Principal Power Plant Engineer

The base salary for this position is dependent upon experience and location.

Location:

Klamath Falls, OR

Salary Range: $152,000 to $160,400

The Klamath Cogeneration Project is a 500 MW state‑of‑the‑art gas‑fired combined cycle cogeneration facility and a 100 MW Peaking Facility adjacent to the City of Klamath Falls, Oregon. These facilities operate as a flexible dispatch combined cycle merchant plant and a fast‑start peaking plant supplying power to California and the Pacific Northwest, as well as steam to the adjacent Collins Products manufacturing facility.

• Day‑to‑day operations management of the facility in a safe, environmentally compliant, and fuel‑efficient manner.
• Recruiting, testing, training, development and direct supervision of approximately 10 multi‑skilled plant operations technicians.
• Coordinate with Asset Management and Trading staff in Portland and Plant O&M staff in Klamath to implement daily and/or hourly production targets, and ensure these targets are achieved in a safe and environmentally compliant manner.
• Ensure a continuous supply of steam is safely delivered to host Collins in the most economical method practicable.
• Assume a leadership role in plant safety program; at times participate in knowledge sharing with other operational groups such as the wind and gas storage businesses.
• Ensure the plant‑wide computerized maintenance management system is utilized by plant operations.
• Coordinate plant staff, outside contractors and OEMs to minimize O&M costs and optimize plant availability and reliability.
• Responsible for operations coordination of scheduled and unscheduled outages.
• Assist in planning and execution of the operations portion of the facility O&M budget and provide input to the plant maintenance budget.
• Monitor facility heat rate, operating performance of plant equipment, and take action when necessary to optimize overall facility performance.
• Identify and conduct cost‑benefit analyses of plant betterment projects that improve plant efficiency, reduce O&M costs, or both.
• Provide input for modifications and alterations that are required to conform to new or unique demands by corporate, plant requirements or regulatory agencies.
• Assist in the addition or modification of computer controls to improve operational functionality of the facility.
• Plan, manage and execute the design, engineering, procurement and construction of new projects.
• Serve as manager‑on‑call on a rotating basis.
• Perform as team leader and be responsible for the safe and proper operation of the plant.
  
  Duties include:
  
  work order oversight, coordination of maintenance activity, efficient operation of the plant, maintaining proper water chemistry and supervising Operations Technicians.
• Responsible for the operations activities for environmental permit compliance.
• Continuously evaluate and prioritize plant conditions (steady‑state, transient, & upset) and act to control, contain, and restore plant operations in a safe, appropriate, and environmentally compliant manner.
• Monitor and interpret plant emissions and discharges and act to maintain compliance with all applicable laws, permits, provisions and orders.
• Analyze individual performance of Operations Technicians and provide guidance and feedback.
• Develop a fundamental understanding of the merchant power business, and utilize that knowledge in decision‑making, suggesting changes, or improvements to the overall plant operation.
• Communicate regularly with Avangrid Power energy and asset management representatives, and on‑site staff to optimize plant generation and achieve heat‑rate targets.
• Responsible for capturing, analyzing, validating, interpreting and reporting all production data and statistics, both internal and external, as required.
• Other duties as required.

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering is required.
• Minimum 3 years management experience in power generation or related field required.
• Experience in power plant combined cycle operations is required.
• Management skills including the ability to manage multiple projects and priorities, implement mission‑critical programs, set expectations for and follow up with staff,…