Power Grid Engineer

NRDC is a non-profit environmental advocacy organization. We use law, science, and the support of 3.1 million members and online activists to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. NRDC was founded in 1970 and our people helped write some of America's bedrock environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act and many of the implementing regulations. Today, our team of more than 700 lawyers, scientists, economists, policy advocates, communications experts, and others work across the United States and the globe from our offices in Beijing; Chicago; New Delhi; New York; San Francisco; Santa Monica; and Washington, D.C.

NRDC is seeking a Power Grid Engineer to work with the Sustainable FERC Project team in the Climate & Energy Department in our Washington, New York, or Chicago offices.

The Power Grid Engineer will support NRDC's advocacy at regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and other grid planning regions, likely with an early focus in PJM, Midcontinent Independent System Operator, and Southwest Power Pool. They will represent NRDC and the Sustainable FERC Project in relevant RTO stakeholder forums and work closely with other members of the Sustainable FERC Project, other NRDC staff, and the Sustainable FERC Project coalition. This person will report to the RTO Director in the NRDC's FERC Project. They will advocate for the transmission planning process improvements necessary for grid planners to identify and select the regional and interregional transmission plans and projects necessary to advance NRDC's power sector goals. This person would also support our efforts to deploy advanced transmission technologies (e.g., high performance/advanced super-efficient conductors, dynamic line rating technology, phase angle regulators), and apply "smart from the start" planning approaches to prioritize existing infrastructure corridors and minimize community and environmental impacts.

The position you are applying for is part of the bargaining unit represented by The Washington Baltimore News Guild (WBNG / The Newsguild-CWA Local 32035).

Participate and represent the interests of NRDC in RTO stakeholder forums addressing regional and interregional transmission planning and interconnection issues, with the goal of improving transmission planning assumptions, processes, and outcomes in meaningful ways
• Provide input into power flow model assumptions for load, demand, capacity, generation shift, and other variables.
• Analyze to what extent interregional transmission projects can better meet system needs than separate sets of regional projects.
• Identify opportunities and advocate for grid planners to integrate the use of advanced conductors, high-voltage direct current lines, grid-enhancing technologies, re-use of existing rights-of-way, and integration of distributed energy resources into their system plans wherever feasible, including but not limited to meeting near-term system needs as regional and interregional grids are being built out.
• Critique RTO analyses of plants designated as "reliability must-run" units.
• Identify consolidated transmission solutions that are more cost effective than those identified via siloed RTO transmission planning processes such as reliability planning, economic planning, and interconnection planning, and advocate for planning methods and processes that would ensure RTOs look for such consolidated solutions as well.
• Develop technical justifications for RTOs to identify the most cost-effective transmission solutions and ensure transmission additions are in the public interest.
• Identify benefit metrics to reflect the value that transmission and non-wires solutions bring to customers and offer methodologies and provide analysis to monetize these benefits.
• Identify the amount of new generation transmission lines may facilitate (RTOs rarely perform this analysis).
• Work with NRDC staff and FERC Project coalition members to provide written input to grid planners and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on planning, cost allocation, and interconnection queue issues.
• Provide technical analysis that educates state regulators and decision makers.
• Effectively articulate and communicate technical information, both verbally and in writing, to diverse audiences.

• BS degree in Engineering or equivalent work experience.
• Minimum of four years or relevant work experience
• At least two years of experience in transmission system planning and operations including complex power flow, short circuit, and stability studies.
• Experience in quantitative and qualitative analysis.
• Advocacy experience and/or interest.
• Proficiency in relevant technical transmission system modeling approaches (e.g., capacity expansion, production cost, and power flow analysis) and tools (e.g., PLEXOS), including relevant open source models.
• Interest in understanding and applying power market dynamics and economics considerations to transmission planning processes and solutions.
• Ability to approach problems from an advocate's perspective and develop engineering-based solutions to those problems.
• Ability to understand and critique power flow analysis and transient stability analysis.
• Ability to understand the impacts of technological and geographic shifts in generation and the corresponding impacts on grid behavior.
• Ability to analyze information, formulate responses, and convey them in writing and through oral presentations.
• Ability to build relationships, effectively collaborate and engender trust from peers and colleagues.
• Demonstrate good judgment, strong work ethic, collegiality.
• Ability to travel, approximately 20% annually (more travel is likely early in the candidate's employment as they become familiar with RTO stakeholder forums.
• Commitment to NRDC's mission, values, and DEI principles.

NRDC is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in our work and in our workplace. We believe that celebrating and actively welcoming diverse voices and perspectives is essential to solving the planet's most pressing environmental problems, and we encourage applications from candidates whose identities have been historically under-represented in the environmental movement.

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and a supportive working environment. Salary is based on a nonprofit scale and is commensurate with skills and experience. Internal equity will be reviewed and considered to determine a final offer. For this position, the salary range is $113,000 to $121,000.

NRDC operates under a hybrid work model. Employees are required to come to the office 8 days per month.

As a science-based organization, NRDC aims to do our part to help contain the COVID-19 public health crisis. For the sake of health, safety, and equity, we ask that people be vaccinated unless they have an approved medical or religious accommodation or other exemption in accordance with state and local law. We consider a person to be vaccinated two weeks after receiving one full course of a CDC-approved vaccine. In accordance with state or local law, new hires will be asked to attest to vaccination, those wishing to do so may request medical or religious accommodations or other exemptions via NRDC Employee Relations. NRDC treats all vaccine-related data confidentially, in keeping with local, state, and federal laws.

To apply, visit www.nrdc.org/careers and upload your resume and cover letter. Please mention where you saw this posting and upload any additional materials that showcase your abilities. Due to the high volume of applications, we will contact only those candidates we would like to interview. Please no phone calls, emails, or in-person resume drop-offs.

If you experience technical problems while applying or if you are a person with a disability and need assistance applying online, please reach out to iCIMS Customer Care at 1-800-889-4422.

For more about NRDC, visit www.nrdc.org.