Senior Power Controls & Grid Planning Engineer

Sargent & Lundy Consulting (SLC) supports electric power projects by evaluating and optimizing technical, commercial, environmental, and financial aspects for various clients. The Senior Power Controls & Grid Planning Engineer will oversee the integration of equipment in isolated power systems, ensuring stable and compliant operations while providing technical oversight and support for project development.

Responsibilities:

• Help work on large, isolated power systems integrating equipment such as gas turbines, BESS, reciprocating engines, and other generating technologies with large dynamic electrical loads
• Support Owner’s Engineer and design teams on large, isolated power systems integrating equipment such as gas turbines, reciprocating engines, BESS, Solar PV, with large dynamic loads
• Provide independent technical oversight of plant control philosophies, ensuring that OEM, EPC, and system integrator designs collectively deliver stable, resilient, and compliant operation under steady-state, transient, and islanded conditions
• Review and challenge dynamic studies, control narratives, plant controller strategies, and protection philosophies without directly performing detailed PSS®E or PSCAD modeling
• Validate integration between GT controls, BESS EMS/PPC systems, SCADA, and overall coordination strategies (frequency response, voltage control, inertia management, black start, load rejection, and large motor/data center step loads)
• Demonstrate strong cross-disciplinary leadership, risk identification capability, and the ability to translate complex control interactions into clear recommendations for owner and lender stakeholders
• Conduct engineering design reviews, technical due diligence, project development support, and conceptual design

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering
• 12+ years' experience in power generation controls, grid integration, or utility-scale plant systems
• Demonstrated experience with islanded or isolated grids
• Strong understanding of dynamic performance studies (transient stability, EMT, frequency response), even if not the primary modeler
• Familiarity with gas turbine control systems (e.g., Mark VIe or equivalent) and BESS plant/energy management systems, power plant controllers
• Experience reviewing EPC deliverables, grid code compliance documentation, and performance guarantees
• Knowledge of protection coordination and system-level control architecture
• Strong communication skills for engagement with developers, OEMs, lenders, and regulatory bodies
• Experience in development support and conceptual design of thermal power projects: Simple cycle gas turbines, Combined cycle projects, Coal fired generation, or Reciprocating engines (RICE)
• Master's degree in electrical engineering is a plus
• Experience in technical due diligence and owner's engineering design reviews of thermal power projects is a plus
• General understanding of power station operations and performance reviews is a plus
• General understanding of process design at electric power generation facilities is a plus
• Contract development experience is a plus
• Reliability modeling experience is a plus