Control Systems Engineer; Energy Management Systems Job Federal Way area,Washington USA,Engineering

Position: Control Systems Engineer (Energy Management Systems)

Industry: Electric Utilities / Power Generation & Transmission

Position Overview:

We are seeking an experienced Control Systems Engineer (Energy Management Systems - EMS) to support the operation, maintenance, security, and modernization of critical electric utility control systems. This position will focus on EMS/SCADA applications, Automatic Generation Control (AGC), data historians, and supporting operational technology infrastructure.

The ideal candidate will have experience supporting mission-critical utility systems, troubleshooting complex control system issues, and maintaining compliance with applicable NERC reliability and cybersecurity standards.

The position may be filled at the Engineer III, IV, or V level depending on qualifications and experience.

Key Responsibilities:

Configure, maintain, troubleshoot, and enhance EMS/SCADA systems, data historians, and associated control system applications.
Support substation modeling, system configuration changes, telemetry integration, alarm management, and point-to-point verification.
Design, configure, maintain, and troubleshoot Automatic Generation Control (AGC) systems, depending on experience level.
Support Inter-Control Center Communications Protocol (ICCP) interfaces and coordinate system changes with neighboring utilities.
Diagnose and resolve communication, telemetry, networking, and application issues using tools such as Wireshark.
Support operational technology infrastructure, including servers, networks, firewalls, virtualization, databases, and communications systems.
Maintain and troubleshoot custom applications, vendor software, and interfaces supporting utility operations.
Support NERC CIP compliance
, including system hardening, patch management, change control, documentation, audit preparation, and cybersecurity requirements.
Collaborate with engineering, operations, IT/cybersecurity teams, vendors, and external utility partners to improve system reliability and performance.
Develop technical documentation, operating procedures, and troubleshooting guides.
Participate in system upgrades, modernization initiatives, and continuous improvement projects.
Provide technical leadership, project oversight, and mentorship as appropriate for the position level.

Required Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, Management Information Systems, or a related technical discipline. Two additional years of relevant experience may substitute for a degree.
Experience supporting mission-critical applications requiring 24/7 operational availability:
Engineer III: 3+ years
Engineer IV: 6+ years
Engineer V: 10+ years
Strong technical troubleshooting, analytical, and problem-solving abilities.
Ability to work collaboratively with engineering, operations, and technical support teams.
Ability to meet and maintain applicable NERC CIP personnel access and security requirements.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience supporting electric utility EMS/SCADA or other real-time control systems.
Knowledge of NERC reliability standards and Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) requirements.
Experience with AGC, ICCP, Energy Accounting Systems (EAS), and data historian applications.
Familiarity with network communications, SQL, virtualization, and operational technology infrastructure.
Engineer-in-Training (EIT) or Professional Engineer (PE) credentials.
Previous technical leadership, project management, or mentoring experience.

Ideal Candidate:

A technically strong engineer with experience in electric utility operations, EMS/SCADA environments, or mission-critical industrial control systems. Successful candidates will demonstrate strong troubleshooting capabilities, an understanding of operational reliability and cybersecurity, and the ability to support complex systems in a highly regulated environment.