Engineering Manager-Renewable/Acquisition

American Electric Power•Columbus, OH

5d•Onsite

About The Position

Responsible for the effective planning, staffing, and execution of engineering projects and oversight of technical support services to deliver safe, cost-effective solutions for AEP’s new and existing power generation fleet. The role manages resources and coordinates and supervises engineering efforts across disciplines, systems, and equipment groups. It also provides direction and guidance to employees to support continuous improvement, development, and talent retention, while ensuring engineering deliverables follow Engineering standard work and Quality Assurance procedures. The Engineering Manager leads a multidisciplinary team supporting utility-scale solar photovoltaic, battery energy storage systems (BESS), other renewable generation, build/transfer projects, and acquisition opportunities. The role leads engineering execution for self-developed Solar and BESS projects and provides engineering oversight of developer-led projects through acceptance, turnover, and closeout. It integrates engineering with project and transaction teams, operating organizations, external developers, engineering and construction firms, equipment manufacturers, independent engineers, suppliers, and consultants. The position directs resolution of technical interfaces, design changes, deviations, nonconformances, engineering issues, commercial-technical interfaces, and risks. It owns and maintains applicable portions of the New Generation EPC Specification and ensures projects comply with applicable specifications, design criteria, codes, regulations, permits, quality requirements, and contractual commitments. It leads technical due diligence for renewable energy, storage, and other acquisition opportunities, and supports project design reviews, safety-in-design, constructability, operability, maintainability, interconnection, quality, commissioning, and startup readiness. The role promotes standardized engineering solutions and lessons learned, maintains traceable design-basis and decision records, ensures complete and retrievable engineering records for completed and acquired facilities, and leads engineering turnover, project closeout, and acquisition transition to support Operations, Maintenance, and long-term asset management. The job is onsite and classified as sedentary work.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in engineering from a program accredited by ABET's Engineering Accreditation Commission.
At least 10 years of experience in utility engineering work.
Project or initiative leadership experience.
Significant progressive engineering experience in power generation, renewable energy, energy storage, major capital projects, asset acquisitions, or comparable infrastructure.
Experience leading multidisciplinary engineering teams and coordinating engineering activities across project management, engineering disciplines, developers, contractors, consultants, and operating organizations.
Experience with renewable generation, energy storage, project development, build/transfer execution, and/or technical evaluation of generation assets.
Experience managing technical risk, project or transaction interfaces, engineering requirements, and complex technical decisions.
Experience establishing, evaluating, and maintaining clear, traceable design-basis documentation, including technical assumptions, design decisions, deviations, due-diligence findings, configuration information, and engineering records.
Demonstrated ability to organize, direct, and coordinate the work of other personnel.
Effective oral and written communication skills, including presenting ideas and recommendations to senior management and external audiences.
Teamwork and collaboration skills.
Strategic risk-assessment, customer focus, and business awareness to support technical decision-making.
Strong planning and organizational skills.
Commitment to safety, ethical behavior, corporate compliance, continuous improvement, and employee development.

Nice To Haves

Direct supervisory experience.
Registration as a Professional Engineer (PE) in any U.S. state.

Responsibilities

Lead, develop, and manage a multidisciplinary engineering and technical team, including staffing, workload, performance, succession planning, resources, and budgets.
Establish organizational priorities and foster safety, accountability, technical excellence, collaboration, inclusion, employee development, and continuous improvement.
Lead engineering execution for self-developed Solar and BESS projects across the project lifecycle.
Provide engineering oversight of developer-led Solar, BESS, and other renewable build/transfer projects through acceptance, turnover, and closeout.
Serve as the primary engineering integrator among internal teams, operating companies, developers, AE/EPC firms, OEMs, Independent Engineers, suppliers, and consultants.
Direct resolution of technical interfaces, design changes, deviations, nonconformances, engineering issues, commercial-technical interfaces, and associated risks.
Own and maintain applicable portions of the New Generation EPC Specification, keeping requirements accurate, complete, and aligned with design criteria, technical specifications, standards, portfolio requirements, and lessons learned.
Ensure project engineering and design comply with applicable specifications, Engineering Services requirements, codes, regulations, permits, quality requirements, and contractual commitments.
Provide engineering leadership for design reviews, safety-in-design, constructability, operability, maintainability, interconnection, quality, commissioning, and startup readiness.
Lead technical due diligence for renewable generation, energy storage, and other acquisition opportunities, coordinating subject-matter experts and Independent Engineers.
Promote standardization and incorporate project, operating, and due-diligence lessons learned into future projects and the New Generation EPC Specification.
Ensure design-basis decisions, assumptions, engineering rationale, approved deviations, due-diligence findings, risk assessments, lessons learned, and decision records are documented and traceable.
Ensure completed and acquired facilities have complete, accurate, organized, and retrievable engineering records that preserve design intent and represent the asset accurately.
Lead engineering turnover, project closeout, and acquisition transition to support Operations, Maintenance, and long-term asset management.
Organize, direct, and coordinate personnel; communicate and present recommendations effectively to senior management and external audiences.
Maintain safety as the highest priority, support ethical behavior and corporate compliance, and focus on strategic risk assessment, customer needs, planning, and employee development.