Engineer Senior-Principal

American Electric Power•New Albany, OH

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Transmission Operations Engineering position provides real-time reliability support for the ERCOT footprint. The role requires an engaged engineer who can learn technical skills and participate in collaborative discussions. Positions may be filled at Engineer, Senior Engineer, or Principal Engineer levels, with differing education and experience qualifications. The engineer conducts reliability analyses and engineering activities, supports compliance efforts, contributes to best practices and operational guidance, and helps develop emergency operating plans, including plans involving Blackstart and capacity deficiency. The position participates in a 24x7 on-call rotation. It also calls for technical proficiency in power-system analysis, collaboration and guidance of others, planning, problem-solving, communication, and sound decision-making.

Requirements

Engineer level: Typically a bachelor's degree in engineering from an ABET-accredited program and at least 2 years of related engineering experience; a master's degree in engineering from an ABET-accredited program may qualify for entry at this level.
Senior Engineer level: Typically a bachelor's degree in engineering from an ABET-accredited program and at least 4 years of related engineering experience, or a master's degree or PhD in engineering from an ABET-accredited program and at least 2 years of related engineering experience.
Principal Engineer level: Typically a bachelor's degree in engineering from an ABET-accredited program and at least 8 years of related engineering experience, or a master's degree or PhD in engineering from an ABET-accredited program and at least 6 years of related engineering experience.
Engineering Technology bachelor's degree holders may satisfy the degree requirement if they obtain a certified Professional Engineering (PE) license.
For Senior and Principal levels, an acceptable alternative is a non-ABET bachelor's degree in engineering plus a master's degree or PhD in engineering from a university with an ABET-accredited bachelor's program.
Possess technical knowledge of power-flow concepts and intermediate-level knowledge sufficient to perform varied assignments and extensive analyses.
Apply analytical techniques to problems of moderate complexity, understand interrelationships between systems and component equipment, and recognize problems requiring additional definition or clarification.
Demonstrate ability to identify problems beyond routine work and seek opportunities and new approaches.
Communicate technical information clearly and effectively in reports, studies, analyses, or presentations.
Work actively as a team member, network with peers, identify stakeholders, and resolve conflict or build consensus.
Understand organizational roles, budgeting and approval processes, economic analysis techniques, and utility regulation and financing.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with power-flow tools such as PSS/E, MUST, and/or TARA.
Knowledge of short-circuit modeling software such as ASPEN/CAPE.
Knowledge of the AEP Transmission system topology in the SPP/ERCOT footprint.
Electrical engineering degree.
For Senior Engineer, PE registration in any U.S. state or Puerto Rico is encouraged and preferred.
For Principal Engineer, PE registration in any U.S. state or Puerto Rico is preferred unless the requirement is waived by the organization's EVP.
For PE registration obtained in Puerto Rico, confirmation that it aligns with NCEES standards is noted as required for Senior Engineer and preferred for Principal Engineer.

Responsibilities

Perform next-day studies and weekly reliability analyses, and ensure coverage during critical outage periods.
Participate in RTO activities to increase awareness of industry changes and impacts.
Perform engineering activities, including inadequate-protection studies and equipment de-rate studies.
Support compliance efforts.
Participate in and document best practices, processes, and operational guides.
Develop operational emergency plans involving Blackstart and capacity deficiency.
Participate in a 24x7 on-call rotation.
Coordinate work activities of others as needed and provide training and guidance to lower-level employees.
Prepare, review, or present technical reports, improvement requisitions, studies, and analyses.
Coordinate inputs for forecasting costs for routine projects and improvement requisitions; use scheduling techniques for budget and planning activities.
Initiate corrective action when project objectives are not being met.
Analyze and recommend enhancements to business processes.
Identify stakeholders, build consensus, and resolve conflicts.
Make decisions affecting team work within established policies and procedures, while considering risks.