Senior Manager, Advanced Grid and Controls Solutions

The AES Corporation; Louisville (CO); On-site; USD 173,000 - 217,000; Full time

Job summary

The AES Corporation seeks a Senior Manager of Advanced Grid and Controls Solutions to lead an engineering team delivering grid-integration and control solutions for renewable, storage, hybrid, and microgrid projects. You will drive technical direction, establish repeatable engineering practices, and support project execution across assets.

You will guide design philosophies, model-based testing, and cross-functional collaborations with AES Commercial, Business Development, and Engineering teams

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, power systems engineering, controls engineering, or closely related field.
• Substantial engineering experience in utility-scale renewable generation, battery energy storage, inverter-based resources, plant controls, microgrids, or related power-system applications.
• Demonstrated people-management experience and ability to lead cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead engineering team focused on grid integration, advanced controls, power electronics, EMT analysis, and microgrid solutions.
• Develop roadmaps for advanced system integration and services for hybrid, co-located AES power plants.

Skills

Electrical engineering

Power systems

People management

Grid integration

Communication

Project management

EMT analysis

Model-based design

Education

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or closely related field

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

PSCAD

CHIL

PHIL

PowerFactory

MATLAB/Simulink

Job description

Are you ready to be part of a company that's not just talking about the future, but actively shaping it? Join The AES Corporation, the largest US-based global power company with a team of 8,300 employees across 12 countries.

AES has been ranked #1 by BloombergNEF in renewable energy sales to corporations in the US and Americas for five consecutive years, providing electricity for millions of people worldwide.

We are proud to foster a strong workplace culture, earning prominent positions in Great Place to Work rankings across the markets where we operate. AES was also named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for the 13th consecutive year in 2026, highlighting our dedication to integrity, transparency, and responsible business practices.

Our spirit of innovation continues to earn industry recognition. AES is the only seven-time winner of the Edison Electric Institute’s Edison Awards in the twenty-first century, a distinction honoring global leadership in advancing the electric power industry.

If you're ready to be part of a company that's not just adapting to change, but driving it, AES is the place for you. We're not just building a more sustainable future, we're powering it.

The Senior Manager of Advanced Grid and Controls Solutions leads an engineering team responsible for defining, evaluating, validating, and deploying advanced grid-integration and control solutions across renewable, battery energy storage, hybrid, and microgrid applications. The role combines technical leadership, people management, portfolio prioritization, and direct support to projects and operating assets. The Senior Manager sets the team’s direction, establishes repeatable engineering methods, and ensures lessons from testing, commissioning, and operations are translated into improved plant architectures, controls requirements, equipment strategies, and project execution practices.

Key Responsibilities

Team Leadership and Direction

• Lead, coach, and develop a multidisciplinary engineering team focused on grid integration, advanced controls, power electronics, EMT analysis, and microgrid solutions.
• Set the team vision, annual priorities, technical roadmap, operating model, and resource plan in alignment with AES business, project, and technology-strategy needs.
• Assign work, balance planned and emergent demands, establish clear ownership, and maintain visibility into scope, schedule, budget, dependencies, decisions, and technical risk.
• Provide technical leadership to AES Commercial, Business Development, and Engineering teams during contract negotiations involving co-located systems, microgrids, advanced grid-connected services, and control systems. Create an environment of rigorous engineering, practical problem solving, collaboration, and continuous learning; provide timely feedback and support career development.
• Develop scalable processes, templates, design criteria, test methods, technical reviews, and decision records that improve quality and reduce dependence on individual expertise.

Advanced Grid, Controls, and Architecture

• Direct the development and review of control philosophies, functional requirements, control authority matrices, sequence-of-operations definitions, communications interfaces, and integrated plant-control architectures.
• Guide solutions for grid-forming operation, weak-grid performance, islanding, seamless transfer, black start, load smoothing, frequency and voltage regulation, reactive-power control, state-of-charge management, and coordinated operation of multiple generation and storage resources.
• Ensure appropriate coordination among inverter-level controls, turbine or generator controls, plant power plant controllers, energy-management systems, microgrid controllers, SCADA, protection systems, and customer or utility interfaces.
• Develop roadmaps for advanced system integration, control architectures, and services that AES can provide for hybrid, co-located AES power plants serving large loads. Provide technical leadership for conventional renewable and storage plants as well as hybrid and mission-critical-load architectures, including partially grid-connected and off-grid microgrids.
• Translate grid-code, interconnection, utility, customer, and operational requirements into implementable controls and equipment requirements.

Technology Evaluation, Modeling, and Testing

• Lead evaluation of inverter, power-conversion, plant-controller, EMS, microgrid-controller, and related power-electronics technologies, including capabilities, limitations, interoperability, model quality, maturity, and deployment readiness.
• Oversee EMT studies and model-based design using platforms such as PSCAD, including controls-interaction, system-strength, ride-through, contingency, stability, black-start, islanding, and tuning assessments.
• Define and oversee EMT testbenches, controller hardware-in-the-loop (CHIL), and power hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) programs that validate project-specific controls, interfaces, sequences, and failure responses before site deployment.
• Establish clear test objectives, acceptance criteria, traceability, issue-resolution workflows, and documented recommendations; ensure results meaningfully inform designs, specifications, procurement, and project risk decisions.
• Partner with laboratories, OEMs, integrators, utilities, and consultants to obtain fit-for-purpose models and execute technically credible validation programs.

Project Execution, Commissioning, and Operations Support

• Provide targeted engineering leadership during project development, detailed design, model validation, factory and site acceptance testing, commissioning, and utility or customer witness testing.
• Ensure advanced or first-of-kind controls are de-risked through early architecture definition, simulation, staged integration testing, and clear commissioning plans.
• Coordinate team member involvement and define roles and responsibilities across broader project teams throughout project execution and on-site system integration testing.
• Support operations and project teams in diagnosing complex grid, inverter, plant-controller, and controls interactions using event records, high-speed data, models, settings, and vendor evidence.
• Lead structured root-cause and corrective-action efforts for significant controls or grid-performance issues, distinguishing equipment, settings, architecture, interface, model, and operating-condition contributors.
• Create a closed learning loop by converting field findings and commissioning lessons into updated engineering standards, model expectations, test protocols, controls requirements, and equipment-strategy recommendations.

Equipment Strategy and Cross-Functional Coordination

• Represent grid and controls requirements in equipment strategy, approved-product, supplier, contracting, and technology-roadmap discussions.
• Provide evidence-based recommendations on product readiness, vendor capability, required mitigations, and the fit of control solutions for specific project applications.
• Coordinate across multidisciplinary teams to resolve trade-offs among electrical design, controls performance, interconnection compliance, constructability, operability, reliability, schedule, and commercial objectives.
• Build effective working relationships with global and regional engineering teams, project leaders, operations, development, commercial teams, strategic sourcing, legal and contracts, OEMs, EPCs, laboratories, and external technical advisors.
• Communicate complex technical issues and decisions clearly to technical and executive audiences, including risks, options, assumptions, evidence, and recommended actions.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, power systems engineering, controls engineering, or a closely related field; advanced degree strongly preferred.
• Substantial engineering experience in utility-scale renewable generation, battery energy storage, inverter-based resources, plant controls, microgrids, or adjacent power-system applications.
• Demonstrated people-management experience, including work planning, prioritization, coaching, performance management, and development of technical professionals.
• Personable, service-oriented, and thoughtful leader.
• Strong knowledge of renewable and battery energy storage plant controls, inverter controls, grid-forming technology, plant power controllers, energy-management systems, and grid-integration fundamentals.
• Experience with technology evaluation, technical diligence, model review, test planning, results interpretation, and translation of findings into project or equipment decisions.
• Working knowledge of EMT analysis and PSCAD-based studies; ability to review study methods, assumptions, model behavior, results, and tuning recommendations.
• Experience supporting commissioning, witness testing, field troubleshooting, event analysis, or operations response for complex power and controls systems.
• Strong organization and project-management skills, with the ability to manage a portfolio of concurrent initiatives and unplanned technical priorities.
• Ability to lead through influence and coordinate successful outcomes across multidisciplinary, geographically distributed teams and external partners.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to document technical requirements and explain complex topics to mixed technical and business audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree or PhD in power systems, controls, power electronics, or a related discipline.
• Hands-on experience with grid-forming inverter applications, hybrid plant design, weak-grid integration, islanded systems, black start, or mission-critical-load microgrids.
• Experience designing or using CHIL and PHIL testbeds, real-time digital simulators, EMT testbenches, and interface or sequence validation frameworks.
• Familiarity with PSSE, PSLF, PowerFactory, MATLAB/Simulink, Python, or related power-system and data-analysis tools in addition to PSCAD.
• Knowledge of applicable interconnection and inverter-based-resource requirements, such as IEEE 2800, NERC reliability standards for IBRs, regional grid-code requirements, and utility-specific model and testing expectations.
• Experience working with inverter, PPC, EMS, SCADA, microgrid-controller, turbine-generator, or power-electronics OEMs and system integrators.
• Experience developing technical specifications, statements of work, acceptance criteria, design-basis documents, and vendor evaluation frameworks.

AES is an Equal Opportunity Employer who is committed to building strength and delivering long-term sustainability through diversity and inclusion. Respecting all backgrounds, differences and perspectives enables us to improve the lives of our people, customers, suppliers, contractors, and the communities in which we live and work. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and/or expression, race, national origin, ethnicity, age, religion, marital status, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law. E-Verify Notice: AES will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with information from each new employee's I-9 to confirm work authorization.

The expected salary for this position, at commencement of employment, is between $173,000 and $216,750/year; however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package for this position also includes annual bonus. The benefits offered for this position are: medical, dental, and vision coverage, life insurance, 401(k) eligibility, and paid time off (including vacation, sick leave time, and parental leave). Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if a candidate receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an "at-will" position and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.