Power System Control Center Manager

Enchanted Rock Management LLC•Houston, TX

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Power System Control Center Manager leads ERock's 24/7/365 Network Operations Center (NOC) and is accountable for the safe, reliable, and disciplined real-time operation of the company's distributed generation fleet. This leader brings utility-grade control-room practices to a rapidly growing portfolio of generation and microgrid assets, including clear operating authority, rigorous shift turnover, procedure use and adherence, alarm management, incident command, outage coordination, and emergency response. The Manager ensures operators meet customer reliability commitments, execute market and grid-support obligations, coordinate field activity, and protect personnel and equipment during normal, abnormal, and emergency conditions.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in engineering, technology, operations, business, or a related field is preferred; equivalent technical training and operational experience will be considered.
7+ years of progressively responsible experience in utility control-center operations, power-system operations, generation dispatch, transmission or distribution operations, balancing authority operations, an ISO/RTO environment, or a comparable 24/7 critical control center.
3+ years of experience leading control-room operators, shift supervisors, dispatchers, or an equivalent real-time operations team.
Direct experience with operating authority, switching or dispatch instructions, clearances and tagging boundaries, shift turnover, operator logkeeping, outage coordination, emergency response, and service restoration.
Working knowledge of generation, electrical distribution, switchgear, transfer systems, protection and controls, and the risks associated with remote switching and dispatch.
Demonstrated ability to lead incident response, establish priorities, make time-sensitive operating decisions, and communicate accurately during abnormal or emergency conditions.
Experience developing shift schedules, operator qualification programs, operating procedures, drills, performance metrics, and continuous improvement processes for a 24/7 organization.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate technical operating conditions into concise updates for executives, customers, and field teams.
Ability to support after-hours events, emergency response, and planned operating activities as business needs require.

Nice To Haves

NERC System Operator certification, utility operator qualification, or comparable generation/control-room credential
Working knowledge of applicable OSHA and NFPA requirements and relevant utility, ISO/RTO, NERC, or market operating practices; ERCOT, CAISO, or other regional market experience.
Experience with SCADA/HMI and alarm-management systems; familiarity with EMS, DMS/ADMS, OMS, data historians, communications networks, and incident-management tools
Being an experienced utility or generation control-room leader who brings calm, accountable leadership to real-time operations.
Ability to translate proven utility operating discipline to a distributed-energy environment, separate signal from noise, make sound decisions with incomplete information, communicate clearly under pressure, and build a team that executes consistently at 2:00 a.m. just as it does at 2:00 p.m.
Ability to balance customer reliability, market obligations, equipment protection, and personnel safety without losing sight of the operating details.

Responsibilities

Lead the daily operation and performance of ERock's 24/7/365 control center, maintaining continuous qualified coverage, clear decision rights, and accountable leadership on every shift.
Direct real-time monitoring, control, and dispatch of distributed generation and microgrid assets, including start/stop activity, load management, alarm response, troubleshooting, and operational escalation.
Establish and enforce utility-grade operating discipline, including operating authority, system permissions, three-part communication, operator logs, shift turnover, event documentation, and procedure use and adherence.
Govern remote switching and operating instructions within ERock's scope, including switching boundaries, clearances, lockout/tagout interfaces, field verification, and release-to-service requirements.
Coordinate customer reliability events, utility outages, market dispatches, demand-response programs, grid-support services, tests, planned outages, and return-to-service activities while respecting equipment limits and site constraints.
Lead response to abnormal and emergency conditions; establish incident command, mobilize field and technical support, coordinate with customers and utilities, communicate system status, and restore assets to a safe and stable condition.
Maintain real-time situational awareness of unavailable, degraded, or constrained assets and ensure issues are prioritized, escalated, documented, and handed off to the correct operational owner.
Develop and govern operating procedures, switching and dispatch playbooks, checklists, escalation matrices, communication protocols, contingency plans, and severe-weather readiness plans.
Build staffing plans and shift schedules that support growth, planned absences, training, fatigue management, surge events, and emergency coverage without compromising control-room readiness.
Manage NOC recruiting, headcount planning, departmental budget, vendor support, and operating-tool expenditures.
Recruit, coach, and develop supervisors, leads, and operators through formal qualification programs, scenario-based drills, performance feedback, and succession planning.
Own control-center operational readiness for SCADA/HMI, communications, alarm systems, historian data, dashboards, and operator tools in partnership with System Integration, IT, cybersecurity, engineering, and vendors.
Lead event reviews, human-performance learning, and corrective actions that strengthen alarm quality, response time, procedural compliance, fleet availability, and operational resilience.
Provide concise, timely operating updates to executive leadership, customers, utilities, market counterparties, field teams, and business partners during significant events.