Project Manager - Microgrid & Power Control Systems
aveva · Houston, Texas, United States
ETAP empowers customers to make informed decisions throughout the life cycle of their projects with innovative software solutions for electrical systems. By applying ETAP solutions, customers experience continuous intelligence during design and engineering and into operations and maintenance using a unified electrical digital twin platform. ETAP supports customers in their digital transformation and sustainable energy transitions for a green and smart future, helping them to prioritize safety, maximize reliability, and stay resilient.
Our employees' passion for excellence, innovation, and customer satisfaction is our most-prized resource. If you share that passion — and want to be part of a company that leads the energy transition towards a cleaner and more resilient world for future generations — we invite you to join us!
ETAP is committed to creating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Job Title: Project Manager – Microgrid & Power Control Systems
Location: Houston, TX (Approx. 30% travel to project sites)
Job type: Full-time / Hybrid
We are looking for an execution-driven Project Manager to lead delivery of real-time microgrid and power automation control systems across our Americas portfolio. Our projects control generation, dispatch and protection at hyperscale and colocation data centers, industrial microgrids, power plants and energy management installations — different applications of the same discipline, delivered from design through factory testing, utility approval, commissioning, energization and final acceptance. Data center microgrid projects are the current priority of the portfolio.
You will own projects end to end, including projects already in execution, and serve as the accountable owner the client, the commissioning agent, the general contractor, the utility and our own engineers look to for direction. You will not be the technical authority — senior engineers own technical correctness — but you must be fluent enough in power automation control systems and control to follow a commissioning or protection discussion, judge whether what is presented to you is logical and achievable, and translate technical risk into commercial and schedule terms. You decide whether the right thing ships on time and on budget; your engineers own whether it works.
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Responsibilities — You will do:
- Lead delivery of microgrid, power plant control, generation dispatch and energy management projects, with data center microgrid projects as the current portfolio priority
- Own full project execution — scope, schedule, budget, contract and procurement — through design, factory testing, installation, commissioning, energization and final acceptance
- Take over projects already in execution: re-establish the scope baseline, produce the project execution plan, and set schedule, milestones and acceptance criteria
- Own equipment procurement against the project bill of materials — controllers, servers, panels and licenses — managing the lead times that gate factory acceptance testing
- Own the commissioning programme: review and challenge test sequences, resource plans and durations so that what is proposed is logical and achievable before it is committed
- Manage the utility approval gate — submittal calendars, iteration cycles, witness testing and energization readiness
- Run the project meeting cadence: internal execution reviews, client status reviews, vendor and third-party coordination, and escalation resolution
- Act as primary client interface for data center and industrial owners, commissioning agents, general contractors and utility representatives
- Drive risk and change management — identify schedule, technical and contractual exposure early; document and price scope changes properly
- Control payment milestones and cash flow, and manage acceptance and handover so deliverables are complete, documented and approved before client acceptance
- Own project reporting, and build repeatable delivery — the execution plans, test libraries, templates and standards that let us run multiple projects consistently
Requirements — You need to have:
- 5+ years of project management experience delivering power systems, automation, or industrial control projects; or 3+ years with direct commissioning site experience on microgrid, generation or data center projects
- Recent and continuous experience in the field — qualifying delivery work within the last five years, without an extended absence from the industry
- Demonstrated ownership of scope, schedule, budget and contract, not schedule tracking alone
- Working knowledge of power system control and telecontrol — SCADA, EPMS, RTUs, protective relays, and industrial protocols such as IEC 61850, DNP3 and Modbus
- Experience delivering projects through commissioning, energization and acceptance in live electrical environments — FAT, SAT, point-to-point verification and integrated systems testing
- Exposure to utility interconnection processes, submittal and approval cycles, and witness testing
- Experience managing equipment procurement and supplier lead times against a defined bill of materials
- Proven experience managing contract-driven projects with milestone-based payments and defined acceptance criteria
- Technical judgement to assess whether a plan, test sequence or resource estimate presented to you is reasonable, without being the engineer
- Strong executive communication and stakeholder management, with strong risk management, change control and contract interpretation skills
- Execution-and-ownership mindset, and willingness to travel to project sites across the US including multi-week periods during active commissioning
A PLUS:
- Microgrid controller, power plant controller, AGC or generation dispatch delivery experience
- Familiarity with IEC 61850 GOOSE and MMS, DNP3, and telecontrol platforms such as SEL RTAC or equivalent
- Exposure to protection coordination and relay settings, including transfer trip and load shedding schemes
- Experience on data center, mission-critical facility or industrial microgrid projects
- Familiarity with leveled commissioning programmes (L1–L5) and integrated systems testing in critical environments
- Hyperscaler or colocation owner standards (AWS, Microsoft, Google, Meta, or similar)
- Grid code and interconnection standards — NERC, IEEE 1547, IEEE 2030.7
- Experience taking over a project already in execution rather than starting one
- PMP or equivalent certification; Jira, Power BI or similar project tracking and reporting tools
- Experience or aptitude for leading multiple concurrent projects or developing into a program/portfolio role
Salary range - 74,900.00 - 114,900.00 USD Annual
This pay range represents the minimum and maximum compensation that the position offers, and final compensation can vary within the range depending on work location, job experience, skills, and relevant educational attainment and/or training.
ETAP requires all successful applicants to undergo and pass a comprehensive background check before they start employment. Background checks will be conducted in accordance with local laws and may, subject to those laws, include proof of educational attainment, employment history verification, proof of work authorization, criminal records, identity verification, credit check. Certain positions dealing with sensitive and/or third party personal data may involve additional background check criteria.
ETAP is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to being an exemplary employer with an inclusive culture, developing a workplace environment where all our employees are treated with dignity and respect. We value diversity and the expertise that people from different backgrounds bring to our business.
Come and join ETAP to create the transformative technology that enables our customers to engineer a better world.