Control Room Operator

EthosEnergy; Houston (TX); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision benefits

401(k) with company match

Paid time off and holidays

Employee referral bonus

Career development programs

Job summary

EthosEnergy is seeking a Generation/Plant Engineer for its Performance Center in Houston to monitor, diagnose, and optimize electrical power facilities remotely. The role involves handling alerts from APR and thermal performance models, interfacing with plant staff and SMEs, and leading troubleshooting across a range of plant types and operating scenarios.

Candidates should possess strong knowledge of power plant performance, experience with DCS/SCADA, and the ability to work independently on

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of power plant performance and operability.
• Ability to recognize off-normal conditions and trends in critical parameters.
• Excellent verbal and written communication to interface with customers and SMEs.

Responsibilities

• Remote Monitoring of plant equipment and alerts.
• Establish protocols for communication between plant staff and center staff.
• Work a rotating shift including nights, weekends and holidays.
• Develop and use APR/thermal models to detect changes in equipment behavior.
• Monitor critical components and prioritize alarms, providing optimization recommendations.
• Interface with SMEs to assess anomalies and mitigate risks.
• Communicate anomalies to operations and engineering teams; ensure resolution tracking.
• Support deployment of APR and thermal performance tools across generation fleet.

Skills

Power plant performance

Off-normal condition detection

Interpersonal communication

Rotating equipment knowledge

Condition Based Maintenance

Technical report writing

MS Office proficiency

Independent work

Education

High School Diploma

Bachelor of Science in Engineering (desirable)

Associates degree (technical)

Tools

MS Outlook

Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

This position will function as part of EthosEnergy’s Performance Center, a 24x7 operation, which provides remote monitoring and operational support to power generation, renewable energy, and battery storage facilities using advanced pattern recognition (APR) and thermal modeling software to help improve customer outcomes. Responsible for providing advanced condition monitoring and data analyses of critical plant systems and components, then interfacing with plant personnel and internal subject matter experts to diagnose and develop actions for plant and equipment-related problems. Will have day-to-day responsibility for monitoring and interpreting the alerts produced by software models and tools. Provide the first line of communication with the plant staff when a confirmed anomaly is detected by the center.

The role will also operate select power plants throughout a variety of operational scenarios from cold plant startup to emergency operations during plant upsets. This aspect of the position will require excellent troubleshooting, diagnosis and decision making and leadership skills. This position will require working experience with the use of Distributive Control System (DCS) or SCADA computers to operate plant equipment and for monitoring of equipment to measure, record and make adjustments within operating parameters. Will also include dispatching remote personnel as needs arise which require site presence. The position will assist in the development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and provide input to plant improvement items to improve plant efficiency, reliability, regulatory compliance, and safety. Incumbent should have a good working knowledge of PC computers using Microsoft Office products. Ensures compliance with all local, State and Federal regulations and plant procedures.

Job Responsibilities

• Remote Monitoring
• Establish protocols for communication between plant staff and center staff.
• Willingness to work rotating shift which includes nights, weekends and holiday coverage.
• Develop, maintain, and use advanced pattern recognition (APR) software models and plant operational data to detect changes in the operating behavior of plant equipment and systems.
• Perform daily monitoring of site critical components that have installed models actively collecting data using advanced analytics software. Respond, evaluate, and prioritize alarms for potential equipment related issues and interact with station personnel and provide recommendations to optimize plant equipment and systems.
• Support and interface with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to assess equipment anomalies.
• Communicate equipment anomalies to plant operations and engineering personnel and plant technical analysts.
• Identify and classify associated risks to the plant, provide recommendations to mitigate risks, and follow up to ensure resolutions are tracked through to completion.
• Monitor equipment performance and predict component health, alerting corporate SME’s and station personnel of anomalies within those trends which could adversely affect the reliability, availability, maintainability and performance of equipment.
• Support the implementation of thermal performance software models for the generation fleet.
• Work with power plant staff to troubleshoot and resolve operational problems identified by the thermal performance software models.
• Master all aspects of the monitoring and diagnostic center software tools including, but not limited to, APR and thermal performance monitoring.
• Update, retrain, and evaluate the adequacy of existing APR and thermal performance software models.
• Capture and quantify customer benefits to express to ensure delivered value.
• Safety: Maintain safety awareness and comply with all safety policies, practices, and procedures to assure a safe working environment. Remote Operations
• Operate commercial power generation, renewable energy and battery storage facilities remotely.
• Regularly makes decisions on non-routine or escalated technical issues.
• Ability to use multiple data sources such as SCADA, plant controls, and data historians to troubleshoot problems with sites and site equipment
• Independently prioritizes and executes responsibilities effectively for a single trade, group of related tasks or functional area.
• Checks own work and possibly the work of others; work results are of the highest quality standards and advanced technical competency.
• Resolving the most complex technical issues, conferring with leadership occasionally; may serve as resource to others in resolution of complex issues.
• Works under limited supervision. Results oriented self-starter that can work independently
• Prioritizes schedule and may guide others in the completion of tasks within clearly defined schedules as set by management.
• Regularly provides on-the-job skills training to others in complex technical areas.
• Deep understanding of electrical theory
• Experience in organizing and managing multiple projects.
• Proven ability to plan and ability to discern problems that need immediate attention versus those that allow more time to resolve.
• Proved ability to adapt to changing priorities.
• Awareness of and compliance with NERC/CIP requirements applicable to facility and remote operations.
• Must be able to make timely decisions, apply seasoned judgment, and display personal responsibility.
• Display unquestionable trust, superior performance, and total commitment.
• Be a team player - able to quickly build good working relationships

Required Skills / Knowledge

• Good understanding of power plant performance (thermal, physical, operational, and environmental) including factors that impact performance.
• Able to recognize off normal conditions and trends in critical equipment parameters.
• Superior interpersonal and communication skills necessary to develop relationships with the customer, other Plant Support personnel, and Plant Operations personnel which promote an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect.
• Strong working knowledge of rotating components such as pumps, motors, steam turbines, gas turbines, generators and field instrumentation.
• Familiarity with Condition Based Maintenance programs and technology applications
• Effective English communication and technical report writing skills are required.
• Must be proficient with various software programs and systems (e.g., MS Outlook , Word, Excel, PowerPoint) as well as database use.
• Must be able to work independently with little supervision, perform in a team environment, as well as effectively communicate with others

Experience

• Candidate needs to have six (6) to ten (10) years' experience in drum type, supercritical, and/or CCGT fossil fueled power plants as a Generation/Plant Engineer, Lead Operator, Maintenance Technician or Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) Specialist. Experience and knowledge in all aspects of power plant systems and operations.

Education Requirements

• High School Diploma, Desired-Bachelor of Science in Engineering, or an equivalent combination of experience and/or education. Associates degree of Applied Science from technical/vocational school, military service or equivalent. Desired Qualifications
• Experience in developing, implementing and operating performance monitoring programs is highly desired.
• Experience with Advanced Pattern Recognition and/or diagnostic tools.
• GE, Siemens or other OEM combustion turbine and steam turbine engineering or operating experience.
• Experience with power plant controls and control logic.
• Experience with vibration analysis of rotating equipment.
• Experience with lubrication analysis of rotating equipment.
• Analytical skills to provide decision making support to the plants regarding suggested improvements in equipment and unit operations and for identification of instrumentation issues.
• Working knowledge of Advanced Pattern Recognition (APR) and thermal performance software or other reliability or condition based predictive diagnosis software applications.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to do walking, reaching, climbing, and stooping and lifting (up to 50 pounds).
• Comfortable working rotating shift schedule

What We Offer

• Supportive company culture that values its employees
• Comprehensive Medical, Dental, Vision & 401 K Plan
• Paid Parental Leave, Time Off & Holidays
• Extra money in your paycheck - Employee Referral Bonus
• Personal Development & Career Succession Planning
• Company sponsored Perks & Discount programs

EthosEnergy is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, citizenship, marital status, sex/gender, sexual preference/ orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, national origin, or any other status protected by law or regulation.