Senior Power Controls & Grid Planning Engineer

Sargent & Lundy Consulting (SLC) works on behalf of clients to support electric power projects. The role involves overseeing the integration of various power generation technologies and ensuring stable and compliant operations for large, isolated power systems.

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)
• Require strong cross-disciplinary leadership, risk identification capability, and the ability to translate complex control interactions into clear recommendations for owner and lender stakeholders
• Include engineering design reviews, technical due diligence, project development support, and conceptual design

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering
• 10+ 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
• Overseeing engineers who program or script (e.g., Python, MATLAB, advanced Excel) to automate engineering tasks, with review of automated outputs, is valued but not required
• Additional learning, such as a minor, certificate, or other experience in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Software Engineering, or related fields that enables effective oversight of automation and agentic AI-enabled engineering workflows