG&E’s electric transmission grid. This role is ideal for someone who has built a strong foundation in electric power systems and has developed a product-oriented mind- and skill-set.

In this position you’ll work across departments to lead and support ideation, development, demonstration, and scaling of new technologies and processes to improve the capacity and flexibility of PG&E’s high-voltage electric transmission grid. Your solutions will accelerate large-load interconnections and solve emerging transmission challenges, often utilizing California’s high level of inverter-based resources in novel ways.

This is a highly collaborative role that requires empathy, technical fluency, and a systems-thinking approach. You’ll be a connector breaking complex challenges into actionable solutions, bridging transmission planning with real-time operations, and technical ingenuity with customer needs.

This position is hybrid, working from your remote office and your assigned work location based on business need. The assigned work location is in Oakland, CA. The team has an expectation of working from Oakland office up to several days per month. Also, the role will require up to 20% travel throughout PG&E’s service territory.

PG&E is providing the salary range that can reasonably be expected for this position at the time of the job posting. This salary 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, internal equity, specific skills, education, licenses or certifications, experience, market value, and geographic location. 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: $151,000.00 to $224,400.00

Reporting Relationship

This position will have a matrixed reporting structure. You will primarily report to the Manager of Innovation Framework & Execution, with additional reporting responsibilities to leaders within Transmission Planning and Large Load Development teams. You will collaborate closely with Transmission Operations and Local Customer Engagement teams.

Job Responsibilities

Lead innovation for transmission grid transformation

• Drive the assessment and development of new technologies and processes to expand grid capacity and flexibility
• Collaborate with internal teams, utilities, and vendors to evaluate and iterate on innovative new solutions
• Benchmark industry best-practices for large-load interconnections, especially data centers
• Keep the customer experience at the center of every solution
• Develop business plans that articulate the expected benefits and costs of innovative solutions, with a close eye on rate and systems impacts
• Translate technical findings into compelling executive summaries that inform enterprise decision-making

Pilot, learn, and scale novel transmission solutions

• Stand up cross-functional teams and project governance to pilot novel technology pilots with real impacts on large-load customers
• Translate complex discussions with inherent uncertainty into tactical checklists of clear next steps, following PG&E’s Lean Operating System
• Lead structured organizational learning and decision-making about whether and how to rapidly transition from pilot to scale-up

Support broader transmission innovation initiatives

• Flexibly jump in to support emerging relevant priorities across GRID
• Act as transmission innovation subject matter expert during PG&E-hosted events such as Pitch Fest

Qualifications

Minimum:

• 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:

• Experience in transmission planning
• Experience in transmission operations
• Technology innovation experience, 2+ years
• Management consulting experience, 2+ years

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

• Ability to build momentum and facilitate decisions without authority in a matrixed environment
• Ability to lead, coach, and inspire teams
• Ability to communicate complex information at multiple levels of abstractions
• Ability to adapt to change and quickly pivot, with a strong bias for action and results
• Ability to be creative, versatile, efficient, and productive in the face of ambiguity and change
• Ability to lead large and complex projects that impact multiple lines of businesses in different ways
• Strong change management skills
• Ability to rigorously define and enforce prioritization of feature development, defeating scope creep and delivering the most impactful iterative results
• Strong verbal and written communication and presentation skills