Sr. Engineer - Utility Engineering

Nscale

13d•$130,000 - $175,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Nscale is seeking an Engineer / Senior Engineer, Program Manager for the Utility Engineering team to support utility strategy and execution for their North America data center portfolio, with a focus on datacenter workloads. The role involves end-to-end responsibility for securing, designing, and optimizing critical utilities to support hyperscale, energy-intensive AI compute at low cost and high reliability. The individual will serve as a key technical contributor for utility interfaces to data centers, focusing on power and coordinating with external partners to deliver projects on schedule. Responsibilities include supporting technical scope development for behind-the-meter, islanded, and grid-connected load strategies, including design oversight, constructability reviews, operability assessments, and commissioning readiness. The role requires close partnership with development, design, operations, and finance teams to deliver utility solutions that meet aggressive capacity, sustainability, and cost objectives across multiple energy markets. The position title and level will be commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Finance, Economics, Business or related field.
2–5 years of experience in power markets, utility finance, utility engineering, power systems, large energy projects, PPAs, with exposure to data centers, industrial loads, or hyperscale cloud environments.
Foundational understanding of transmission and distribution systems, interconnection processes, protection and controls, and utility planning.
Some exposure to or experience working with electric utilities, ISOs/RTOs, or transmission owners on interconnection processes and high-capacity interconnections.
Experience supporting or contributing to multi-stakeholder utility projects from concept through energization.
Strong ability to interpret utility tariffs, produce rate calculations and analyze overall power costs.
Excellent communication skills, able to translate technical utility issues into clear business trade-offs and recommendations for non-engineers.
Some exposure to or coursework/project experience related to power generation and/or generation plant electrical design, such as: Overseeing the design of generation plant one-lines, MV distribution, synchronization/paralleling, protection and controls; Managing generator plant concept-to-commissioning delivery (including equipment specification and long-lead procurement); Integrating generation with critical power architectures (UPS/BESS, islanding strategies, microgrid controls).

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Energy Policy, Finance, Energy Systems, Business Administration or similar.
Experience with high-density AI / GPU or HPC data centers, including unique power profiles and redundancy requirements.
Familiarity with renewable energy integration, energy storage, microgrids, and low-carbon or sovereign energy strategies.
Experience working in fast-paced growth environments or startups, where speed and execution are paramount.
International experience dealing with utilities, regulators, and grid operators in multiple jurisdictions.
Experience with generator OEMs, EPCs, and commissioning providers for large-scale standby/prime power plants supporting mission-critical facilities.
Exposure to electricity market analysis and power economics, including power cost analysis, levelized cost of energy (LCOE) modeling, tariff structures, and capacity/energy market dynamics as they relate to data center power procurement and site selection.

Responsibilities

Support the development of long-term utility strategy to support high-density AI / GPU data centers across existing and new regions.
Evaluate and select sites based on grid capacity, reliability, renewable/low-carbon options, interconnection queues, and regulatory constraints.
Develop financial models and analytics documents to support energy sourcing for datacenters.
Lead negotiations related energy supply agreements and utility contracts.
Monitor energy regulations and policies that have the potential to affect the projects constructability, capacity, and cost.
Develop and manage scope of works (SOW) and related agreements to support the ancillary workstreams.
Build and maintain load forecasts based on AI / GPU growth scenarios and translate them into concrete utility capacity plans.
Support the development of power supply strategies that include both grid supply and on-site/behind-the-meter generation, helping evaluate trade-offs across reliability, schedule, fuel availability, emissions, and total cost of ownership.
Support technical and commercial engagements with utilities, ISOs/RTOs, transmission owners, and large energy providers from early-stage site diligence through energization.
Review and manage interconnection agreements, service agreements, and tariffs in partnership with legal, regulatory, and energy procurement teams.
Track grid upgrade timelines and constraints that impact data center development schedules and escalate risks to senior team members.
Contribute to the technical strategy for on-site power generation used to support data center capacity, schedule acceleration, and resilience.
Support generation plant concept development through design completion, contributing to architecture decisions and design basis for: Generation technology selection, Electrical topology and one-lines, Protection and controls philosophy, Integration with UPS/BESS/microgrid controllers and operational modes.
Support generation interconnection and utility coordination for behind-the-meter and/or utility-parallel operation, including studies, compliance, and operational requirements.
Assist with equipment specification and procurement alignment for generator sets, switchgear, transformers, e-houses, controls systems, and balance-of-plant, with attention to long-lead risk and schedule certainty.
Support commissioning planning and field execution for generation systems, including performance verification, reliability demonstration, and handoff to operations.
Provide engineering leadership on integration of alternative or on-site energy sources (renewables, storage, generators, microgrids, etc.) to improve resilience and cost.
Serve as the energy owner for a set of data center development projects from due diligence through energization.
Work closely with development, construction, and operations to align utility milestones with project schedules and capacity needs.
Visit sites as needed to support commissioning, troubleshooting, and design clarifications in the field.
Identify risks early (grid constraints, upgrade requirements, permitting, schedule slippage) and implement pragmatic mitigations.
Ensure that utility designs meet or exceed reliability targets suitable for AI / GPU workloads with high power density and utilization.
Partner with operations, reliability, and capacity planning to monitor actual performance versus design assumptions and close gaps.
Continuously refine designs and standards to reduce losses, improve PUE / energy efficiency, and lower total cost of ownership.
Collaborate with internal and external partners, coordinating effectively and delivering against project timelines.
Develop expertise in utility and grid topics, supporting internal stakeholders with clear technical communication on utility considerations and tradeoffs.
Communicate clearly with non-technical stakeholders about utility risks, trade-offs, and options.
Contribute to overall infrastructure strategy, including how power availability, cost, and carbon intensity influence data center and AI capacity roadmaps.