Energy Engineer

The world today is filled with static, monolithic infrastructure. Factories, power plants, buildings, etc. operate the same they've operated for decades — because the controls programming is hard-coded. Thousands of lines of rules and heuristics that define how the machines interact with each other. The result of all this hard-coding is that facilities are frozen in time, unable to adapt to their environment while their performance slowly degrades.

Phaidra creates AI-powered control systems for the industrial sector, enabling industrial facilities to automatically learn and improve over time. Specifically:

• We use reinforcement learning algorithms to provide this intelligence, converting raw sensor data into high-value actions and decisions.
• We focus on industrial applications, which tend to be well-sensorized with measurable KPIs — perfect for reinforcement learning.
• We enable domain experts (our users) to configure the AI control systems (i.e. agents) without writing code. They define what they want their AI agents to do, and we do it for them.

Our team has a track record of applying AI to some of the toughest problems. From achieving superhuman performance with DeepMind's AlphaGo, to reducing the energy required to cool Google's Data Centers by 40%, we deeply understand AI and how to apply it in production for massive impact.

Phaidra is based in the USA but 100% remote; we do not have a physical office. We hire employees internationally with the help of our partner, OysterHR. Our team is currently located throughout the USA, Canada, UK, Norway, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and India.

Please only apply to one opening. If you are a better fit for another opening, our team will move your application. Candidates who apply to multiple openings will not be considered.

Who You Are

The responsibility of the Energy Engineer is to validate energy savings for our customer sites and demonstrate findings through data analytics. This role will leverage technical skills to determine root cause analysis of previous performance and provide insights for system improvements.

Responsibilities

• Determine best fit baseline data and the savings methodology for a customer.
• Work closely with the data scientist team to generate meaningful and compelling charts, graphs, and data visualizations that portray the performance of the system.
• Coordinate with the Customer Success team to analyze platform availability status (uptime).
• Monitor projects for performance during the evaluation period. Protect Phaidra’s liability.
• Analyze customer data for opportunities for improvement and optimization.
• Collaborate with other teams on methods to improve system performance and share knowledge on your data findings.
• Communicate performance across all key metrics to our customers on a regular cadence.
• Present results to different levels of customer stakeholders in a clear and effective manner. Answer additional questions in a concise and thoughtful manner.
• Develop and present annual savings reports with supporting analytics examples and insights.
• Ensure on time delivery of reports in order to uphold excellent customer service and support. Coordinate with the customer to determine the best cadence for results reviews.
• Identify and construct tools and documentation to automate monthly savings results.
• Build company standards and playbooks around M&V and how it applies to the world of artificial intelligence.
• Maintain clear and concise documentation of methodologies and insights from each of the customer sites.

We are seeking a team member located within one of the following areas: USA/Canada

Key Qualifications

• 5+ years experience in Measurement & Verification, Energy Engineering, Optimization Engineering, or other related experience.
• Deep understanding of HVAC systems especially around industrial controls systems, chiller plants, and airside cooling.
• Previous experience with M&V or data analytics tools.
• Previous experience in a customer adjacent role. Effective soft skills in presenting technical information clearly to customers at all levels of the organization (non-domain experts).
• Natural curiosity and a desire to learn and problem solve when the answer may not always be clear.
• Alignment with Phaidra’s values: transparency, collaboration, operational excellence, ownership, empathy.

Bonus

• Fluency in high programming languages such as Python.
• Previous experience with real world ML or AI applications.
• IPMVP certifications such as CMVP, PMVA, or PMVE.

Onboarding

In your first 30 days…

• You will be immersed in an onboarding program that introduces you to Phaidra, our product, and our remote working norms. Your onboarding buddy will be there every step of the way.
• You will read various parts of our handbook and familiarize yourself with the documentation culture at Phaidra.
• You will set up your development environment and start working on an onboarding exercise that will introduce you to various parts of our code base.
• You will learn about various team standards and customer communication methods.
• You will start to learn about our system architecture and infrastructure.
• You will familiarize yourself with the current tools and processes used for communicating site results.

By your first 60 days…

• You will have a solid understanding of what Phaidra does and how we do it.
• You will have met with team members across Phaidra and started building relationships that will help you be successful at your job.
• Begin developing Phaidra’s energy engineering and measurement and verification standards.
• Monitor existing customers for performance.
• You will have worked with the data scientist team to generate the next round of results for established active customers.
• You will have learned how we currently document and present results.
• Participate in report generation and delivery.

By your first 90 days…

• You will have been fully integrated in the team and with team members across the company.
• You will have acquired a more in-depth understanding of how we do data analytics and found areas for improvement.
• You will have presented results to customers and have identified system improvements.
• You will have started to contribute to knowledge sharing throughout Phaidra.
• You will have delighted customers!

General Interview Process

All of our interviews are held via Google Meet, and an active camera connection is required.

• Initial screening interview with a People Operations team member (30 minutes)
• Meeting with the Hiring Manager (60 minutes)
• Meeting with Technical Accounts Manager (30 minutes)
• Meeting with Data Scientist (30 minutes)
• Culture fit interview with Phaidra’s co-founders (30 minutes)

Base Salary Range

• US Residents: $84,800-$186,000/year

This position will also include equity.

This is a best faith estimate of the base salary range for this position. Multiple factors such as experience, education, level, and location are taken into account when determining compensation.

Benefits & Perks

• Fast-paced and team-oriented environment where you will be instrumental in the direction of the company.
• Phaidra is a 100% remote company with a digital nomad policy.
• Competitive compensation & equity.
• Outsized responsibilities & professional development.
• Training is foundational; functional, customer immersion, and development training.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance (exact benefits vary by region).
• Unlimited paid time off, with a minimum of 20 days off per year requirement.
• Paid parental leave (exact benefits vary by region).
• Home office setup allowance, coworking space stipend, and company MacBook.

Please not that Phaidra’s benefits and perks listed above do not apply to temporary employees such as interns.

On being Remote

We are thoughtful about remote collaboration. We look to the pioneers - like Gitlab - for inspiration and best practices to create a stellar remote work environment. We have a documentation-first culture and actively practice asynchronous communication in everything we do. Our team stays connected through tools like Slack and video chat. Most teams meet daily, and we have dedicated all-hands meetings weekly to build strong relationships. We hold virtual team building events once per quarter - and even hold virtual socials to watch rocket launches! We have a yearly in-person, all-company summit in locations like Seattle, Athens, Goa, and Barcelona.

Equal Opportunity Employment

Phaidra is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Phaidra is governed on the basis of merit, competence, and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status. We welcome diversity and strive to maintain an inclusive environment for all employees. If you need assistance with completing the application process, please contact us at View email address on click.appcast.io.