Director, Transmission Planning

Paces•New York, NY

14h•Hybrid

About The Position

Paces is looking for a Transmission Planning Director to join their Solutions team. This role reports directly to the Head of Solutions. The company is focused on transforming the renewable energy development process by providing software and services to accelerate power development and build climate-positive green infrastructure. Paces has developed Agentic AI to automate early-stage due diligence and combines it with in-house expertise to speed up late-stage diligence, enabling projects to move from siting to construction-ready faster. Their platform streamlines siting, interconnection, and permitting for various clients in the renewable energy sector.

Requirements

10+ years of experience spanning transmission planning and power markets; with meaningful depth on both sides.
Proven leadership experience; you've managed engineers, set methodology standards, and been accountable for the quality of analytical deliverables at an RTO/ISO, utility, consultancy, developer, or IPP.
Deep expertise in steady-state power flow analysis, contingency analysis, and transmission planning criteria (NERC TPL standards).
Proficiency in PSS/E, TARA, PowerWorld, PSLF, or equivalent.
Strong understanding of nodal market mechanics: SCUC/SCED, LMP formation, transmission constraint pricing. You can connect a thermal violation in a planning model to a congestion event in the market.
Experience across multiple RTO/ISO markets.
Track record of translating technical analysis into business decisions; site selection, interconnection strategy, investment cases, or regulatory proceedings.

Nice To Haves

Experience in data center interconnection; large load studies, co-location analysis, or curtailable/flexible load frameworks.
BESS or solar interconnection, deliverability analysis, or generation curtailment forecasting experience.
Involvement in FERC proceedings, RTO stakeholder processes, or transmission planning working groups.
Master's Degree or Ph.D. in engineering or other related field
Experience at a high-growth startup or building a technical team from an early stage.

Responsibilities

Lead a team of transmission planning engineers and own the technical methodology; study assumptions, dispatch logic, contingency criteria, analytical scope.
Expand the platform from transmission planning into market economics; define how congestion analysis, dispatch dynamics, curtailment forecasting, and production cost modeling integrate with existing power flow infrastructure.
Evaluate and manage vendor relationships for market data and simulation tools. Make build-vs-buy-vs-partner decisions on analytical capabilities.
Own external credibility. Defend the company's methodology when questioned and provide confidence to customers that Paces’ analysis will hold up against utility studies.
Work directly with Product to shape the power product roadmap; translating developer needs, regulatory developments, and technical feasibility into prioritized product investments.
Represent Paces externally as a domain expert; in customer conversations, at conferences, and in industry working groups.
Hire, develop, and mentor transmission planning engineers and market analysts. Build a high-agency team culture where engineering rigor and startup speed coexist.
Partner with engineering leadership to define what gets automated and what stays human-in-the-loop. Set the standard for delivering in days what consultants deliver in weeks; without compromising quality.