Manager Engineering I, Reliability Planning

Otter Tail Corporation Careers•Fergus Falls, MN

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Manager I, Reliability Planning Location: Fergus Falls Salary grade 15 At Otter Tail Power, our employees help power the communities we serve while building a strong and sustainable energy future. We are seeking a strategic and innovative Manager I, Reliability Planning to lead long-term asset investment planning and reliability strategies across our transmission, distribution, and facility assets. This leadership role provides a unique opportunity to influence critical infrastructure decisions, optimize asset performance, and help ensure the safe, reliable, and affordable delivery of electricity to our customers. As the Manager I, Reliability Planning, you will lead a team responsible for developing and maintaining long-range capital and maintenance investment strategies. Working collaboratively with Engineering, Operations, Finance, Regulatory Affairs, and senior leadership, you will drive data-informed decision making, asset management excellence, and regulatory accountability while supporting the company's long-term strategic objectives.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Eight or more years of progressive experience within electric utility engineering, transmission and distribution operations, or another asset-intensive industry.
Three or more years of leadership experience with demonstrated success managing and developing employees.
Experience developing and implementing multi-year asset lifecycle plans, capital programs, and budgets.
Knowledge of utility asset management principles, asset health modeling, and risk-based planning methodologies.
Experience developing capital investment business cases and presenting recommendations to leadership teams.
Familiarity with GIS systems and engineering records management practices.
Strong analytical, communication, relationship-building, and change management skills.
Demonstrated success leading process improvement initiatives and driving organizational performance.
Experience developing benefit-to-cost analyses using reliability, risk, customer impact, and lifecycle cost metrics.
Ability to collaborate effectively with technical, operational, financial, and executive stakeholders.

Responsibilities

Lead and develop a team responsible for asset planning, reliability programs, and GIS development while fostering a culture of safety, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Develop and maintain short- and long-term asset investment strategies for transmission, distribution, and facility assets that balance reliability, safety, compliance, affordability, and customer value.
Utilize asset condition, performance, risk, and operational data to establish investment priorities, optimize asset lifecycles, and improve system reliability.
Lead capital planning efforts, including business case development, investment analysis, budgeting, forecasting, and long-range financial planning.
Oversee reliability initiatives and asset management programs that support operational excellence and measurable performance improvements across the electric system.
Guide long-term facilities and building lifecycle strategies, including capital reinvestment planning and total cost of ownership analysis.
Provide oversight of GIS data quality, mapping standards, and data integration efforts that support engineering, planning, and operational decision-making.
Partner with Engineering, Operations, Finance, Regulatory Affairs, and executive leadership to develop and communicate data-driven investment strategies.
Support regulatory filings, rate cases, and strategic planning initiatives through the development of defensible, evidence-based capital investment plans and recommendations.