Position Description
The Senior Electrical Engineer, reporting to the Senior Director of Engineering, provides enterprise-level electrical engineering expertise across Origis Energy's utility-scale solar and energy storage portfolio. This role is responsible for electrical system engineering, including inverter-based resources, with accountability for inverter application, performance, and lifecycle support as an integral part of overall plant electrical design and operation.
The Senior Electrical Engineer plays a critical role in setting technical direction, maintaining standards, managing technical risk, and supporting project execution from early development through construction, commissioning, and long-term operations. This position is a regular, full-time role based in our Austin, TX office, and is eligible for Origis Energy's comprehensive employee benefits package.
Key Responsibilities
Specifications and Standards
- Serve as Origis Energy's electrical engineering technical authority, with primary ownership of inverter-related standards and specifications and broader oversight of electrical system design criteria.
- Coordinate with internal engineering teams to develop, maintain, and continuously improve electrical and inverter technical specifications, design standards, and guidelines.
- Support compliance with applicable reliability and grid requirements, including NERC reliability standards as applicable to inverter-based resources and plant electrical systems.
Supply Chain & AVL
- Collaborate with Supply Chain to establish, maintain, and technically qualify Approved Vendor Lists (AVL) for inverters and key electrical equipment.
- Support technical evaluations of electrical equipment vendors and emerging technologies.
OEM & External Relationships
- Establish and maintain strong working relationships with inverter OEM sales, engineering, service, and warranty teams.
- Represent Origis Energy in technical discussions with EPCs, OEMs, utilities, consultants, and independent engineers.
Technology & Engineering
- Act as the primary subject matter expert for inverter technology, power electronics, and inverter-based resource behavior for PV and BESS plants.
- Provide technical leadership on inverter-based resource capabilities related to reactive power, voltage regulation, frequency response, and grid-support performance in accordance with utility, interconnection, and reliability requirements.
- Evaluate inverter technologies, control modes, and electrical system configurations for applicability, performance, and risk across the portfolio.
- Provide technical review and guidance on electrical system designs including single-line diagrams, DC string and collection systems, inverter integration, MV and LV collection systems, grounding, transformers, and overall plant electrical architecture.
Construction and Commissioning
- Support construction teams by advising on inverter installation, commissioning plans, testing procedures, and acceptance criteria.
- Review commissioning results and support resolution of inverter and electrical system issues during startup.
Operations and Performance
- Work closely with Operations, Asset Management, EPCs, and OEMs to troubleshoot and resolve inverter and electrical system issues.
- Support root-cause analyses for inverter and electrical system failures or underperformance.
Training and Knowledge Sharing
- Collaborate with internal teams to develop and deliver inverter and electrical system training for engineering, construction, and operations personnel.
- Share lessons learned and best practices across the organization.
Preferred Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or related field (master's degree preferred).
- 5+ years of experience in utility-scale solar PV and/or BESS projects, with strong expertise in inverter-based systems.
- Deep understanding of inverter technology, power electronics, and utility-scale electrical systems.
- Experience supporting projects across development, engineering, construction, and operations.
- Familiarity with applicable electrical codes, standards, and utility requirements (e.g., NEC, IEEE, UL).
- Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to clearly communicate complex technical topics to a wide range of stakeholders.
- Relevant certifications (e.g., NABCEP, manufacturer-specific) are a plus.
Key Attributes for Success
- Detail-oriented, highly organized.
- Proactive and strategic thinker.
- Supplier management.
- Creativity in problem solving.
- Ability to multi-task and manage timelines and budgets.
- Effective collaboration across multiple functional teams.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills.
- Continuous improvement mindset.
Location Austin, TX | Hybrid (Tues-Thurs onsite; Mon/Fri remote)
Travel Up to 25% travel required as necessary
Job Level Engineer - no direct reports