Project Manager - Microgrid & Power Control Systems

AVEVA•Houston, TX

3d•$74,900 - $114,900•Hybrid

About The Position

ETAP is seeking an execution-driven Project Manager to lead delivery of real-time microgrid and power automation control systems across its Americas portfolio. Projects control generation, dispatch, and protection at hyperscale and colocation data centers, industrial microgrids, power plants, and energy management installations. Data center microgrid projects are the current portfolio priority. Delivery spans design, factory testing, utility approval, commissioning, energization, and final acceptance. The Project Manager owns projects end to end, including projects already in execution, and is the accountable owner for clients, commissioning agents, general contractors, utilities, and internal engineers. Senior engineers own technical correctness; the Project Manager must be sufficiently fluent in power automation and control to follow commissioning and protection discussions, assess whether plans are logical and achievable, and translate technical risk into commercial and schedule terms. The role is responsible for ensuring the right work ships on time and on budget. The position is based in Houston, Texas, is hybrid, and requires approximately 30% travel to project sites. The role may involve multi-week periods at sites during active commissioning.

Requirements

At least 5 years of project management experience delivering power systems, automation, or industrial control projects, or at least 3 years with direct commissioning site experience on microgrid, generation, or data center projects.
Recent and continuous field experience, with qualifying delivery work within the last five years and no extended absence from the industry.
Demonstrated ownership of scope, schedule, budget, and contract, rather than schedule tracking alone.
Working knowledge of power system control and telecontrol, including SCADA, EPMS, RTUs, protective relays, and industrial protocols such as IEC 61850, DNP3, and Modbus.
Experience delivering projects through commissioning, energization, and acceptance in live electrical environments, including FAT, SAT, point-to-point verification, and integrated systems testing.
Exposure to utility interconnection processes, submittal and approval cycles, and witness testing.
Experience managing equipment procurement and supplier lead times against a defined bill of materials.
Proven experience managing contract-driven projects with milestone-based payments and defined acceptance criteria.
Technical judgment to assess whether a plan, test sequence, or resource estimate is reasonable without acting as the engineer.
Strong executive communication and stakeholder management skills, along with risk management, change control, and contract interpretation skills.
An execution-and-ownership mindset and willingness to travel to project sites across the United States, including multi-week periods during active commissioning.

Nice To Haves

Microgrid controller, power plant controller, AGC, or generation dispatch delivery experience.
Familiarity with IEC 61850 GOOSE and MMS, DNP3, and telecontrol platforms such as SEL RTAC or equivalent.
Exposure to protection coordination and relay settings, including transfer trip and load shedding schemes.
Experience on data center, mission-critical facility, or industrial microgrid projects.
Familiarity with leveled commissioning programs (L1–L5) and integrated systems testing in critical environments.
Experience with hyperscaler or colocation owner standards, such as AWS, Microsoft, Google, Meta, or similar.
Knowledge of grid codes and interconnection standards, including NERC, IEEE 1547, and IEEE 2030.7.
Experience taking over a project already in execution rather than starting one.
PMP or equivalent certification; familiarity with Jira, Power BI, or similar project tracking and reporting tools.
Experience or aptitude for leading multiple concurrent projects or developing into a program or portfolio role.

Responsibilities

Lead delivery of microgrid, power plant control, generation dispatch, and energy management projects, with data center microgrid projects as the current portfolio priority.
Own full project execution, including scope, schedule, budget, contract, and procurement, through design, factory testing, installation, commissioning, energization, and final acceptance.
Take over projects already in execution by re-establishing the scope baseline, producing the project execution plan, and setting the schedule, milestones, and acceptance criteria.
Own equipment procurement against the project bill of materials, including controllers, servers, panels, and licenses, and manage lead times that gate factory acceptance testing.
Own the commissioning program and review and challenge test sequences, resource plans, and durations before they are committed.
Manage the utility approval gate, including submittal calendars, iteration cycles, witness testing, and energization readiness.
Run internal execution reviews, client status reviews, vendor and third-party coordination, and escalation resolution.
Act as the primary client interface for data center and industrial owners, commissioning agents, general contractors, and utility representatives.
Drive risk and change management by identifying schedule, technical, and contractual exposure early and properly documenting and pricing scope changes.
Control payment milestones and cash flow, and manage acceptance and handover so deliverables are complete, documented, and approved before client acceptance.
Own project reporting and build repeatable delivery practices, including execution plans, test libraries, templates, and standards.