Expert, Grid Innovation Engineer - Reliability, Strategy, and Partnerships

Requisition ID #172357 | Hybrid work model: report to Oakland General Office 2–3 days per week.

About the role

Leads PG&E’s enterprise reliability and resilience strategy, setting the technical vision and direction for reliability engineering across the organization. Serves as a recognized industry leader, driving standards development through active engagement with IEEE, IEC, FERC/NERC, and key utility associations. Represents the company in technical committees and external forums, influencing industry best practices while advising leadership on reliability performance, risks, and long-term strategy.

Responsibilities

• Assist customers in assessing the viability of distributed technology and/or resource interconnection projects.
• Collaborate with other utilities, manufacturers, engineering, IT, and standards departments on advancing new distributed energy resources applications, such as smart inverters, and reducing interconnection costs.
• Understand the various data streams that are needed to model grid impacts.
• Meet with stakeholders to better understand their issues and inform them of the potential grid impacts.
• Explore, innovate, and demonstrate technologies that facilitate easier grid integration.
• Identify conditions when distributed energy resources (DER) may provide more benefits to the customers and the grid.
• Assess potential DER risks at higher penetration levels and communicate to upper management.
• Represent PG&E as its technical expert, integrating distributed resources and technologies onto the electric grid in regulatory proceedings and industry working groups.
• Identify, develop, and implement new standards and guidelines, in collaboration with the Distribution Standards Department, to facilitate DER integration while minimizing potential grid impacts.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in engineering or equivalent experience.
• Experience with grid modeling software (e.g., CYMDIST, PSLF, Aspen, etc.).
• 7 years of electric utility-related experience.

Qualifications (Desired)

• Electrical Engineering Degree with Power Systems emphasis.
• Master of Science in Engineering, preferably Electrical Engineering.
• Licensed Engineer in the State of California.
• Experience with data processing tools such as Excel, Access, SQL, etc.
• Protection System Engineering experience.
• Experience in Transmission or Distribution System Planning.
• Experience in Transmission or Distribution Operations.

Skills

• Competency in planning and prioritizing work to meet commitments aligned with organizational goals.
• Competency in using compelling arguments to gain support and commitment of others.
• Competency to work cohesively in fast-paced team environments.
• Competency in making good and timely decisions that keep the organization moving forward.
• Competency in effectively building formal and informal relationship networks inside and outside the organization.
• Knowledge of relevant federal, state, and local regulations and laws as needed to perform at the job level.
• Knowledge of the technical impact of distributed generation to grid operations.

Pay

Bay Area salary range: $140,000 – $238,000. Actual salary will be based on skills, experience, market value, geographic location, collective bargaining agreements, and internal equity. Eligible for PG&E’s discretionary incentive compensation programs.