What are the responsibilities and job description for the Sr. Power Systems Engineer position at rPlus Energies?
Company Overview
rPlus is a team of committed energy industry professionals working together to develop large-scale renewable energy generation and electric storage projects in the United States. rPlus is a market leader in the western US with a proven track record of delivering projects to utility and corporate customers on time and on budget. rPlus specializes in bringing projects to market through partnership with the private sector, municipalities, utilities, and industry-leading technology and service providers. Its portfolio consists of a strategic mix of solar, solar plus battery, wind, and pumped storage hydro facilities. rPlus is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah and is backed by Gardner Group and Sandbrook Capital.
rPlus is a team of committed energy industry professionals working together to develop large-scale renewable energy generation and electric storage projects in the United States. rPlus is a market leader in the western US with a proven track record of delivering projects to utility and corporate customers on time and on budget. rPlus specializes in bringing projects to market through partnership with the private sector, municipalities, utilities, and industry-leading technology and service providers. Its portfolio consists of a strategic mix of solar, solar plus battery, wind, and pumped storage hydro facilities. rPlus is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah and is backed by Gardner Group and Sandbrook Capital.
Position Overview
The Senior Power Systems Engineer will serve a foundational role, functioning as in-house Owner’s Engineer and technical authority across the Company’s project pipeline. This role will own the design, engineering and performance capability of utility-scale solar and battery energy storage systems from early development through commercial operations. The position carries equal responsibility for performing key engineering management functions as well as driving continuous improvement and scalability of processes, standards, and technical infrastructure to support a growing pipeline.
The Senior Power Systems Engineer will serve a foundational role, functioning as in-house Owner’s Engineer and technical authority across the Company’s project pipeline. This role will own the design, engineering and performance capability of utility-scale solar and battery energy storage systems from early development through commercial operations. The position carries equal responsibility for performing key engineering management functions as well as driving continuous improvement and scalability of processes, standards, and technical infrastructure to support a growing pipeline.
Scope will span preliminary and detailed design, DC medium-voltage and AC high-voltage, equipment specifications, design calculations, EPC design review, and due diligence on greenfield and M&A project sites. The position carries particular emphasis on system architecture (e.g. SCADA, controls, metering, powerflow topology), high-voltage electrical systems (substations from 69kV up to 500kV, protection & controls, metering), and BESS design and integration. A defining responsibility will be ensuring design continuity and clean handoffs across the full project lifecycle, from basis of design through construction submittals to commissioning and operations. The position will report to the Chief Operating Officer and will work cross-functionally with the Development, Procurement, Construction and Asset Management teams, and manage third-party engineering consultants, owner’s engineers and independent engineers as needed. At any given time, the portfolio is expected to include approximately 3-4 projects actively in consctruction, alongside a broader pipeline in development and pre-constrcution phases.
Responsibilities
Engineering Process & Design Standards:
- Establish and maintain technical design standards, including basis-of-design documents and specifications for use from early development through construction and operations.
- Develop a formal EPC design-review protocol, including review of design change requests with cost and schedule impact analysis.
- Support preliminary DC and AC design: substation layout, metering, PV configurations, single-line diagrams, and site output reports.
- Coordinate Independent Engineer scopes of work; provide technical review of EPC contracts, PPAs, and interconnection agreements.
System Architecture & Controls:
- Review project configurations for commercial and market alignment; e.g. evaluate and guide single-lines and facility configuration to ensure plant design supports intended offtake and market participation strategies from the earliest stages of development.
- Own SCADA and plant controls architecture across all facilities, specification, design review, integration testing, and post-COD support.
- Define communication protocols, data acquisition requirements, alarm management, and remote monitoring/control capabilities.
- Review and approve EPC SCADA designs, ensuring interoperability across inverters, trackers, met stations, BESS controllers, and substation equipment.
High-Voltage Electrical:
- Provide technical oversight for all HV electrical design: collector substations (up to 500kV), gen-tie lines, switchgear, transformers, protection and controls, and revenue metering.
- Review single-line and three-line diagrams, protection coordination studies, grounding designs, relay settings, short circuit analysis, load flow studies, and arc flash analysis.
- Support interconnection processes including system impact and facilities study review; ensure NERC, IEEE, NEC, and NESC compliance.
Battery Energy Storage:
- Own technical evaluation, specification, and design review of BESS systems: DC architecture, power conversion, thermal management, and fire/life safety.
- Define owner's requirements for BESS integration with solar and grid interconnection, including dispatch logic, state-of-charge management, and warranty-compliance operating envelopes.
- Review BESS vendor submittals and EPC integration designs; support commissioning, performance testing, and degradation monitoring.
Construction & Coordination:
- Serve as (or directly oversee) Owner's Engineer function during construction: site visits, QA/QC support, RFI resolution, change order review, and commissioning of HV, SCADA, and BESS systems.
- Facilitate design meetings, technical workshops, and constructability reviews; track and resolve technical issues across disciplines.
- Maintain equipment specifications across Development, Pre-Construction, Procurement, and Construction teams; manage OEM relationships for key electrical and BESS components.
Required Qualifications
- B.S. in Electrical Engineering or related field
- 7-10 years of experience in utility-scale solar and/or battery energy storage, with direct involvement across multiple project lifecycle stages (development, design, construction, commissioning)
- Deep technical proficiency in the following: project engineering lifecycle, HV substation design (69kV–500kV), protection and controls, SCADA/plant controls architecture, solar and BESS design and integration, interconnection engineering
- Experience must include direct involvement with minimum 2 constructed utility-scale (>75 MW) solar and BESS projects or high voltage substations connected to renewable facility
- Demonstrated experience functioning as or directly supporting an Owner's Engineer
- Hands-on experience with EPC design review, construction submittals, and commissioning processes
- Working knowledge of NERC, IEEE, NEC, and NESC standards as applied to generation facilities
- Ability to translate between commercial objectives and engineering constraints; demonstrated ability to engaging with development, origination, procurement, and construction teams (not just engineering peers)
- Superior information management and organizational skills
Preferred Qualifications
- P.E. license (preferred Utah, Idaho, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, California, Oregon)
- Experience with hybrid or co-located solar-plus-storage configurations and associated market participation structures
- Experience managing or coordinating third-party engineers (IEs, owner's engineers, specialty consultants)
- Background in establishing or formalizing engineering processes, standards libraries, or design review protocols within a growing organization
- Familiarity with WECC and CAISO/EDAM market rules, settlement mechanics, or resource adequacy frameworks