Principal Engineer, Advanced Energy System Controls

AES•San Diego, CA

4d•$145,000 - $181,050

About The Position

AES US Renewables & Power is seeking a senior individual contributor and technical authority to define, develop, validate, and deploy advanced controls for integrated energy systems. The systems may combine renewable generation, battery energy storage, fuel cells, synchronous generators, utility interconnections, plant-level controllers, and co-located mission-critical loads. The role establishes secure, testable, and operable control architectures and leads control philosophies, operating modes, control-authority boundaries, dispatch logic, sequence-of-operations requirements, model-based validation, laboratory testing, and field integration. The Principal Engineer works with equipment suppliers, power plant control vendors, real-time simulation laboratories, and AES project engineering, grid integration, generator modeling, SCADA, protection and control, and commissioning teams. The role requires expertise in utility-scale off-grid microgrids and grid-connected systems, islanded steady-state control, grid-forming and grid-following behavior, co-located loads such as data centers, flexible interconnection, microgrid transitions, and interactions between power-electronic and rotating-generation controls. The position exercises independent technical judgment, sets technical direction for co-located load and generation controls, guides engineers and external partners, and resolves novel architecture and validation issues. The role also provides technical authority for complex control architectures and first-of-kind applications, leads multidisciplinary reviews and integrated testing, mentors engineers without necessarily having direct supervisory responsibility, and communicates technical issues to technical, project, customer, and executive audiences. The expected salary at commencement is $145,000–$181,050 per year, with an annual bonus and medical, dental, vision, life insurance, 401(k) eligibility, and paid time off. The application deadline is 12/03/2026.

Requirements

Master’s degree in controls engineering, power systems engineering, energy systems, electrical engineering, or a related field.
Typically 8 to 12 years of experience in utility-scale power systems controls, microgrids, utility-scale generation, energy storage, or advanced control applications.
Deep understanding of grid-connected and islanded power systems, microgrid controls, grid-forming controls, synchronous generation, BESS, and renewable generation.
Experience developing control architectures, control philosophies, sequences of operation, operating modes, and advanced system-control algorithms.
Experience with EMS, PPC, microgrid controllers, SCADA, and resource-level controls for integrated multi-resource power systems.
Strong knowledge of multi-resource dispatch, BESS state-of-charge management, load following, load smoothing, reserve management, and flexible interconnection controls.
Working knowledge of PSCAD and EMT analysis, particularly reviewing models and simulation results for control interactions and system performance.
Experience developing and leading CHIL, PHIL, factory, laboratory, and integrated system testing for complex power-system controls.
Knowledge of industrial communications, controls drawings, high-speed data acquisition, and protocols such as Modbus, DNP3, and IEC 61850.
Field experience with system integration, commissioning, controls troubleshooting, and first-of-kind power systems involving multiple OEMs and technology partners.

Nice To Haves

PhD in controls engineering, power systems engineering, energy systems, electrical engineering, or a related field.
Demonstrated experience integrating system controls with co-located loads and utility-scale generation and energy storage projects.

Responsibilities

Lead development of integrated control architectures for multi-resource power systems that include renewable generation, battery storage, fuel cells, synchronous generation, utility sources, switchgear, protection systems, and co-located critical loads.
Develop control philosophies, functional design specifications, control-authority matrices, operating-mode definitions, sequence-of-events narratives, permissives, interlocks, fallback modes, and fail-safe behaviors.
Define coordination among device and inverter controls, generator governors and excitation systems, PPCs, microgrid controllers, EMS, SCADA, protection relays, and customer or utility interfaces.
Lead design of grid-connected and islanded operating modes and transitions, including planned and unplanned islanding, energization, synchronization, resynchronization, and black start.
Support reviews with AES SCADA Engineering of controls drawings, network and communications diagrams, I/O lists, and interface-control documents.
Develop control architectures and real-time interfaces for integrating data center loads with utility-scale generation and battery storage.
Develop load-following and dispatch algorithms for rapid data center load changes, coordinating fast BESS response with slower generation while maintaining reserves.
Develop operating sequences for grid-connected operation, islanding, load rejection, black start, restoration, and data center load pickup; define stable frequency and voltage control during transitions.
Lead integrated validation of data center and generation controls through EMT studies, real-time controls testing, and site commissioning.
Develop multi-resource dispatch strategies for battery storage, synchronous generation, fuel cells, and renewables, accounting for resource availability, reserves, equipment limits, and interconnection constraints.
Develop EMS strategies for energy balancing, BESS state-of-charge management, and reserve management; define control authority among EMS, PPC, load-smoothing controllers, and resource-level controls.
Lead development and validation of advanced control algorithms with technology partners, including predictive, feedforward, feedback, droop-based, and optimization-based methods.
Develop flexible-interconnection controls for export and import limits, dynamic operating envelopes, ramp-rate control, curtailment, and congestion-responsive dispatch in coordination with PPC vendors.
Define control-related EMT study requirements with grid integration and modeling engineers, including scenarios, contingencies, control interactions, and sensitivities for validation.
Review PSCAD models, study methods, and EMT results for technical credibility and alignment with the intended control architecture; identify interactions, limiting behavior, unstable regions, and model deficiencies.
Guide follow-on simulations, parameter sensitivities, tuning studies, and model corrections based on observed system behavior.
Align control requirements, EMT models, laboratory validation, vendor testing, and field implementation; use modeling results to guide controls design and commissioning decisions.
Lead integrated controls validation at vendor facilities and AES laboratories using CHIL, PHIL, and other real-time test platforms; define test plans and system-level acceptance criteria.
Lead testing across resource controllers, PPC, EMS, SCADA, protection, and microgrid controls, validating operating modes, transitions, failure scenarios, communications loss, and recovery behavior.
Define instrumentation and high-speed data acquisition requirements; use synchronized recordings, controller logs, oscillography, and sequence-of-events data to assess system behavior and control interactions.
Drive resolution of test findings and ensure issues result in corrected control logic, updated settings, validated models, and clear site-commissioning prerequisites.
Serve as principal technical advisor and design-review authority for complex control architectures, first-of-kind applications, vendor proposals, software releases, and major technical deviations.
Lead multidisciplinary technical reviews and facilitate decisions among controls, electrical, protection, generator modeling, and commissioning stakeholders.
Mentor engineers in controls architecture, sequence development, test design, data interpretation, field integration, and technical decision-making.
Communicate complex issues to technical, project, customer, and executive audiences.
Monitor technology developments and support evaluation of emerging control architectures, microgrid controllers, grid-forming platforms, dispatch approaches, communications architectures, and real-time validation methods.