Principal Power Generation Engineer: ROCC SCADA

The Principal SCADA Engineer serves as the senior technical authority for the architecture, design, specification, procurement, integration, testing, and lifecycle management of enterprise-level Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. This role translates operational, engineering, cybersecurity, regulatory, and business requirements into reliable and scalable control-system solutions supporting remote operation of renewable power generation and substation assets. The successful candidate will lead complex projects from concept development through commissioning and operational turnover, establish technical standards, evaluate suppliers and system integrators, and provide expert guidance across Engineering, Operations, Information Technology, Operational Technology, Cybersecurity, Compliance, Procurement, and Construction teams. 

Key Responsibilities 

• SCADA architecture: Define current-state, target-state, and project-specific SCADA architectures, including control centers, server and virtualization platforms, operator workstations, historians, front-end processors, remote terminal units, programmable logic controllers, intelligent electronic devices, telecommunications, and external interfaces. 

• System design: Lead conceptual, preliminary, and detailed design activities; develop network and communications diagrams, functional descriptions, control philosophies, data-flow models, point-list standards, redundancy strategies, availability requirements, and capacity plans. 

• Technical specifications: Prepare and maintain procurement-ready technical specifications, scopes of work, design criteria, interface control documents, data requirements, testing requirements, cybersecurity requirements, documentation standards, and acceptance criteria. 

• Procurement engineering: Partner with Supply Chain and Legal to develop requests for information and proposals, perform technical and commercial bid evaluations, lead vendor clarification meetings, assess exceptions and lifecycle costs, support contract negotiations, and recommend supplier selection. 

• Vendor and integrator oversight: Direct original equipment manufacturers, SCADA vendors, engineering firms, and system integrators; review drawings, calculations, product submittals, schedules, software design descriptions, configuration records, and test procedures for conformance with specifications. 

• Integration engineering: Define and validate interfaces among SCADA, plant controls, power plant controllers, substation automation, energy management or generation management systems, historians, data lakes, market systems, and remote operations centers. 

• Protocols and communications: Establish requirements for protocols such as DNP3, ICCP/TASE.2, IEC 61850, Modbus, OPC UA/DA, and vendor-specific interfaces, including addressing, time synchronization, data quality, bandwidth, latency, and failover performance. 

• Cybersecurity and compliance: Embed secure-by-design principles, network segmentation, role-based access, logging, patching, backup and recovery, configuration management, and supply-chain risk controls in accordance with applicable NERC CIP, NIST, IEC 62443, corporate, and contractual requirements. 

• Testing and commissioning: Lead design reviews, factory acceptance testing, site acceptance testing, system integration testing, performance and availability testing, failover testing, cutover planning, commissioning, and operational readiness activities. 

• Technical governance: Develop reusable reference architectures, engineering standards, approved technology lists, design templates, quality controls, and lifecycle roadmaps that improve consistency, reliability, maintainability, and total cost of ownership. 

• Operational support: Provide escalation-level troubleshooting and root-cause analysis for complex SCADA, controls, network, protocol, data-quality, and performance issues; ensure sustainable corrective actions and complete technical documentation. 

• Leadership: Mentor engineers and technical specialists, lead multidisciplinary design teams, communicate technical risks and tradeoffs to executives, and influence investment decisions across multiple projects and business units. 

The Ideal Candidate Would Have the Following:

• Minimum of 6 years of progressive experience in SCADA, industrial control systems, substation automation, power generation controls, or operational technology, including significant responsibility for system architecture and design. 

• Demonstrated experience developing SCADA technical specifications, scopes of work, procurement packages, bid evaluations, and vendor recommendations for complex capital projects. 

• Strong working knowledge of redundant and highly available SCADA architectures, industrial networking, server and virtualization environments, database and historian technologies, control-center operations, and field-device integration. 

• Hands-on understanding of SCADA communications protocols and troubleshooting methods, including DNP3, ICCP/TASE.2, IEC 61850, Modbus, and OPC. 

• Experience leading multidisciplinary engineering reviews, supplier engagements, factory and site acceptance testing, commissioning, and operational turnover. 

• Knowledge of cybersecurity practices for industrial control systems, including network segmentation, identity and access management, vulnerability and patch management, secure remote access, backup and recovery, and configuration control. 

• Ability to prepare clear technical documentation and communicate complex engineering recommendations to technical and nontechnical stakeholders. 

• Ability to travel to supplier facilities, project sites, control centers, and commissioning locations as required. 

• Professional Engineer license, Certified Automation Professional credential, Project Management Professional certification, or relevant cybersecurity certification. 

• Experience with electric utility, renewable generation, battery energy storage, conventional generation, transmission, distribution, or energy-market SCADA/GMS/EMS environments. 

• Experience with leading SCADA platforms, enterprise historians, substation gateways, power plant controllers, programmable logic controllers, and industrial network and security technologies. 

• Working knowledge of applicable NERC reliability and Critical Infrastructure Protection standards, NIST guidance, IEC 62443, IEEE standards, and utility procurement practices. 

• Experience developing lifecycle cost models, technology roadmaps, obsolescence plans, and multi-year capital investment strategies. 

Leadership Competencies 

• Technical leadership: Sets engineering direction and resolves highly complex, cross-domain technical issues with limited oversight. 

• Systems thinking: Balances reliability, safety, cybersecurity, compliance, operability, maintainability, schedule, and cost across the full system lifecycle. 

• Commercial judgment: Evaluates supplier capability, technical risk, contract commitments, lifecycle support, and total cost of ownership. 

• Influence and collaboration: Builds alignment across diverse stakeholders and converts competing requirements into practical, defensible decisions. 

• Execution excellence: Establishes clear deliverables, decision gates, acceptance criteria, and risk controls to drive predictable project outcomes. 

• Talent development: Coaches engineers, raises technical standards, and promotes disciplined knowledge sharing and continuous improvement.