Manager Distribution Operations Engineering

Portland General Electric; United States; On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Portland General Electric seeks a senior leader to manage the Distribution Operations Engineering organization, providing strategic and technical direction for engineering programs that keep the electric distribution system safe, reliable, and resilient across the Portland area.

This is a high-impact role reporting to the Standards, System Health & Maintenance organization and guiding engineers supporting control centers, field operations, and outage response.

Qualifications

• Education: Requires a bachelor’s degree in engineering. ABET-accredited engineering program or equivalent preferred.
• Experience: Prefer eight or more years in engineering.
• Certifications: PE license strongly preferred; NERC Reliability Coordinator Certification may be required.

Responsibilities

• Operations Engineering Management: Manages a team of operations engineering professionals in one or more distribution operations, transmission operations, or power quality subfunctions.
• Distribution Operations Management: Recommends improvements for design and construction of distribution facilities and technology.
• Financial Management: Monitors and manages expenditures and budgets.
• Resourcing: Oversees staffing decisions and planning for the team.
• Professional Development: Provides coaching, mentoring, and performance reviews.

Skills

Power systems

Engineering leadership

Outage restoration

System planning

ADMS knowledge

Stakeholder management

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Tools

ETAP

PSSE

GIS

SCADA

Outage management software

Job description

At PGE, our work involves dreaming about, planning for, and realizing a smarter, cleaner, more enduring Oregon neighborhood. Its core to our DNA and we haven’t stopped since we started in 1888. We energize lives, strengthen communities and drive advancements in energy that promote social, economic and environmental progress. We’re always on the lookout for people passionate about leading and being a part of teams that are advancing innovative clean energy solutions that are also affordable and accessible to all.

Manager, Distribution Operations Engineering Job Summary:

This leadership position manages the Distribution Operations Engineering organization and is responsible for providing strategic and technical leadership for engineering programs that support the safe, reliable, resilient, and efficient operation of Portland General Electric's electric distribution system. Reporting within the Standards, System Health & Maintenance organization, this role leads a team of engineers responsible for power system analysis, scoping distribution reliability and resiliency improvements, supporting outage restoration, system planning, power quality, industrial customers, and continuous improvement of electric system operations. This position support engineers at our operations centers west of the West Hills of Portland south past Salem and can be based in Beaverton, Hillsboro, and possibly other operations centers in this region. As the leader of this critical engineering function, you will provide direction and oversight for engineering activities supporting control center operations, field operations, planned and emergent system work, distribution outage coordination, switching strategies, operational technology systems, and emergency response activities. The organization serves as a key technical resource for electric system operations by developing engineering solutions and operating strategies that maintain reliability, support customer service, reduce operational risk, and improve situational awareness across the power system. This role partners closely with the System Control Center, Power Delivery Operations, System Planning, Maintenance Engineering, Project Management Office, Customer Service, Local Government Affairs, Key Customer Managers, and external reliability organizations to ensure that operational decisions, grid technologies, engineering analyses, and operational obligations are effectively coordinated and executed. The position is accountable for advancing operational excellence through engineering analysis, outage readiness, system restoration planning, grid modernization initiatives, and reliability performance improvement programs. The role also develops technical capability across the organization, provides leadership during system emergencies and abnormal operating conditions, and serves as a key advocate for safety, reliability, resiliency, and operational excellence across PGE's electric system.

Key Areas of Accountability:

• Distribution Operations Engineering leadership and organizational performance
• Control center engineering support and operational decision support
• Power system analysis and support
• Grid reliability, resiliency, and risk management
• Outage restoration and emergency response engineering
• System operating plans and outage coordination
• Operational technology, ADMS, and control system support
• Power quality and specialized customer reliability technical support
• Grid modernization and advanced distribution management initiatives
• Distribution system modeling and analytics
• Reliability improvement and system hardening programs
• Financial management and resource planning
• Talent development, technical mentoring, and succession planning

Key Responsibilities:

1. Operations Engineering Management: Manages a team of operations engineering professionals in one or more of distribution operations, transmission operations, or power quality subfunctions responsible for coordinating with crews and other operations personnel to operate electric power distribution and transmission systems to meet power demands with adequate distribution of electricity. Performs system analyses and provides real-time engineering support to ensure reliable operation of transmission and distribution systems. Provides technical management for the team, ensuring that objectives are met and all relevant standards/procedures are followed; ensures that operational problems are identified and resolved; ensures that operational procedures and working practices are current and fit for the purpose.
2. Distribution Operations Management: Manages the Distribution Operations subfunction providing distribution engineering support for capital and maintenance activities. Recommends improvements associated with design and construction of overhead and underground distribution facilities, standards, operations, materials and new technology. Designs, operates and maintains facilities with emphasis on high reliability and quality of service. Supports field operations, customer account management, OPUC liaisons and key stakeholder groups.
3. Financial Management: Monitors and manages expenditures, ensuring that all financial targets are met, and examines any areas where budgets/expenditures vary from plan; assists with the definition and operation of effective financial controls and decision making.
4. Resourcing: Oversees resourcing decisions and planning for team; partners with HR in the definition of jobs, recruitment, evaluation and selection processes.
5. Professional Development: Reviews organizational development needs and training strategies to determine required learning and development outcomes for the team; provides guidance in the creation of development plans; monitors ongoing progress and provides coaching and mentoring and provides feedback; completes annual performance management reviews.

Education / Experience / Certifications:

• Education: Requires a bachelor’s degree in engineering. ABET-accredited engineering program or program accredited by an equivalent agency preferred.
• Experience: Prefer eight or more years in engineering.
• Certifications, Licenses and Training: Professional Engineering (PE) license strongly preferred; may be required based upon role. Must be able to obtain the NERC Reliability Coordinator Certification.

Competencies (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities):

Functional Competencies:

• Advanced knowledge of engineering and economic principles and concepts.
• Advanced knowledge of other engineering disciplines and advanced ability to interpret engineering deliverable content as assigned.
• Advanced understanding and application of engineering processes and procedures; working knowledge of other related departments and functions.
• Advanced industry knowledge and technology trends.
• Advanced knowledge of company QA/QC process and procedures.
• Intermediate knowledge of construction feasibility.
• Intermediate knowledge of procurement and contract administration.
• Advanced knowledge of process, procedures for project controls and estimates.
• Advanced knowledge of system protection design practices and application.
• Advanced knowledge of system protection design practices and application.
• Advanced knowledge of applicable codes and standards related to the design and operation of the electrical distribution system.
• Advanced skill designing overhead and underground distribution facilities including relevant civil and electrical subsystems.
• Advanced knowledge of real-time and off-line power flow and power system analysis software applications.
• Advanced knowledge of work management, asset management, GIS and outage management software applications.
• Advanced knowledge of distribution protection schemes and device coordination principles.

General Competencies:

• Advanced analytical thinking skills.
• Advanced decision-making skills.
• Advanced knowledge of the utility industry.
• Advanced organization and prioritization skills.
• Intermediate organization management skills.
• Intermediate resource management skills.
• Advanced risk management skills.
• Advanced written and oral communication skills.
• Advanced ability to manage stakeholders.

Leader Practices:

• Drives Results Plans and Aligns Decision Quality Drives Engagement Courage Physical

Physical and Cognitive Demands:

Cognitive Level – Substantial: Consistent use of logic or scientific thinking to define problems, collect information, establish facts and draw valid conclusions (for example, engineer, HR director, plant manager, etc.).

Cognitive – Ability to adhere to set response times, deadlines and time-sensitive tasks.

Cognitive – Ability to follow accuracy standards.

Cognitive – Ability to follow through on decision-making tasks.

Cognitive – Ability to interact effectively and collaboratively within a team environment.

Cognitive – Ability to communicate and problem solve when under stress.

Cognitive – Ability to respond and adapt to frequent change.

Cognitive – Ability to accept and demonstrate self-awareness when provided constructive feedback.

Cognitive – Ability to discern feedback and acknowledge ownership of areas of improvement.

Cognitive – Ability to avoid future mistakes by applying reasonable skills to new but similar work situations or tasks.

Cognitive – Ability to successfully collaborate with peers, managers and others within the organization.

Cognitive – Demonstrates sound memory.

Cognitive – Ability to process new information to be applied consistently to work tasks.

Schedule / Attendance: Ability to work long hours.

Schedule / Attendance: Ability to work a variable schedule.

Schedule / Attendance: Ability to report to work and perform work during periods of severe inclement weather.

Schedule / Attendance: Ability to consistently meet attendance standards for regular, reliable, predictable, full-time attendance.

Schedule / Attendance: Ability to work shift schedule.

Schedule / Attendance: Ability to work on-call schedule.

Physical Capabilities: Driving/travel/commute – Daily within service territory – Frequently (at least once a week or more).

Physical Capabilities: Driving/travel/commute – Overnight inside/outside the service territory – Occasionally (one to two times a month or less).

Physical Capabilities: Computer use (use computer regularly for entire work shift.

Physical Capabilities: Lifting/pushing/pulling – Up to 10 lbs.

Physical Capabilities: Carrying – Up to 10 lbs.

Environment – Indoor/Outdoor (check all that apply): Office Plant Field

Compensation:

Actual total compensation, including a performance based incentive bonus, is commensurate with experience, skills, qualifications, education, training, and internal equity. PGE believes in rewarding dedicated performance. We provide a total rewards package that is designed to reward your contributions to the company, and, at the same time, support your well-being and professional development, both now and into the future.

Benefits:

• We provide a total rewards package that is designed to reward your contributions to the company, and, at the same time, support your well-being and professional development, both now and into the future.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

PGE is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to fostering a workplace where employees feel connected, valued, and empowered to thrive. PGE will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment based on race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by law. PGE does not discriminate on the basis of disability. We recognize individuals have a variety of abilities to offer and we believe there is much to value and celebrate by incorporating different abilities into the work we do. One very important way we live this out is in our application and interview process. We work hard to support individuals who may need an accommodation to fully participate in these processes. If you feel you may need an accommodation, or would like to request one, please notify the Recruiter associated with the job posting. You may also make this request by contacting [e-mail] or by calling 503-464-7250. The Recruiter will provide information and next steps for the accommodation process.

Closing Date:

October 29, 2026

Company Culture:

At Portland General Electric, we’re innovators, builders, and achievers. We’re committed to powering our customers’ potential and making a difference for our community and the planet. Today, that commitment includes developing an intelligent and resilient electric grid, electrifying transportation and de-carbonizing the energy sector. We’re proud to deliver an exceptional experience to help our customers thrive. Our mission is to make clean, reliable and affordable energy services available to all. We obsess over serving customers and are committed to growing employee career paths with purpose.

Equity and inclusion are core business values; we celebrate our differences and are committed to developing teams that reflect the communities we serve.