Protection and Control Engineer – Solar & Battery Storage Commissioning

Soltage; Jersey City (NJ); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Soltage in Jersey City, NJ, seeks an experienced Protection and Control (P&C) Engineer to lead P&C, SCADA, and commissioning for standalone energy storage and solar projects across North America, from relay settings and design reviews to energization.

Reporting to the SVP of Engineering, you will oversee relay protection, RTAC/RTU integration, cybersecurity, and documentation, ensuring safe, reliable utility-scale operations and compliance with North American standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering (Electrical preferred).
• 3–5 years of project or field engineering experience on renewable construction projects focusing on P&C design and commissioning.
• Strong knowledge of P&C systems for utility-scale substations, BESS, solar PV, and MV interconnection facilities.
• Working knowledge of SCADA architectures, substation automation, RTACs, RTUs, protective relays, and industrial networking.
• Experience with FAT, SAT, relay and protection testing, SCADA verification and energization.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, and Outlook).

Responsibilities

• Provide P&C, SCADA, RTAC, communications, and commissioning engineering for utility-scale BESS, solar PV, and substations across North America.
• Lead development and review of P&C packages including protection philosophies, relay settings coordination, diagrams, panel layouts, and communications architecture.
• Develop and review commissioning procedures, relay logic, cause-and-effect matrices, and test documentation.
• Oversee SCADA and EMS integration including RTUs, RTACs, HMIs, historians, remote communications, and cybersecurity.
• Support communication protocols (DNP3, Modbus TCP/IP, RTU, IEC 61850, IEC 60870-5-104, OPC UA, IEEE C37.118).
• Lead commissioning activities: point-to-point verification, relay testing, SCADA checkout, grid synchronization, energization.
• Perform root-cause analysis on protection events and equipment failures; recommend corrective actions.
• Review vendor submittals, protection studies, commissioning reports, and as-builts.
• Support EPC scopes of work, technical specifications, and RFPs for P&C, SCADA, and commissioning services.

Skills

P&C design

SCADA

RTAC/RTU

Commissioning

Relay testing

Electrical protection

Project management

Vendor review

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Electrical preferred)

Tools

Procore

Primavera P6

Microsoft Office

Job description

Protection and Control Engineer – Solar & Battery Storage Commissioning

Company Overview:

Soltage is a leading independent power producer that develops, owns and operates distributed solar and energy storage assets across the United States. With a track record spanning more than 20 years, Soltage has developed more than 130 projects representing over 600 MW, and has a national development pipeline of more than 2 GW. Soltage is owned by Igneo Infrastructure Partners, which manages more than US$24.5 billion in direct infrastructure assets.

Position Description:

Soltage is seeking an experienced Protection and Control (P&C) Engineer to lead P&C, SCADA, and commissioning engineering for our standalone energy storage (BESS), solar-plus-storage, and solar PV projects, from relay settings and design review through utility witness testing and energization. Reporting directly to the SVP of Engineering, you’ll help expand Soltage’s storage footprint in Mid-Atlantic and Northeast urban centers and other U.S. markets.

Job Responsibilities:

• Provide P&C, SCADA, RTAC, communications, and commissioning engineering for utility-scale BESS, solar PV, and medium- and high-voltage substations across North America.
• Lead development and review of P&C packages, including protection philosophies, relay settings coordination, AC/DC schematics, wiring diagrams, panel layouts, and communications architecture.
• Develop and review commissioning procedures, relay logic, cause-and-effect matrices, functional specifications, and test documentation.
• Oversee SCADA and Energy Management System (EMS) integration, including RTUs, RTACs, HMIs, historians, remote communications, and cybersecurity.
• Support implementation of communication protocols including DNP3, Modbus TCP/IP and RTU, IEC 61850, IEC 60870-5-104, OPC UA, and IEEE C37.118.
• Lead commissioning activities, including point-to-point verification, relay testing, SCADA checkout, utility witness testing, grid synchronization, and commercial operation support.
• Perform root cause analysis on protection events, equipment failures, and communication issues, and recommend corrective actions.
• Review vendor submittals, protection studies, commissioning reports, and as-built documentation.
• Support EPC scopes of work, technical specifications, and RFPs for P&C, SCADA, and commissioning services.

Experience and Education Requirements:

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering required (Electrical Engineering preferred).
• Strong communication and consultant-management skills; comfortable working with all levels, from field teams to executives and board members.
• Highly organized and self-directed; able to manage multiple projects under tight deadlines.
• Minimum of 3 to 5 years of project or field engineering experience on renewable construction projects, with a focus on P&C design and implementation and plant commissioning.
• Strong knowledge of P&C systems for utility-scale substations, BESS, solar PV, and medium-voltage interconnection facilities.
• Working knowledge of SCADA architectures, substation automation, RTACs, RTUs, protective relays, and industrial networking.
• Working knowledge of electrical protection principles including overcurrent, differential, distance, transformer, feeder, bus, breaker failure, synch-check, anti-islanding, and transfer trip protection schemes.
• Familiarity with utility interconnection requirements and applicable North American codes and standards.
• Working knowledge of commissioning processes including FAT, SAT, relay and protection testing, SCADA verification, and energization.
• Familiarity with commissioning documentation, including RFIs, submittals, ITPs, punch lists, deficiency tracking, and as-builts.
• Experience writing proposals and presenting to consultants, authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs), and regulatory agencies.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, and Outlook).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience configuring and troubleshooting SEL protective relays, SEL RTAC platforms, Ethernet switches, and related automation equipment.
• New York State Engineer in Training (EIT) certification.
• Experience with construction management and scheduling software such as Procore or Primavera P6.

Location:

This is a full-time, hybrid position based out of Soltage’s headquarters in Jersey City, NJ.

Soltage is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing a work environment that is free from all forms of discrimination.