Grid Innovation Engineer, Expert - PG&E Corporation : Job Details

Requisition ID # 165201

Job Category: Engineering / Science

Job Level: Individual Contributor

Business Unit: Engineering, Planning & Strategy

Work Type: Hybrid

Job Location: Oakland

Department OverviewHelp us change the electric utility industry from the inside! Join a small, high-performing team withinPacific Gas & Electric Company that is scaling up integration with distributed energy resources (DERs)to transform the electric grid from the edges inward.

PG&E is seeking an experienced energy business professional to join the Grid Innovation team withinthe larger Utility Partnerships & Innovation (UPI) group. The Grid Innovation team evaluates anddemonstrates emerging technologies, concepts, and processes that PG&E will need to design andoperate the resilient energy system of the future. Toward that end, the team works collaborativelywith diverse stakeholders across the enterprise to design, build, test and operationalize productstrategies, roadmaps and implementation plans for innovation. The current focus of the GridInnovation team is to build and advance policies, products and processes to operationalizeDistributed Energy Resources (DERs) such as solar PV, battery storage, flexible loads and microgrids.This team is an important bridge between PG&E's DER policy and strategy and how PG&E will planfor, interconnect and interact with or operate DERs on a day-to-day basis.

Position SummaryThe Expert Grid Innovation Engineer will primarily be supporting a mixture of DER enablement andload growth scaling initiatives as part of the larger Distributed Energy Resource Management System(DERMS) Initiative. The initial DERMS use cases are designed to unlock new capacity on thedistribution grid and include: Flexible Service Connection, Flexible Generation Interconnection andthe operationalization of Distribution Investment Deferral projects (i.e. Non Wires Alternatives). Thefocus of the Grid Innovation Engineer will be on the development and implementation of theseuse cases and the development of new operational and business processes to support these usecases at scale as a standard PG&E offerings and programs.A strong applicant will be an organized self-starter who is biased towards action and can operatewith general direction only, to fill in the blanks and drive concepts to reality, while being mindful andsensitive to building consensus and buy-in across the organization. This execution-orientedcandidate will collaborate with PG&E subject matter experts and external partners across theorganization and with other utilities and industry partners and vendors. The role is expected to havethe technical, analytical, and power systems skills to structure analysis, process data, and at times runsystem studies within this role itself and the project managerial skills to be the point person for amultiple stakeholder cross-Utility initiative.

This position is based out of PG&E's General Office in downtown Oakland, CA.

The team has a hybrid work model primarily working remotely with the expectation of working fromOakland office several days per month minimum. In-person activities will focus on synchronouscollaboration, affinity building, ideation, or planning activities. Most day-to-day work (individual andcollaborative) will be performed remotely. The role may also require occasional travel other PG&Efacilities throughout the PG&E service territory.

This position is hybrid, working from your remote office and your assigned work location based onbusiness need. The assigned work location will be within the PG&E Service Territory. Work locationwill be determined by hiring leader and successful candidate. This position is classified as a “hybridremote” (0-3 days in the office) and also may require occasional travel within the PG&E serviceterritory to project site locations.

PG&E is providing the salary range that the company in good faith believes it might pay for thisposition 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, andinternal equity.

A reasonable salary range is:

Bay Area Minimum: $140,000Bay Area Maximum: $238,000And/OrCalifornia Minimum: $133,000California Maximum: $226,000

Job ResponsibilitiesLead the development and implementation of PG&E's Flexible Service Connection and FlexibleGeneration Interconnection programs.

• Manage the end-to-end site development process from customer intake, to technical site

analysis, to customer agreements, to site development and commissioning and operations. • Support site evaluation engineering analysis to identify suitability for participation in the Flex Connect programs.

• Lead customer engagement activities to recruit and onboard customer sites as pilots to test the DERMS use cases initially focused on facilitating cost-effective interconnection of DERs and new load service connections. • Work with internal partner stakeholders in Electric Distribution Planning, Service Planning, Clean Energy Transportation, and others to develop end-to-end business process integrations to support the site development process.

Mature Flex Service/Gen Connect as standard offering that can scale over time.

• Create the roadmap identifying the key steps to get to future scaled programs and standard offerings (regulatory/tariff, customer program(s), process dev for service/distribution planning, commissioning, operations) • Identify near term and future roles and responsibilities for the scaled program. • Support development of the business case for existing and emergent DERMS use cases and programs.

Support the Grid Innovation Portfolio

• Role will evolve to take technical leadership roles within emergent R&D and Innovation projects within the Grid Innovation portfolio. • Provide teammates with technical support on other projects and initiatives as needed potentially including DER Integration and Microgrid project implementation • Act as a technical subject matter expert in relevant policy and regulatory discussions, working groups or proceedings (e.g. High DER OIR, Rule 21 working groups, Smart Inverter Working Group etc.)

QualificationsMinimum: • Bachelor's degree in engineering or equivalent experience Internal • Experience with grid modeling software (e.g. CYMDIST, PSLF, Aspen, etc.) • 7 years of electric utility related experience

Desired: • Electrical Engineering Degree with Power Systems emphasis • Masters of Science in Engineering, • Electrical Engineering Professional Engineer (P.E.) license • Experience deploying technology to the field at PG&E and understanding of PG&E project management processes • Experience leading technology pilots and/or implementations, with a focus on emerging/innovative technology • Strong technical acumen with the ability to understand different distribution management applications and DER functions and platforms. • Demonstratable understanding of DERs and flexible loads such as solar PV, inverters, energy storage, conventional generation, microgrid controllers and/or off grid energy systems • Understanding of distribution grid design, system planning/operations engineering practices and tools (e.g., CYME, or other equivalent software for power system modeling) • Knowledge and experience with DER (Distributed Energy Resource) communications protocols – IEEE 2030.5, CSIP 2.1, Open ADR etc. • Policy experience on Electric Rule 21 and interconnection tariff issues • Experience leading cross cutting programs or technology deployments, with a focus on emerging/innovative technologies and creating new process & structure for rapid scale-up.

Desired Characteristics: • Biased towards action • Concise • Passionate • Able to operate at different levels of abstraction • Outcome focused while understanding and adhering to process where necessary • Empathic and curious – has an ability to seek to understand while driving towards shared outcomes • Strong verbal / written communication and presentation skills • 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