Senior Microgrid Field Commissioning Engineer

BoxPower•Grass Valley, CA

18h•Onsite

About The Position

This is a senior; hands-on field engineering role focused on the electrical power hardware side of microgrid deployment. You will lead commissioning of paralleling switchgear, protection relays, metering, battery systems, power supplies, and control panels across a variety of sites and system configurations. You will work closely with the Principal Controls Engineer (who owns controls software architecture and integration) and the Senior Applications Engineer (who owns design and electrical studies), but your focus is the site/plant: cable/hardware/configuration/integrated testing. You may need to pull/terminate cables, verify terminating cables, verifying protection schemes, energizing equipment, and troubleshooting systems holistically when things don’t work as designed. The ideal candidate has a strong technician and field engineering foundation, understands electrical power systems from first principles, and is comfortable working on energized 480VAC, 125VDC, and 1500VDC equipment. You think in terms of whole systems — not just the component in front of you — and you bring the discipline and safety culture needed for hot work, LOTO, and substation operations. BoxPower’s engineering culture integrates AI tools throughout our workflow for documentation, troubleshooting reference, and analysis. You should be comfortable using AI tools to accelerate field documentation and reporting work.

Requirements

7+ years of experience in electrical field engineering, commissioning, power systems integration, or a related hands-on technical role.
Deep working knowledge of 480VAC three-phase power distribution systems, including switchgear, breakers, protective relaying, and metering.
Experience with 125VDC station battery systems, DC distribution, battery chargers, and DC control power.
Familiarity with 1500VDC solar PV and BESS string-level DC circuits.
Hands-on experience commissioning paralleling switchgear, generator controls, and automatic transfer schemes.
Proficiency pulling, terminating, and testing wire and cable, including power conductors, control wiring, fiber optic, Cat5e/6a, and serial shielded twisted pair.
Demonstrated ability to read and interpret single-line diagrams, three-line diagrams, wiring schematics, relay logic drawings, and P&IDs.
Strong understanding of protection and coordination principles: overcurrent, differential, synchrocheck, and bus protection schemes.
Proven experience with LOTO procedures, hot work, arc flash safety, and working on or near energized equipment.
Excellent troubleshooting skills with a holistic, systems-level approach.
Valid driver’s license required because this role involves regular driving to remote project sites where public transit and ride-share are not viable alternatives.
Willingness to travel 50–75% with extended on-site deployments during commissioning phases.

Nice To Haves

S. Navy Nuclear Power School graduates (ET, EM, or MM rates) with reactor plant electrical and DC systems experience.
NETA-certified field engineers with substantial experience performing acceptance and maintenance testing per NETA ATS/MTS standards.
Journeyman or Master Electricians (IBEW or equivalent) with substation or industrial power experience.
Former utility field operators or substation technicians with hands-on switching and protection experience.
Experience with medium-voltage (MV) systems: 4.16kV, 12.47kV, or 15/35kV class switchgear, transformers, and cable terminations.
Experience with substation/distribution construction, commissioning, or operations.
Experience with SEL protection relays (SEL-751, SEL-700G, SEL-735)
Experience with SEL RTAC automation controllers, PLCs, and/or Industrial PCs
Experienced with reading structured text, linux, python, codesys, ladder logic
Experience integrating battery energy storage systems (BESS), solar PV inverters, or diesel/natural gas generators into paralleled power systems.
Familiarity with Ignition SCADA or other HMI platforms from a field I/O and communications perspective.
Experience with industrial networking: managed Ethernet switches (e.g., SEL, Cisco, Moxa), VLANs, and network segmentation for OT environments.
OSHA 30, NFPA 70E certification, or equivalent safety training.
Familiarity with NEC, IEEE, ANSI, UL, NETA and NFPA standards relevant to switchgear, protection, and battery systems.
Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Electrical Technology, or Power Systems Engineering (not required if experience is strong).
Experience working at an military, EPC, system integrator, OEM, or utility in the power/energy sector.
Experience in a startup or fast-growing company environment.

Responsibilities

Lead commissioning of microgrid systems including paralleling switchgear, automatic transfer switches, generator controls, inverters, DERs, BESS, and solar PV.
Serve as the on-site technical lead during commissioning, coordinating with remote controls engineers, EPC contractors, and utility interconnection personnel.
Perform pre-energization checks, insulation resistance testing, point-to-point wiring verification, relay functional testing, and protective device trip testing.
Energize 480VAC, 125VDC, and 1500VDC systems, including station battery banks, DC distribution panels, battery chargers, solar PV string combiner boxes, and BESS DC circuits.
Execute hot work, live switching, and breaker racking operations following strict safety protocols.
Perform LOTO procedures and maintain arc flash safety compliance across all field activities.
Commission medium-voltage (MV) equipment when project scope requires.
Integrate protection relays (SEL-751, SEL-700G, SEL-735, or equivalent), power meters, cts/pts, and control devices into switchgear and control panel assemblies.
Review design, test, and modify control panels including layout of power supplies, terminal blocks, DIN-rail components, relays, and wire management.
Specify and integrate DC power supply systems, battery chargers, and 125VDC station battery configurations.
Design and review paralleling switchgear configurations, including bus protection, synchrocheck, and generator paralleling schemes.
Install and terminate fiber optic cabling (single-mode and multi-mode), Cat5e/6a Ethernet cabling, and serial shielded twisted pair (RS-232/RS-485) for Modbus RTU, CAN, and relay communications.
Configure managed Ethernet switches for substation and microgrid networks.
Develop and redline as-built wiring diagrams, single-lines, three-lines, and interconnection drawings.
Document all field findings, punch list items, commissioning results, and lessons learned.
Provide hardware design input to the engineering team based on field experience.
Support the development of standardized commissioning procedures, test scripts, and factory acceptance test (FAT) protocols.
Troubleshoot complex system-level issues that span electrical, mechanical, controls, and communications domains.
Diagnose protection relay misoperations, communications failures, power quality issues, and control system integration problems in the field.
Mentor junior field technicians and commissioning support staff as the team grows.
Support estimating and proposals with hardware-specific technical input, BOMs, and labor estimates.
Coordinate with the Controls Engineer on controls integration and the Senior Applications Engineer on design intent.