Senior Gas System Planning Engineer

Consumers Energy • Jackson, MI

95d

About The Position

The Senior Gas System Planning Engineer is responsible for coordinating and providing project oversight for interconnection agreements between the Company's gas system and other pipelines, gas utilities, large end-use customers, local natural gas producers, and Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) producers. This role includes offering insight and support for third-party interconnection agreements, as well as assistance with maintenance service agreements. The engineer provides technical expertise on gas quality issues and conducts gas interchangeability and hydrocarbon dew point analyses to ensure gas quality specifications are met and gas supplies remain interchangeable. Additionally, the position assists Principal, Senior Principal, and Engineering leadership with MPSC and other regulatory filing exhibits, supporting the Company's position on gas issues, particularly those related to gas quality. The Gas System Planning Engineer has a thorough knowledge of the gas transmission system and is a subject matter expert on gas transmission system capacity, total system resilience, transmission customer value, and the Gas Cost Recovery Plan modeling process. They identify opportunities and risks that inform engineering decisions using creative techniques and methods to provide potential resolutions to complex and ambiguous issues that affect the gas business' ability to provide customers with energy.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in engineering from an ABET accredited program with a minimum of four (4) years of experience in project management, contract negotiation, gas composition analysis, leading multidepartment projects or other project engineering work.
• Bachelor's degree in engineering from a non-ABET accredited program plus a Professional Engineering license with a minimum of four (4) years of experience in project management, contract negotiation, gas composition analysis, leading multidepartment projects or other project engineering work.
• Proficient in contract negotiation.
• Exceptional oral and written communication abilities.
• Demonstrated skill in leading projects and cross-departmental teams.
• Strong capacity for creative and collaborative problem-solving.
• Comprehensive understanding of legal agreements.
• In-depth knowledge of gas systems.
• Expertise in gas supply management.
• Extensive knowledge of natural gas quality, including compatibility, constituents, safety standards, and BTU calculations.
• Ability to interpret engineering documents effectively.

Responsibilities

• Manage total transmission system design and performance by applying advanced knowledge of hydraulic system modeling, system capacity, system constraints, and the analysis and extrapolation of historical data that may be ambiguous or limited.
• Apply creative techniques and a variety of analysis tools to define the optimal design criteria for gas transmission assets.
• Perform complex modeling processes used to develop regulatory required testimony filed as part of the Gas Cost Recover Plan.
• Identify risks and opportunities to improve testimony supporting processes.
• Develop and implement key system model assumptions used to support full utilization of the Company's gas storage inventory and to support gas purchase decisions.
• Apply engineering judgement and system knowledge of current & projected transmission capacity and to evaluate the impact of required maintenance outages and the feasibility of large customer attachments.
• Develop studies to support customer value for large transmission capital improvements by leveraging system models, gas supply knowledge, and Net Present Value (NPV) methods.
• Lead cross-functional efforts with other departments to establish Company's natural gas storage and compressor station operational capacities.
• Develop and improve gas system resilience models and system planning tools used in resilience risk identification, mitigation, and acceptance processes.
• Serve as the Company representative for existing interconnection agreements.
• Act as the Gas Management Services advocate and subject matter expert for renewable natural gas (RNG) interconnections.
• Assist with natural gas interconnection and maintenance service agreements for the Company.
• Engage third parties and coordinate payments from them until a dedicated interconnect project manager is assigned to new interconnection sites.
• Collaborate with Gas Control on alarm set points; provide analysis of various natural gas attributes using data from Producers, Gas Asset Management, and Gas Operations.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation packages
• Medical, Dental and Vision
• 401k with company match
• Paid parental leave
• Up to 13 paid Holidays
• Paid time off
• Educational Assistance Program

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Industry: Utilities
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree