Production Cost Modeling Specialist

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Staff Production Cost Modeling Specialist

Staff Production Cost Modeling Specialist
Fully Remote

Full-time

Description

At WECC, we enhance the lives of 80 million people by identifying and mitigating risks to the Bulk Power System (BPS) in the West. The grid is changing quickly as environmental regulations, economics, technology, and customer demands continue to push the power industry to new limits.

The Staff Reliability Assessments Engineer promotes BPS reliability by leading and performing interconnection-wide reliability assessments through complex analysis using sophisticated resource adequacy and/or production cost models.

Working in the Reliability Assessments department, the Staff Reliability Assessments Engineer is proficient with various system analysis applications and can use them to analyze potential effects on the reliability of the grid. The Staff Reliability Assessments Engineer is aware of emerging issues and trends affecting the BPS in the Western Interconnection and works with industry groups to address power system reliability needs.

While WECC’s headquarters are located in Salt Lake City, Utah, this position is remote-eligible for candidates based in the lower 48 U.S. states, excluding New York and Hawaii. Occasional travel, approximately 15%, is expected for this role.

• Conduct WECC/NERC reliability assessments based on emerging issues and trends using commercially available modeling and analysis software.
• Apply deterministic and/or probabilistic resource adequacy, production cost and related model types to support adequacy studies and other reliability assessments.
• Provide technical support and partnership with industry groups such as national labs; regulators; federal, state, and provincial government organizations; non-governmental organizations; and academia to identify potential reliability risks and mitigation options.
• Support the development of new software tools and processes to assess data and power system reliability.
• Deliver clear, concise presentations to a variety of technical and non-technical audiences.
• Support and provide technical leadership to WECC and NERC committees, task forces, and work groups.
• Engage stakeholders to identify and assess reliability challenges in the short-term to long-term time frames.
• Provide support for other activities at WECC (e.g., standards development, oversight, event analysis, situation awareness).
• Work with colleagues in the ERO Enterprise to plan reliability assessments, identify the lessons learned, and apply best practices.

• Hold a bachelor’s degree in engineering, mathematics, statistics, computer science, or a related technical field or an equivalent combination of education and related industry experience resulting in a demonstrated ability to perform major duties.
• Have at least three years of experience in the power industry related to areas such as resource adequacy, production cost analysis, system studies, system modeling, resource planning, or transmission planning, etc.
• Have an understanding of emerging reliability risks to the Bulk Power System.
• Have experience performing studies using resource adequacy and/or production cost modeling tools such as:
  Astrape SERVM, Energy Exemplar Plexos, ABB Grid View, GE MARS, or GE PSLF or similar.
• Possess strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work with stakeholder and member groups with differing interests.
• Have proven decision-making and problem-solving skills.
• Are excited to advocate for reliability in industry groups, bringing back vital information for WECC's strategic decision-making.
• Have excellent spoken and written communication skills.
• Possess high levels of self-motivation, initiative, intellectual curiosity, and accountability.
• Desire to act as a knowledge leader, sharing expertise with staff and other departments at WECC.

• Our people and our work matter;
• Everyone is invited to be a leader;
• Independence, perspective, and partnership are how we add value;
• Intellectual curiosity, empowerment, and accountability fuel meaningful results;
• Continuous improvement and innovation are essential; and
• We act with intention and focused urgency in everything we do.

The base salary range for this full-time, remote position is $96,700 - $120,900 + discretionary pay + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role and level. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and mid-point for the position across all locations. Within the range, individual pay is determined by additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

Your recruiter will share more details during the hiring process.