What are the responsibilities and job description for the Sr. Interconnection and Project Engineer position at White Pine Renewables?
Company Description
White Pine Renewables is a renewable energy developer that is leading the transformation of the energy sector. We enable businesses and communities to make smarter decisions about the way energy is created, stored, and managed by developing, financing, and owning and operating distributed solar and energy storage projects at our customer’s place of business. We are passionate, motivated thinkers who are unified by our mission to change the way the world harnesses and uses energy. We thrive on solving big problems for our customers and are powered by our innovation and determination. White Pine Renewables combines the spirit of a startup with the experience and access to capital on par with the largest solar development companies in the US. We are committed to open the full spectrum of energy innovation to help our customers save money and grow through sustainable energy solutions in the following core areas: behind-the-meter solar photovoltaics, behind-the-meter energy storage, energy and grid services for utility companies as well as community solar projects. We embrace innovation as demonstrated by one of the largest floating solar projects in operation in the US and 100 MW of contracted pipeline in backlog.
Job Duties & Responsibilities
The Sr. Interconnection and Project Engineer will be responsible for project-level technical work. This will be a critical addition to our team with significant responsibilities and room for growth and will direct report to the EVP of Technology and Business Development.
- Be the lead engineer when interfacing with external engineering firms, providing guidance for how projects move from inception to operation, ensuring that projects are being designed according to project requirements, and overcoming technical hurdles as they arise.
- Lead the crucial development step of applying for interconnection with utility companies, overcoming technical objections while creating relationships that will allow for projects to come online.
- Interface with White Pine’s suppliers in technical discussions about SCADA, networking, energy storage and solar equipment.
- Provide support to sales and business development teams for technical questions for proposal development.
- Manage consultants through CAISO NRI processes including PSCAD modeling and three-line diagram generation.
- Serve as technical project manager to ensure all project level technical items are handled during the project development process.
- Use relaying, control systems, and inverter characteristics to solve complicated utility interconnection problems.
- Ability to work directly with customers and company decisionmakers.
Required Qualifications
- At least 5 years experience with engineering project development.
- At least 4 years working with solar storage projects with projects over 1MW.
- Foundational understanding of distributed energy market dynamics, including emerging incentive programs, local tariff structures, and CAISO rules and procedures governing participation of distributed energy resources.
- Experience with Rule 21 and WDAT interconnection processes for California utilities.
- Strong background and/or college education in electrical engineering.
- Desire to learn new technologies and push the boundaries of what is possible.
- Passion for work in the renewable energy industry.
- Location: Bay Area preferred in our San Francisco office
Benefits
- Competitive salary and bonus structure.
- 401K with employer matching.
- Comprehensive health insurance.
- 3 weeks of paid vacation.
- Opportunity to grow and develop your career with the support and mentorship of senior executives.
- Flexible work environment to help you integrate your personal life with professional commitments.
EEO Statement
White Pine Renewables is dedicated to providing equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information. We will not discriminate, in any employment decision, against any individual or group on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, or veterans/national guard/military reserve status.