Lead Controls Engineer - Major Projects Group

Blattner

4d•$121,680 - $176,436•Remote

About The Position

The Lead Controls Engineer is a technical leader in the Major Projects Group, driving design quality, consistency, and innovation across concurrent wind, solar, battery energy storage, and gas projects. The role serves as the SCADA and controls systems architect for large-scale, multi-technology projects and provides controls and systems integration support during development and project execution. The position may lead and mentor Senior Engineers, Engineer I/II staff, and CAD Designers, while supporting cross-department standards and initiatives.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in engineering from an ABET-accredited college, or relevant equivalent industry experience.
Eight or more years of progressive engineering and/or engineering supervisory experience in a related energy or construction industry, with expertise in controls engineering, SCADA, and systems integration.
Deep knowledge of utility-scale controls and integration equipment across wind, solar, BESS, and gas generation.
Working knowledge of protocols that transfer data between machines and systems, including MQTT, OPC UA, and REST APIs, and ability to justify protocol selection for a given application.
Ability to read one-line diagrams and panel schedules and determine protection, breaker, and source behavior under fault conditions.
Experience designing data contracts between systems and writing control narratives where multiple controllers must agree.
Ability to translate control requirements into implementable software requirements and assess designs for field viability.
Effective oral, written, listening, and presentation skills for working with Owners, EOR firms, vendors, employees, and internal stakeholders.
Interpersonal skills to supervise, influence, and persuade people and groups toward common objectives.
Knowledge of engineering science and technology applied to generation facility design, including logic and reasoning to evaluate alternatives.
Strong organizational, scheduling, and prioritization skills, with ability to manage concurrent projects and drive team accountability.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and Outlook) and Procore.
Working knowledge, experience, or interest in artificial intelligence.
Familiarity with math, record-keeping, and cost tracking to manage budgets.
Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information; may be required to become a qualified individual in pursuit of company contract licensing.
Valid driver's license and acceptable motor vehicle driving record.
Ability to travel up to 25%, subject to changing business needs.

Nice To Haves

Professional Engineering (PE) license or master's degree in engineering.
Demonstrated experience leading and developing engineers and driving technical standards.
Microgrid, behind-the-meter, and utility-scale generation controls experience across wind, solar, BESS, or gas.
Microgrid and behind-the-meter controls experience, including grid-forming BESS, PV plant controllers, and turbine and genset dispatch.
Experience with DNP3, IEC 61850 GOOSE, IEC 60870-5-104, Modbus TCP, OpenAPI/JSON Schema, or automated Level 4 and 5 commissioning.

Responsibilities

Lead or provide technical support throughout the controls engineering lifecycle, from pre-award development through design delivery, simulation, FAT/SAT, commissioning, and closeout.
Own the control and data contract between the facility energy controller and third-party power plant controllers, defining exchanged objects, fields, units, update rates, and staleness behavior.
Define facility energy controller sequences of operation and degradation behavior for normal operation, generation shortfall, source transitions, blackstart, and emergency shed.
Specify point maps, interlocks, and constraint classes; prototype integrations, test point maps against live devices, and hold vendors accountable through factory and site acceptance testing.
Translate electrical and generation constraints into software requirements, and communicate software and data constraints to plant vendors and EOR teams.
Prove controls interfaces in simulation before energization, covering constraint classes and mode transitions, and carry that work into automated commissioning.
Serve as the lead controls engineering point of contact for Owners and EOR teams on submittal milestones, reviews, procurement deliverables, page turns, and AHJ outreach.
Ensure designs comply with facility design requirements, applicable codes, Owner contracts, and company best practices; champion quality across the team.
Support Basis of Design development and RFI management for assigned controls and systems integration scopes.
Review drawings and designs, including control narratives, point lists, and network architectures; perform constructability and commissionability assessments.
Validate controls equipment, I/O, and network material takeoffs, and coordinate schedules, resource plans, and cross-discipline work with electrical, protection, and software leads.
Review contracts and subcontracts, provide technical recommendations, challenge vendor scope and internal assumptions using data, and escalate high-risk issues as appropriate.
Coordinate with Integrated Supply Chain, Estimating, Construction, and program management on equipment and material selection, approval, and field-ready plans and parameters.
Maintain change management discipline by documenting and communicating scope changes, point list changes, and design deviations; lead lessons-learned sessions and apply findings to future work.
Mentor, train, and onboard engineering staff through coaching, feedback, and work product review; support managers with hiring and promotion decisions.
Establish and enforce standard control philosophies, point maps, and design details; lead department process and standards initiatives and set goals with direct reports.
Communicate with Owners, EOR teams, vendors, software and project engineering staff, and other stakeholders throughout project work.
Follow company cultural basics and the National Society of Professional Engineers' code of conduct; solve problems with safe, transparent, sustainable, evidence-based, and documentable solutions.
Assist with special projects and perform other duties at the supervisor's discretion.