Sr. Controls Engineer - OT SCADA Projects

Terabase Energy; United States; On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Terabase Energy in Northern California seeks a Sr. Controls Engineer to lead the design, configuration, commissioning, and support of plant control systems for utility-scale solar, storage, and hybrid projects.

You will work with minimal oversight and mentor junior engineers. This role emphasizes project execution (80%) and continuous improvement (20%), with frequent FAT activities, documentation, and collaboration with EPCs, asset owners, and grid operators to ensure ISO and grid standards

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Engineering or related field.
• 5+ years IEC 61131-3/PLC programming experience.
• 3+ years utility-scale renewable power plant controls experience (solar, BESS, hybrid).

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end controls design for utility-scale solar and storage projects.
• Program and commission SEL controllers using AcSELerator; develop control logic in Codesys.
• Document requirements, logic development, test results, and maintain version control.
• Collaborate with Product Engineering; mentor junior controls engineers.
• Lead FATs and coordinate with EPCs and asset owners.

Skills

IEC 61131-3 programming

SCADA/Controls design

Mentoring engineers

Project execution

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Control Systems, Computer Science, or related field

Tools

AcSELerator

Codesys

Bitbucket

Wireshark

Jira

Job description

What We Do At Terabase Energy, we believe that digitalization and automation will drive the next wave of innovation and cost reduction in large scale solar. To fully unlock the potential of this opportunity, Terabase is developing an interconnected software and construction automation platform. We work alongside project developers, owners, and engineering & construction firms to support the design, optimization, and construction of huge solar projects around the world. Our team is a blend of solar-industry veterans and newbies, thought-leaders, dreamers, software, electrical and mechanical engineers, coders, product managers, project managers, and sales and marketing professionals. We are based in Northern California, with several other offices in the United States and around the world. If all of this piques your interest, we'd love to hear from you!

Position Overview

The Sr. Controls Engineer - OT SCADA Projects leads the design, configuration, commissioning, and support of plant control systems for utility-scale solar, storage, and hybrid renewable energy projects. This engineer works with minimal oversight, applies expert knowledge of grid functionality and Utility/ISO standards, mentors junior engineers, and contributes to product standards. Approximately 80% of this role is project execution, while up to 20% is continuous improvement and product development.

Responsibilities

Project Execution & Technical Delivery (~80%)

• Lead end-to-end controls design for utility-scale solar, BESS, and hybrid projects, including review of the project scope to identify project-specific requirements and deviations from the standard Terabase controls product offering.
• Program and commission SEL controllers using AcSELerator; develop control logic in Codesys using IEC 61131-3 structured text and continuous function charts
• Follow the controls development process for any project-specific development work, including documentation of requirements, logic development, testing in a simulated/lab environment and documentation of test results.
• Implement and validate closed-loop Active Power and Reactive Power, AVR and PFR Algorithms
• Maintain version control for all code artifacts according to established version control procedure (Bitbucket)
• Efficiently troubleshoot complex SCADA and controls issues using Wireshark, breakpoints, cross-reference, and watch list tools
• Produce project deliverables: System Architecture Diagrams, Control Narratives, Logic Diagrams, commissioning documents, and operator manuals

Product & Process Improvement (~20%)

• Contribute to new feature development and bug fixes in collaboration with the Product Engineering team
• Review documentation prepared by junior controls engineers (technical and non-technical)
• Lead the Continuous Improvement and Lessons Learned program, feed field insights back into product standards and templates
• Coach junior engineers through FAT preparation and customer-facing presentation

Stakeholder Communication & Collaboration

Serve as primary controls technical contact for EPCs, asset owners, and grid operators through project execution, FAT, and commissioning

Lead FATs as formal presentations; communicate to non-technical audiences with supporting materials prepared in advance

Flag technical risks and schedule pressures to project management team with context and proposed solutions

Maintain Jira tickets daily with thorough detail; enforce Jira best practices with junior engineers

Expectations & Success Indicators

• Deliver high-quality work independently across multiple concurrent projects with ownership and urgency
• Leverage standardized platforms and tools to work efficiently
• Ensure 100% adherence to Terabase quality processes; enforce standards with junior engineers
• Mentor junior controls engineers through technical guidance, code review, and FAT coaching
• Project deliverables completed on time, within scope, and meeting Utility/ISO regulatory standards
• Jira, version control, and documentation consistently maintained without follow-up from management
• Recognized internally and externally as the go-to technical authority on Terabase SCADA and OT controls

Travel up to 10% for on-site commissioning, FAT, and customer engagements

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Engineering, Control Systems, Computer Science, or related field
• 5+ years of IEC 61131-3/PLC programming experience, preferably in Codesys or AcSELerator environment
• 3+ years of utility-scale renewable power plant controls experience (solar, BESS, or hybrid), including project-specific development work, Factory Acceptance Test (FAT), commissioning and Site Acceptance Test (SAT)

Technical Skills

• Expert IEC 61131-3 programming; primary tooling is AcSELerator (SEL controllers) and Codesys, including Diagram Builder, traces, breakpoints, and watch lists
• Extensive knowledge of industrial protocols: Modbus-TCP, DNP3, OPC-UA, C37.118, etc.
• Expert knowledge of grid