Senior Engineer, Inverters

Reporting to the AES CE Manager of Technical Services, the goal of this position is to support, improve, and optimize the AES Clean Energy operational performance of a fleet of utility scale PV inverters across the US by providing technical expertise, performance analysis, and critical process support. The inverter engineer will lead technical projects focused on increasing the performance and reliability of AES CE Assets and reducing operations & maintenance cost associated with inverters.  The inverter engineer will work on both troubleshooting emerging events and providing real-time support to operations field personnel as well as progressing longer term improvement projects. 

Main Responsibilities: 

• Provide engineering support for the troubleshooting, testing and maintenance of electrical equipment and controls for the AESCE inverter fleet. 

• Coordinate with reliability and performance engineers any improvement technologies for the AESCE inverter fleet 

• Share and capitalize on lessons learned and benchmarking from not only AES but other industry leaders. 

• Monitor new technology innovations in inverter technology and safety systems and provide recommendations to project design teams to implement where appropriate 

• Perform technical and operational due diligence and develop O&M cost assumptions in support of new inverter opportunity evaluations for the US markets. 

• Develop and lead technical projects to enhance asset performance and operations 

• Root Cause Analysis (RCA) 

• Follow RCA procedures for ad hoc and chronic incidents for assets 

• Develop Recovery Plan based on RCA findings 

• Management of Change (MoC) 

• Implementation of Asset Management Standards (AMS) 

• Diagnostics 

• Develop Prevent Maintenance (PM) procedures based on OEM manuals alongside performance and reliability engineers 

• Assist in the development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and training for O&M teams 

• Lead optimization efforts by employing AES APEX & Lean Six Sigma approaches and tools sets. 

• Develop strategy for older assets on how to move from current design to newer design 

• Ability to evaluate proposed settings changes to inverter equipment for grid interconnection, performance and safety implications 

• Recommend when equipment needs to be updated or replaced and provided recommendations for updated inverter equipment for repowering PV sites at end of life 

Skills & Qualifications: 

• ​​Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or equivalent technical field from an accredited college/university and 3-5 years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas: (high-voltage design/engineering, solar design, battery energy storage, substations, relay settings, HV/MV utility equipment, maintenance/operations, NERC compliance, civil/structural, power system studies, power system modeling, SCADA integration, transmission, site development, solar inverters/structures). 

• ​Familiarity with data acquisition systems and SCADA systems a plus. 

• ​Candidate must be innovative, with strong troubleshooting skills and must be flexible, with the ability to organize, prioritize, execute and follow up on many concurrent duties, as well as adapt quickly to changes in business priorities.  

• ​Ability to establish trust through building relationships and demonstration of capabilities. 

• ​Strong coaching skills and safety awareness. 

• ​Proficient in the following focus areas; Process Improvement, Business Performance, and Inverter/Power Electronics systems.  

• ​Outstanding interpersonal skills, including an ability to maintain calm and effective exchanges by all parties. 

• ​Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal. 

• ​Willingness and ability to travel up to 35%. 

• ​Strong communication skills (written & oral). 

• ​Proficient in Microsoft Office bundle including Project and Visio 

• ​Planning and project management skills for multiple change efforts. 

​​