Principal Engineer, Power Systems Controls

TAR•Austin, TX

1d•Remote

About The Position

TAR is building the world's first off-grid power plant for data centers powered by renewable technologies. This role owns the behavior of power electronics in an inverter-dominant island and the control architecture that ties every asset together. The engineer will translate architecture into single-lines, interrogate grid-forming PCS and BESS down to the control level, define the boundary between OEM firmware and system-level controllers, and validate that the integrated plant can power a data center load 24/7 without utility support, maintaining frequency and voltage. This role addresses complex control and protection challenges in islanded conditions and drives day-to-day electrical engineering under the Director of Power Systems Engineering. The role focuses on integrating utility-scale OEM equipment and understanding converter internals to influence OEMs on grid-forming behavior, ride-through, and protection, rather than designing power converters at the silicon level. The engineer will own the control architecture and its validation, including the control philosophy, the OEM-firmware/MGC boundary, and MGC/EMS functional specifications, while implementation of PLC logic and SCADA will be handled by a controls and automation engineer and vendors.

Requirements

BSEE, power systems, or related STEM discipline.
7-10+ years in utility-scale solar, BESS, or power electronics, with hands-on ownership of SLDs and power-conversion integration.
Proficiency in electrical CAD and study tools (SKM, ETAP, AutoCAD Electrical, or similar) for one-line and study work.
Working knowledge of grid-forming versus grid-following inverter architecture and BESS PCS behavior.
Able to read control specs critically, not just datasheets.
Strong NEC, UL 1741-SB, knowledge for PV, AC/DC coupling, and energy storage integration.
Experience with islanding controls, microgrid EMS/MGC, and inverter/PCS integration.
Able to model islanded systems, transient load response, and short-circuit/coordination studies, and to explain why islanded fault behavior breaks conventional overcurrent protection.
Extreme attention to detail with a bias for speed and rapid iteration.

Nice To Haves

MSEE with a power electronics or microgrid focus.
Direct islanded, off-grid, or BTM microgrid experience.
Field-validated GFM behavior, fault response, ride-through, and inverter-to-inverter interactions in a real IBR-dominant or islanded plant with limited fault current.
Experience with EMT modeling of utility-scale PV+BESS powering a large variable load.
Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) validation of inverter and BESS controls.
Written and executed commissioning/validation test plans and troubleshot bring-up in the field.
Test-like-you-fly culture (Tesla Energy, Fluence, SpaceX, Array, Nextracker, or comparable) where validation rigor is the norm.

Responsibilities

Own the control hierarchy architecture for the islanded plant.
Author the control philosophy, define where OEM grid-forming firmware ends and a third-party microgrid controller (MGC/PPC) begins.
Write the functional specifications for the MGC and EMS, and own multi-vendor controls integration end-to-end.
Own the power electronics integration.
Specify, evaluate, and validate grid-forming inverters and BESS PCS.
Model and verify GFM control behavior, fault response, ride-through, and inverter-to-inverter interactions in an IBR-dominant plant with limited fault current, including EMT/PSCAD validation against usable OEM models.
Run and review islanded power-system studies: load flow, short-circuit, protection coordination, grounding, load following, load smoothing, and transient/load-step stability for a continuous high-density IT load.
Solve the islanded protection problem directly by specifying differential, communication-assisted, or adaptive schemes that stay selective across every operating mode, given that islanded fault current collapses and conventional overcurrent coordination becomes less reliable.
Drive OEM technical engagement on PCS, BESS, and controls.
Track FEOC-compliant equipment options where ITC eligibility is at stake.
Support permitting, interconnection, and the OE/IE with the electrical analysis they require.
Write commissioning and validation test plans.
Support bring-up, acceptance testing, and field troubleshooting at the pilot and beyond.