Engineer III-V, Energy Management Systems

Grant PUD; Ephrata (WA); Hybrid; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Grant PUD in Ephrata, WA, is seeking an Engineer III-V for Energy Management Systems. The role includes overseeing the design, implementation, and maintenance of critical systems supporting the Bulk Electric System, including EMS and SCADA. Ideal candidates have a Bachelor's degree in Engineering and relevant work experience.

Key responsibilities include collaborating with teams for operational reliability, supporting regulatory compliance, and providing technical leadership. The position offers a hybrid work environment allowing some flexibility in work location.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in maintaining applications providing 24×7 support for critical operations.
• Ability to interpret, adapt, and apply written guidelines to varied situations.
• Experience with troubleshooting and operational data management.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain systems for Grant PUD’s Bulk Electric System.
• Collaborate with internal departments and external partners for operational reliability.
• Support NERC compliance and regulatory initiatives related to operational technology.

Skills

Knowledge of NERC standards and regulations

Knowledge of electrical engineering industry standards and best practices

Problem‑solving and critical thinking skills

Proficiency in MS Office and specialized software

Strong written and oral communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Technology, or MIS

Job description

Engineer III-V, Energy Management Systems

Job Category: Engineering

Requisition Number: ENGIN002584

Full-Time

Hybrid

Locations

Showing 1 location

Ephrata Headquarters
30 C St SW
Ephrata, WA 98823, USA

Closing Date to Apply: This position is open until filled. Applications will be reviewed as they are received. The position may close at any time once a sufficient pool of qualified candidates has been established.

Grant PUD posts the full salary range for each position. The midpoint is provided as a reference point and is not a guaranteed starting pay. Starting pay is based on job-related factors such as qualifications, experience, skills, internal alignment, and organizational needs. Most new hires are typically placed between the minimum and midpoint of the range.

Benefits: This link below will provide you with Grant PUD’s benefit that may be available if hired, different employee types are eligible for different benefits.

Grant County PUD will administer a background check as part of the hiring process, if selected for this position.

Applicants meeting minimum qualifications may be further evaluated based on preferred qualifications and job-related criteria. Only the most qualified candidates will be referred for further consideration.

The District may use the applicant pool and results from this recruitment to fill additional vacancies in the same classification for up to six (6) months following the recruitment closing date, consistent with District policy and applicable law.

Position Summary

The EMS Engineer is responsible for the design, implementation, support, maintenance, security, and continuous improvement of systems supporting Grant County PUD’s Bulk Electric System (BES), including EMS, SCADA, EAS, AGC, ICCP, historian, and related control system infrastructure. Depending on experience and level, this role performs and leads activities involving system configuration, troubleshooting, integration, optimization, lifecycle management, and modernization of operational technology environments including servers, networks, firewalls, virtualization platforms, databases, storage, and communications systems.

This position supports reliable and secure utility operations through system monitoring, modeling, operational data management, custom applications, and advanced troubleshooting of complex operational and communication issues. Responsibilities include supporting and leading NERC compliance initiatives, system hardening, documentation, audit support, and operational risk management to maintain regulatory compliance and system resiliency.

The EMS Engineer collaborates with internal departments, vendors, regional utilities, and external partners to support operational reliability, data integrity, and continuous improvement efforts across the control systems environment. Depending on level, the role may provide technical leadership, mentor team members, lead projects and strategic initiatives, establish engineering standards and best practices, and contribute to long-term planning and modernization efforts that enhance operational performance, security, and situational awareness across the BES environment.

Essential Functions

Essential functions may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Maintain NERC CIP access and meet eligibility criteria per Grant PUD Personnel Risk Assessment Procedure.
• Support onboarding, mentoring, and training for less experienced team members.
• Create and maintain comprehensive documentation, including troubleshooting guides, standard operating procedures, and best practices.
• Support procurement and contract management processes to obtain hardware, software, and contract labor support; facilitate vendor support and onboarding of contractors.
• Collect, store, and report data required for regulatory compliance; complete CIP and other compliance reporting, document system failovers, generate change control documentation, assist with patch management, upgrade firmware, test configuration changes for security risks, and run SQL queries.
• Review engineering drawings to verify compliance with current system capabilities.
• Represent Grant PUD in Inter-Control Center Communication Protocol (ICCP) activities; support and administer changes with other utilities and model configuration effects.
• Support custom interfaces with the energy accounting system.
• Demonstrate commitment to Grant PUD’s mission, vision, values, and strategic plan.
• Actively participate in all aspects of the safety program, including reporting incidents or close calls within 24 hours.
• Maintain, configure, and repair the Energy Management and Data Historian systems and user interfaces used by operations; update system layouts, visualizations, and fields to provide clear, consistent information.
• Rebuild substation configurations, model EMS changes, and verify requirements within established standards; update screens with new components and validate changes with control vendors.
• Learning and troubleshooting Automatic Generation Control (AGC) configurations.
• Coordinate with other team members to diagnose and resolve communications and data issues, including capturing and analyzing network traffic.
• Cross-train in other focus areas such as GMS, EAS, and Cyber‑Infrastructure.
• Lead procurement and contract management processes for hardware, software, and contract labor support.
• Lead onboarding, mentoring, and training for less experienced team members.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Technology, MIS, or two (2) additional years of relevant experience in lieu of a degree.
• Years of experience maintaining applications providing 24×7 support of critical operations.
  • Engineer III: 3+ years
  • Engineer IV: 6+ years
  • Engineer V: 10+ years

Preferred Qualifications

• Washington State Engineering in Training
• Experience in electric utility operations, preferably supporting real‑time control systems (e.g., EMS/SCADA)
• Professional Engineer
• Supervisory or team lead experience

Other Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Knowledge of NERC standards and regulations
• Knowledge of electrical engineering industry standards and best practices
• Knowledge of data processing and ability to review program specifications, design programs, and write or modify software code
• Knowledge of common application development patterns and software engineering best practices
• Problem‑solving and critical thinking skills
• Ability to interpret, adapt, and apply written guidelines to varied situations
• Strong written and oral communication; workflow and time management skills
• Proficiency in MS Office and specialized software, tools, and applications

Physical Requirements

• Position may be eligible for partial hybrid work arrangement.
• Majority of work performed in a standard office setting.
• Field work that may require operation of a vehicle.
• Typical shift: 8 hours, 9 hours, 10 hours, or 12 hours.

Equal Opportunity Employer

This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.