ABOUT AVANTUS
Avantus develops, owns and operates utility-scale clean energy projects across California and the Desert Southwest. Our development pipeline of solar with integrated storage will generate enough dispatchable power to serve more than 10 million Americans, day and night. Backed by strategic investment from KKR and EIG, and building on more than a decade of industry leadership, Avantus is growing its position as an independent power producer, delivering affordable, reliable clean energy solutions to meet America’s growing energy demand.
ABOUT THE POSITION
We are seeking a highly motivative and organized candidate for the Principal Engineer, HV Engineering. The successful candidate will demonstrate sound industry knowledge, superior communications, and detail-oriented organizational skills. This role reports to our Vice President, Design & Cost Engineering.
The Senior or Principal Engineer, HV Engineering serves as the technical authority for high-voltage infrastructure supporting utility-scale solar, energy storage, and hybrid energy projects. This role provides technical leadership for substations, switchyards, generation tie lines, interconnection facilities, owner-furnished high-voltage equipment, telecommunications systems, utility coordination, and project execution activities from early development through construction, commissioning, and operations.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Provide technical leadership for high-voltage engineering activities, including design basis development, shared infrastructure strategies, and review and approval of engineering deliverables through all project phases for facilities up to 500kV.
- Establish and maintain design standards and long-term infrastructure strategies for shared high-voltage facilities supporting multi-phase developments.
- Act as the Owner's technical representative and primary technical interface with utilities, EPC contractors, engineering consultants, Owner's Engineers, equipment vendors, and internal stakeholders.
- Support utility interconnection requirements, RFIs, technical reviews, power system studies, and utility approvals throughout the project lifecycle.
- Lead routing, siting, and design activities for transmission lines, generation tie lines, and interconnection facilities.
- Manage and coordinate Owner's Engineers, engineering firms, specialty consultants, and design contractors.
- Provide technical oversight of owner-furnished HV equipment including transformers, breakers, reactors, protection and control systems.
- Support telecommunications, SCADA, protection, control, and communications architecture coordination.
- Support HV estimating, cost engineering, value engineering, and cost optimization initiatives.
- Review project schedules, engineering deliverables, procurement strategies, equipment delivery plans, and execution plans.
- Identify and mitigate technical, schedule, procurement, cost, constructability, utility, execution, and operational risks.
- Drive collaboration across Optimization, Development, Land, Permitting, Legal, Procurement, Construction, Asset Management, Operations Technology, EPC contractors, utilities, and consultants.
REQUIRED SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related engineering discipline.
- 10+ years of experience in HV engineering, substations, transmission systems, or utility-scale renewable energy projects.
- Extensive experience with substations, switchyards, transmission lines, generation tie lines, and utility interconnections up to 500kV.
- Experience supporting utility-scale solar, BESS, hybrid energy, or large-scale power infrastructure projects.
- Experience managing owner-furnished HV equipment including transformers, breakers, reactors, and protection systems.
- Demonstrated experience managing multiple engineering firms, Owner's Engineers, EPC contractors, utilities, equipment vendors, and technical stakeholders.
- Strong knowledge of IEEE, NESC, NFPA, IEC, utility standards, and interconnection requirements.
- Strong project management, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
NICE TO HAVES
- Professional Engineer (PE) license.
- Advanced degree
- Experience with CAISO, PG&E, SCE, NV Energy, or other utility interconnection processes.
- Experience supporting telecom, SCADA, protection and controls.
- Experience supporting construction, commissioning, and energization activities.
#LI-Hybrid
Avantus offers competitive compensation with an excellent benefits package, including 401(k) matching; comprehensive medical and dental plan options; and flexible PTO. We are an equal-opportunity employer.
The base salary range for this full-time position is listed below (plus bonus and benefits). Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position in California. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the applicable location during the hiring process. Please note that the compensation details listed reflect the base salary only, and do not include bonus and benefits.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related engineering discipline
- 10+ years of experience in HV engineering, substations, transmission systems, or utility-scale renewable energy projects
- Extensive experience with substations, switchyards, transmission lines, generation tie lines, and utility interconnections up to 500kV
- Experience supporting utility-scale solar, BESS, hybrid energy, or large-scale power infrastructure projects
- Experience managing owner-furnished HV equipment, including transformers, breakers, reactors, and protection systems
- Experience managing multiple engineering firms, Owner's Engineers, EPC contractors, utilities, equipment vendors, and technical stakeholders
- Strong knowledge of IEEE, NESC, NFPA, IEC, utility standards, and interconnection requirements
- Strong project management, communication, and stakeholder management skills
- Professional Engineer license
- Advanced degree
- Experience with CAISO, PG&E, SCE, NV Energy, or other utility interconnection processes
- Experience supporting telecommunications, SCADA, protection, and controls
- Experience supporting construction, commissioning, and energization activities
What We Do
Our legacy of leadership in next generation solar energy includes developing the nation’s largest solar cluster and the first plant to beat fossil fuel prices. Today, we are expanding the boundaries of existing technologies to build one of the largest portfolios of smart power plants with integrated storage, capable of providing 30 million people with low-cost, zero-emission energy – day and night. At Avantus, we have the scale, track record and expertise to transform our country’s energy generation to be as networked and responsive as the digital tools driving the rest of the world. Our data-driven, integrated approach to innovation propels us to continuously achieve new milestones in the renewable energy industry, delivering superior proprietary technologies and design optimization tools to lower the cost of energy for our customers. Through our industry-defining innovations and relentless pursuit of better, we are decarbonizing our planet at the gigaton level, and bringing the advantages of clean energy to all of us.
Why Work With Us
At Avantus, we know fighting climate change is too big for anyone to do alone. That’s why we bring the brightest, most ambitious minds together in one concerted effort to leave the world better than we found it. We’re dedicated to relentlessly pursuing better by investing in our team’s next great ideas and continuously learning from each other.
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