Senior/Staff Power Systems Engineer, Grid Interconnection

WHAT TO EXPECT

Heron Power is a startup company building cutting-edge power electronics for the 21st-century grid. We aim to debottleneck the growth of electricity generation and consumption with scalable, innovative, and less costly hardware solutions, accelerating the electrification of everything.

Our first focus goal is to build better converters (inverters & rectifiers) to connect large-scale renewables, storage, and loads to the grid. Heron Power’s leadership team is made up of seasoned veterans who have designed and shipped gigawatts of power conversion products over the past decade.

We understand that no one individual knows everything. We will all learn a lot together and from each other. We strive to build a collaborative, enriching environment conducive to personal, technical, and career growth. You can expect to work in a dynamic and collaborative environment, driven by first principles engineering, solving difficult problems.

JOB OVERVIEW

You will own the grid interconnection of Heron's grid-forming inverters and solid-state transformers (SST) across utility-scale PV, BESS, and large-load projects, carrying each from model development through interconnection studies, utility and ISO approval, and field commissioning. That means building and validating the models grid operators rely on, demonstrating compliance with grid codes and regulation requirements, and closing the loop between simulation, hardware test, and field performance. You will be Heron's technical voice with utilities, ISOs and RTOs, developers' interconnection teams, and customers, working hand in hand with the Controls and Systems Integration teams: they own the inverter platform, you own getting it connected to the grid. That credibility also makes you central to supporting the sales, designing Heron's power systems solutions and giving customers confidence in how our hardware performs on the grid.

HOW YOU WILL CONTRIBUTE

- Own Heron's inverter and plant models across RMS and EMT platforms (PSS/E, PSLF, PowerFactory, TSAT, and PSCAD), including user-defined models, WECC generic models and their grid-forming variants, and EMT models built from Heron's production controls.

- Benchmark models against one another and against controller hardware-in-the-loop, and produce the model validation reports, parameter sheets, and user guides that utilities and ISOs require.

- Support interconnection studies for PV, BESS, hybrid, and large-load projects.

- Guide developers through the interconnection process, including inverter technology changes on queued projects: prepare model submittals, respond to study comments and deficiency letters, and work through material modification and restudy reviews with transmission providers.

- Carry projects through energization: define plant controller (PPC) settings and coordination, write and run commissioning and model validation test plans, analyze field data and disturbance recordings, and support post-energization performance reviews.

WHAT YOU WILL BRING

We have a short list of must-have requirements. We prioritize a strong grip on first principles, hands-on skills, and a sense of initiative.

MUST-HAVE REQUIREMENTS

- 5+ years of power systems engineering focused on inverter-based resource (IBR) interconnection at an inverter OEM, developer, utility, ISO/RTO, or consulting firm.

- A track record of taking IBR projects from model development through interconnection approval and into commissioning, and owning the outcome at each step.

- Hands-on proficiency in PSCAD and at least two of PSS/E, PSLF, PowerFactory, and TSAT, including building, tuning, and debugging user-defined models.

- Working knowledge of IEEE 2800, NERC PRC and MOD standards, and FERC and ISO/RTO interconnection processes.

- Strong grasp of inverter control fundamentals: grid-following and grid-forming control, current limiting, PLL dynamics, and weak-grid and small-signal stability. You can explain why a model behaves the way it does, not just that it passes.

NICE-TO-HAVES

- Experience with grid-forming inverter models and requirements, such as virtual synchronous machine (VSM) or droop-based controls.

- Real-code EMT model development, such as wrapping C or Fortran controller code as a PSCAD DLL using the IEEE/CIGRE DLL interface.

- Experience with utility-scale BESS or PV plants, including PPC tuning and grid-code compliance testing.

If you are passionate about the energy transition and enjoy working at the frontier of power electronics and grid integration, we would love to hear from you. Join us in accelerating the electrification of everything at Heron Power.

Heron Power provides competitive compensation (salary and equity) and benefits. The salary for this role ranges from $160,000 to $200,000 per year