Lead/Principal Engineer – Power System Modeling and Studies

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and Conduct Advanced Power Systems Studies: Perform transmission planning reliability studies and generation interconnection including system impact, feasibility, and deliverability assessments, delivering high-quality analyses that meet client needs.
• Execute Advanced Power Systems Modeling: Build and validate high-quality power system models for reliability and injection analyses.
• Client Development: Proactively seek out and cultivate new client relationships within the power and energy sectors, leveraging your expertise to position Simple Thread as a trusted partner.
• Lead Talent Acquisition: Identify and recruit top engineering talent to grow our power systems studies team, ensuring alignment with Simple Thread’s mission and culture.
• Serve as a Technical Expert: Provide expert guidance on power systems studies across multiple RTO/ISO markets, including PJM, MISO, SPP, ERCOT, and TVA ensuring accuracy and reliability in all deliverables and adherence to the regulatory and technical requirements.
• Support Business Growth: Collaborate with the leadership team to develop and implement strategies for expanding our consulting services, including identifying emerging needs and new market opportunities and service offerings.
• Engage with Stakeholders: Build and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including utilities, RTOs, project developers, and regulatory bodies, to advocate for and advance Simple Thread’s projects.
• Innovate and Improve: Lead the development of innovative methodologies and tools that enhance power systems analysis and streamline processes for both internal and client use.
• Mentor and Lead: Guide and instruct team members using a strong technical understanding of generation (including IBR), transmission, interconnection, customer and load, and modeling principles.
• Promote Automation and Digitization: Drive innovation by researching and implementing new techniques and methodologies to enhance power system analysis and planning, in line with Simple Thread’s vision for the future.
• Establish and Standardize Practices: Lead the development of internal training programs and the creation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for power system studies and modeling. Ensure that best practices are documented and consistently applied across all projects, contributing to the creation of a robust internal knowledge base.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field; a Master’s degree is preferred.
• Minimum of 8 years of experience in electrical engineering, with a focus on transmission planning and generation interconnection studies, preferably within a consulting or utility environment.
• Proven experience in power system simulation and modeling tools (PSSE, TARA, PSLF, PowerWorld) is essential.
• Strong track record of relationship building within the electric utility sector.
• Demonstrated leadership skills with experience in building and managing high-performing engineering teams.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate complex technical concepts to a diverse audience.
• Strategic thinker with strong analytical skills and a passion for driving innovation in the energy sector.
• Exceptional organizational skills, capable of juggling multiple projects and adapting to changing priorities.
• Excellent communication abilities, with the skill to distill complex engineering analyses into clear, actionable insights.
• Ability to successfully lead strategic initiatives in a fast-paced and challenging team-based multi-stakeholder environment.
• Eagerness to work in a remote-first work culture.
• Willingness to travel nationwide up to 25% for client engagements and business development activities.

Nice to Have Qualifications:

• Background and experience conducting dynamic transient stability and Electromagnetic Transient (EMT) studies.
• Familiarity with dynamic and EMT simulation tools such as PSSE, PSCAD, and EMTP.
• Familiarity with IBR (Inverter-Based Resource) modeling and study principles.

Join Us:

Simple Thread offers an opportunity to be at the forefront of technological innovation in the energy industry. We are looking for someone who shares our passion for making a difference and is ready to tackle the challenges of integrating software solutions with energy systems. If you’re passionate about power systems, driven by growth, and eager to make an impact, we want to hear from you.

What We Offer

A Great Team – Our team is the best part of working here. We only hire people who are fantastic teammates – competent and smart, sure, but also humble, positive, and generous.

Great Clients – We work with mostly small and medium clients, for whom our projects make a huge impact. We prioritize clients who are pleasant and good to work with, people who share our values of transparency and empathy.

Work From Home – We are a distributed company. Everyone works from home.

Flexible Work Schedule – We require a certain amount of overlap with the rest of the team, but if you have a predictable schedule, we can probably support it, e.g., ending at 3:30 every day or being out every Friday morning.

Good Work Life Balance (really) – We ask our team to work 40 hours a week*. That’s all: a good, productive 40 hours. And then we try our best to leave you alone off the clock. We do this in part because that’s how we want to live but also because we want our team to be recharged and ready to do their best when working. *If you need to work fewer than 40 hours, that might be possible too; let’s talk.

Competitive Compensation – We offer highly competitive salary and benefits, including generous time off, 401k, FSA, medical and dental insurance

Simple Thread is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, ethnic origin, age, disability, genetic information (including family medical history), political affiliation, military service, or other non-merit-based factors. We hire the best person we can for each role, no matter your personal background. Research tells us that applicants who are female or non-binary, as well as applicants who are people of color, are less likely to apply for roles they do not feel 100% qualified for. If you think you meet more than 50% of our requirements but fewer than 100% of them, please apply. We’re imperfect communicators, so think of our job postings as the starting point for discussion rather than proof that you shouldn’t apply.