Principal Engineer, Protection

TAR; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation bonus up to $15K

Unlimited PTO

Health, Dental, Vision insurance

Meal stipend $1K/month

Job summary

TAR builds fully islanded microgrids powering AI data centers in West Texas. As Principal Protection Engineer, you own the protection philosophy, studies, and relay settings across MV, LV, and DC, coordinating with the Engineer of Record and controllers to ensure safe operation of the plant.

You will define grounding and fault-detection schemes, coordinate with the EOR, and verify protection through commissioning. Relocation benefits and fast-paced, high-ownership culture are offered.

Qualifications

• BSEE or related STEM degree.
• 8+ years in protection and control for large power systems.
• Experience with ETAP, SKM, ASPEN, or CYME for studies.
• Fluency with microprocessor relays (SEL or similar) and setting files.
• Strong knowledge of IEEE C37, NEC/NESC, IEEE 1547; UL 1741-SB and NFPA 70E/855.
• Protection device coordination across DC, LV, and MV.
• Understanding inverter-based resource fault behavior.
• Attention to detail with speed and accuracy.

Responsibilities

• Own the protection philosophy for islanded microgrids and translate it into a coordinated protection scheme.
• Perform short-circuit, coordination, and arc-flash studies and issue relay setting files for MV, LV, and DC protection.
• Engineer protection for MV switchgear, BESS, PV blocks, and gas gensets.
• Define system grounding, bonding, and ground-fault detection across the plant.
• Produce the protection basis-of-design and coordinate the Engineer of Record reviews and stamps.
• Specify relays, CTs/PTs, and protection hardware; support OEM evaluation and procurement.
• Collaborate with the controls engineer to translate protection into settings, interlocks, and trip logic; validate via commissioning.
• Drive protection design to comply with IEEE C37, NEC, NESC, IEEE 1547, UL 1741-SB, NFPA 70E/855.

Skills

Protection strategy

Relay setting creation

Coordination of protection

IEEE C37 knowledge

Inverter-based protection

Attention to detail

Education

BSEE or related STEM

Tools

ETAP/SKM/ASPEN/CYME

SEL relays

Job description

Mission

TAR’s mission is to power intelligence for the world. We are building the world’s first off-grid power plant for data centers powered by renewable technologies.

We firmly believe AI should be built in the US for the benefit of all people. For that, power must be fast, clean and cheap. We are singularly focused on delivering GW-scale power faster than anyone has ever done, by rethinking every layer of the stack.

To deliver on this vision, TAR manufactures, deploys and operates off-grid energy assets with a renewable backbone. We vertically integrate to solve every bottleneck, from racking systems to power electronics to dispatch algorithms to on-site construction.

Leave your mark by powering the future of civilisation‑scale energy infrastructure.

We hire people who care deeply about this problem space. If that is you, please apply!

Company

We are a team of seasoned operators run by founders who previously scaled a company to over 80 people and $350M in annual sales. We know how to operate and we move fast.

We are working directly with one of the largest compute providers to make our vision come true and plan to deploy 5GWs by 2028.

TAR is both a hardware and software company, we are building out massive, critical, physical infrastructure.

• High ownership. High Agency. Own project end-to-end. Great people don’t need to be managed.
• Speed. We achieve great things on incredible timelines. We always push ourselves to go faster.
• First principles. No ego. No hierarchy. Challenge every assumption.
• Passion. Solving the energy problem is one of the largest challenges that faces the world now and in the future. We put in long hours and hard work to solve this.

About the role

TAR builds fully islanded, behind‑the‑meter microgrids (solar, BESS, and gas peakers) powering AI data centers in West Texas at record speed. As Principal Protection Engineer, you own the protection and control philosophy that keeps these plants safe and selective: relay coordination, protection settings, short‑circuit and arc‑flash studies, and grounding across MV, LV, and DC. You define how the plant detects, clears, and rides through faults on an inverter‑dominated island — where fault current is low and dynamic, and grid‑forming BESS, PV, and gas peakers all have to coordinate. You work day‑to‑day under the Director of Power Systems Engineering, setting the protection basis‑of‑design the rest of the electrical team designs to and the Engineer of Record (EOR) stamps against.

One scope note on what this role is and is not. We integrate utility‑scale equipment and run an external Engineer of Record as our engineering‑of‑record agent. You own the protection philosophy, the studies, the relay setting files, and protection design quality; you coordinate the EOR’s review and stamp; you are not the project’s stamping engineer of record. You define the protection scheme the controls engineer implements in logic; you are not writing the controls application code.

Responsibilities

• Own the protection and control philosophy for fully islanded, behind‑the‑meter microgrids (PV + BESS + gas peakers) and translate it into a coordinated, selective protection scheme.
• Perform short‑circuit, protective‑device coordination, and arc‑flash studies (ETAP / SKM / ASPEN / CYME) and issue relay setting files for MV, LV, and DC protection.
• Engineer protection for MV switchgear and collector, BESS, PV inverter blocks, and gas gensets, accounting for the low and inverter‑limited fault current of an IBR‑dominated island.
• Define system and equipment grounding, bonding, and ground‑fault detection across the plant.
• Produce the protection basis‑of‑design and the technical inputs the Engineer of Record requires, and coordinate the EOR’s review and stamp.
• Specify relays, CTs/PTs, and protection hardware; support OEM evaluation and PO with the protection inputs needed for selection.
• Partner with the controls engineer to translate the protection scheme into settings, interlocks, and trip logic, and validate it through commissioning.
• Drive protection design to compliance with IEEE C37, NEC, NESC, IEEE 1547, UL 1741‑SB, and NFPA 70E/855.

Qualifications

• BSEE, power systems, or related STEM discipline.
• 8+ years in protection and control / protective relaying for utility‑scale, industrial, or generation power systems, with end‑to‑end ownership of studies and relay settings.
• Deep hands‑on short‑circuit, coordination, and arc‑flash study experience in ETAP, SKM, ASPEN, or CYME.
• Fluency with microprocessor relays (SEL and similar) and authoring relay setting files.
• Strong command of IEEE C37 protection standards, NEC, NESC, and IEEE 1547; working knowledge of UL 1741‑SB and NFPA 70E/855.
• Protective device coordination across DC, LV, and MV (34.5 kV class).
• Working understanding of inverter‑based resource fault behavior and its impact on protection.
• Extreme attention to detail with a bias for speed and rapid iteration.

Nice to have

• Islanded, off‑grid, or BTM microgrid protection experience.
• Grid‑forming inverter protection and IBR‑dominated fault‑current schemes.
• Combined BESS + gas generation protection and interconnection.
• MV switchgear, MV collector, and substation‑adjacent protection (up to 500kV).
• ERCOT / Texas project experience.
• Commissioning and field validation of protection settings.
• High‑velocity, detail‑rigorous engineering culture (Tesla Energy, SpaceX, Array, Nextracker, or comparable).

Salary and Benefits

• Up to $15K relocation bonus
• Unlimited PTO
• Health, Dental, Vision insurance
• $1K monthly stipend for meals