Principal Engineer, Advanced Energy System Controls

Microgrid Controls EngineerAre you ready to be part of a company that's not just talking about the future, but actively shaping it? Join The AES Corporation, the largest US-based global power company with a team of 8,300 employees across 12 countries. AES has been ranked #1 by BloombergNEF in renewable energy sales to corporations in the US and Americas for five consecutive years, providing electricity for millions of people worldwide. We are proud to foster a strong workplace culture, earning prominent positions in Great Place to Work™ rankings across the markets where we operate. AES was also named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for the 13th consecutive year in 2026, highlighting our dedication to integrity, transparency, and responsible business practices.Our spirit of innovation continues to earn industry recognition. AES is the only seven-time winner of the Edison Electric Institute's Edison Awards in the twenty-first century, a distinction honoring global leadership in advancing the electric power industry. If you're ready to be part of a company that's not just adapting to change, but driving it, AES is the place for you. We're not just building a more sustainable future, we're powering it. Apply now and energize your career with a true leader in global energy.AES US Renewables & Power is seeking a Microgrid Controls Engineer to design, develop, test, implement, and commission microgrid control solutions integrating natural-gas generation, battery energy storage systems, solar generation, utility interconnections, and site electrical loads. The role delivers safe and reliable automation, HMI, SCADA, protection, communications, and control-system solutions from design through field startup and turnover.Key Responsibilities• Design and implement microgrid control solutions integrating natural-gas generators, CCGT or SCGT assets where applicable, BESS, solar PV, utility service, switchgear, and site loads.• Develop, modify, test, and deploy software for automation controllers, programmable logic controllers, human-machine interfaces, SCADA systems, and data concentrators.• Develop control philosophies, sequences of operation, functional descriptions, state diagrams, alarm strategies, operating modes, and test procedures.• Program controls using appropriate methods such as ladder logic, structured text, function block diagrams, and CODESYS-compatible environments.• Implement operating modes such as grid-connected operation, islanding, resynchronization, load shedding, generator dispatch, BESS charge and discharge, black start, and transition management.• Review customer, project, utility, engineering, and equipment-vendor specifications and translate requirements into executable control designs.• Select control-system components and prepare bills of materials, technical specifications, and project submittals.• Provide sketches, markups, I/O requirements, network architecture, and technical direction to electrical designers and engineering partners.• Review distributed energy resource, generator, BESS, switchgear, relay, and equipment-vendor submittals and coordinate control and communications interfaces.• Configure and integrate industrial communications using protocols such as Modbus, DNP3, and IEC 61850.• Coordinate multifunction protection relays, power monitoring systems, automation controllers, SCADA, HMIs, plant controls, and industrial networks.• Participate in design reviews and customer meetings to confirm project requirements, resolve interfaces, and review submittals.• Prepare and execute factory acceptance testing, integrated system testing, site acceptance testing, field startup, and commissioning procedures.• Troubleshoot software, communications, controls, network, protection, and equipment-integration issues in factory and field environments.• Coordinate with Project Management, Electrical Engineering, I&C, Protection and Control, BESS, Generator OEMs, Operations, Cybersecurity, and external vendors to meet schedule, budget, quality, and safety requirements.• Maintain software configuration, backups, source files, test records, redlines, as-built documentation, and turnover materials.Skills and Qualifications• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, controls engineering, computer engineering, or a related field.• Typically 4 to 8 years of experience in power-distribution controls, industrial automation, microgrids, SCADA, power-system control applications, or a related field.• Understanding of electric power systems, microgrid operations, distributed energy resources, natural-gas generators, BESS, and solar PV.• Experience programming automation controllers or PLCs using ladder logic, structured text, function block diagrams, or CODESYS is preferred.• Knowledge of low- and medium-voltage switchgear, protection relays, power monitoring, control systems, and electrical distribution equipment.• Knowledge of industrial communications protocols such as Modbus, DNP3, and IEC 61850.• Experience with HMIs, SCADA platforms, industrial networks, data concentrators, and multifunction protection-relay controls.• Experience with Ignition Perspective or comparable HMI and SCADA platforms is preferred.• Experience preparing sequences of operation, control drawings, submittals, test procedures, and bills of materials.• Field experience with electrical distribution systems, factory testing, startup, commissioning, troubleshooting, and electrical safe-work practices.• Ability to communicate technical topics clearly to internal teams, customers, vendors, and other stakeholders.• Professional Engineer licensure is preferred.AES is an Equal Opportunity Employer who is committed to building strength and delivering long-term sustainability through diversity and inclusion. Respecting all backgrounds, differences and perspectives enables us to improve the lives of our people, customers, suppliers, contractors, and the communities in which we live and work. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and/or expression, race, national origin, ethnicity, age, religion, marital status, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law. E-Verify Notice: AES will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with information from each new employee's I-9 to confirm work authorization.The expected salary for this position, at commencement of employment, is between $145,000 and $181,050/year; however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package for this position also includes annual bonus. The benefits offered for this position are: medical, dental, and vision coverage, life insurance, 401(k) eligibility, and paid time off (including vacation, sick leave time, and parental leave). Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if a candidate receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an "at-will position" and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.