Power Systems Engineer, Hardware in Loop New San Francisco, California, United States

Redwood Materials Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Redwood Materials is seeking a Power Systems Engineer (Hardware-in-Loop) to design and validate real-time power system models for BESS and grid-connected applications.

The role focuses on CHIL test platforms, control strategies, and integration with hardware and software for grid stability and microgrid performance. On-site, full-time, with advanced HIL testing capabilities.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years of experience as a power systems engineer, with hands-on RTDS/RSCAD, HIL/CHIL testing, or real-time power system simulation.
• MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Power Systems, Controls.
• Proven experience developing and supporting integrated hardware and software test environments, including troubleshooting.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and validate power system and inverter control strategies using RTDS/RSCAD to meet project-specific grid requirements.
• Develop and maintain CHIL test platforms integrating RTDS with inverter controllers, site controllers, protection relays, metering, and communication interfaces; create test plans, automate tests, analyze results, and document findings.
• Build and validate real-time power system models of BESS, PV, inverters, transformers, generators, loads, and balance-of-plant equipment for grid-connected and islanded applications.
• Perform dynamic and transient studies to evaluate system stability, black start, load pickup, inverter interactions, fault response, and protection performance.
• Identify and resolve control, modeling, communication, and HIL integration issues using first-principles analysis and troubleshooting.
• Support validation and benchmarking of PSCAD, PSS/E, and other offline models against RTDS/CHIL results and field performance.
• Develop and expand in-house RTDS laboratory capabilities, including model integration, I/O scaling, test automation, and validation procedures.

Skills

RTDS/RSCAD

HIL/CHIL testing

real-time power system simulation

Python

C

C++

PSCAD

MATLAB/Simulink

control theory

electrical engineering fundamentals

Education

MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Power Systems, Controls

Tools

OPAL-RT

Typhoon HIL

Job description

Power Systems Engineer, Hardware in Loop

About Redwood Materials

Redwood Materials was founded in 2017 by JB Straubel, co-founder and former CTO of Tesla, on a simple but radical idea: the critical minerals powering the energy transition already exist. They just need to come back. Today Redwood is the largest lithium-ion battery recycler in North America — recovering, refining, and redeploying critical minerals from end-of-life batteries back into the supply chain. On the energy side, Redwood has deployed the largest second-life battery project in the world, delivering power to AI data centers in months rather than years using proprietary energy architecture engineered entirely in-house. The company is profitable, the market it operates in is projected to grow 20 to 50 times over the next decade, and Redwood is the only company with the supply chain, the technology, and the operational scale to lead it.

Position Summary:

Redwood is localizing a global battery supply chain that seamlessly integrates recovery, reuse, and recycling — keeping critical minerals in circulation and driving the energy transition. We're delivering low-cost and large-scale energy storage and producing battery materials in the U.S. for the first time, all from batteries we already have. The Power Systems Engineer, Hardware in the Loop will develop and validate BESS and inverter models using RTDS/RSCAD and CHIL platforms for grid-connected and off-grid applications, perform dynamic and transient testing, and support control validation, system integration, and project-specific performance requirements. This is a 100% on-site role. The role works closely with the energy storage team to develop accurate system models and design recommendations grounded in industry codes and standards.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and validate power system and inverter control strategies using RTDS/RSCAD to meet project-specific grid requirements, including grid-forming and grid-following operation, ride-through, droop control, and microgrid performance.


• Develop and maintain Controller Hardware-in-the-Loop (CHIL) test platforms integrating RTDS with inverter controllers, site controllers, protection relays, metering, and communication interfaces; create test plans, automate test execution, analyze results, and maintain clear technical documentation.


• Build and validate real-time power system models of BESS, PV, inverters, transformers, generators, loads, and balance-of-plant equipment for both grid-connected and islanded applications.


• Perform dynamic and transient studies to evaluate system stability, black start, load pickup, inverter interactions, fault response, protection performance, and transitions between operating modes.


• Identify and resolve control, modeling, communication, and hardware-in-the-loop integration issues using first-principles power system analysis, simulation results, and structured troubleshooting.


• Support validation and benchmarking of PSCAD, PSS/E, and other offline simulation models against RTDS/CHIL results and field performance where applicable.


• Develop and expand in-house RTDS laboratory capabilities, including model integration, I/O scaling, communication interfaces, test automation, equipment selection, and standardized validation procedures.

Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

• 3-5 years of experience as a power systems engineer, with hands-on experience in RTDS/RSCAD, HIL/CHIL testing, or real-time power system simulation.


• MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Power Systems, Controls, or a closely related discipline.


• Proven experience developing and supporting integrated hardware and software test environments, including hands-on troubleshooting and debugging.


• Ability to develop test automation, scripts, or control functions using Python, C, C++, or a similar programming language.


• Strong experience with engineering simulation tools such as PSCAD, MATLAB/Simulink, or comparable platforms.


• Solid understanding of electrical engineering fundamentals, circuit behavior, and control theory.


• Practical experience with communication networks, laboratory measurement equipment, and real-time simulation platforms such as RTDS, OPAL-RT, Typhoon HIL,

The position is full-time. Compensation will be commensurate with experience.