Staff Engineer, Smart Grid Architecture

The challenge

The platform needs to orchestrate grid services across millions of heterogeneous DER assets with sub-5-second response times. Current architecture hits latency walls at scale. The next-generation data pipeline and control loop architecture needs to solve this.

Role overview

System architecture for a platform managing millions of distributed energy resources. Data pipeline decisions, control loop design, communication protocol selection, and edge computing strategy that determine whether the platform scales or breaks.

Specializations

Technical requirements

• MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent
• 15+ years in grid technology, energy systems, or IoT platform architecture
• Deep understanding of DER communication standards (IEEE 2030.5, SunSpec, OpenADR)
• Experience designing real-time control systems for grid or industrial applications
• Proficiency in distributed systems architecture (event-driven, CQRS, microservices)
• Understanding of utility operations including SCADA, ADMS, and market integration

Key responsibilities

• Define the system architecture for a DERMS platform managing millions of distributed energy resources
• Design real-time control architectures that achieve sub-5-second response for grid services
• Specify communication protocol stacks (IEEE 2030.5, OpenADR, OCPP) for DER integration
• Define requirements and interface specifications for grid-edge computing devices, and coordinate with embedded engineering on edge-cloud architecture trade-offs
• Drive architectural decisions that balance latency, reliability, and scalability requirements
• Collaborate with utility customers on technical integration requirements and pilot program design

Compensation & Benefits

• Base salary: $210,000 - $250,000
• Equity (RSUs, 4-year vest)
• Annual bonus 15%
• Fully remote with quarterly team summits
• Home office setup stipend ($3,000)