Electrical Engineer - Hydropower and Industrial Controls

Overview

At PNNL,our core capabilities are dividedamongmajor departments that werefer to as Directorates within the Lab,focused on a specific area of scientific research orother function, with its own leadership teamand dedicated budget.

Our Science & Technologydirectoratesinclude National Security,Earth and Biological Sciences, Physical and Computational Sciences, and Energy and Environment.

In addition, we have an Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a Department of Energy, Office of Science user facility housed on the PNNL campus. The Energy and Environment Directorate delivers science and technology solutions for the nation’s biggest energy and environmental challenges. Our more than 1,700 staff support the Department of Energy (DOE), delivering on key DOE mission areas including: modernizing our nation’s power grid to maintain a reliable, affordable, secure, and resilient electricity delivery infrastructure;

research, development, validation, and effective utilization of renewable energy and efficiency technologies that improve the affordability, reliability, resiliency, and security of the American energy system; and resolving complex issues in nuclear science, energy, and environmental management.

The Earth Systems Science Division, part of the Energy and Environment Directorate, provides leadership and solutions that advance Earth system opportunities for energy systems and national security. We are a multidisciplinary division connected by a shared commitment to innovate and collaborate towards solving complex problems in the dynamic Earth system.

The Operational Systems Engineering group within the Earth Systems Science Division seeks a mid-career Controls Engineer to support research, development, and deployment activities focused on hydropower and pumped storage technologies. This position supports projects sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hydropower and Hydro kinetics Office, Energy Technology Innovation Partnership Project, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and other federal and state stakeholders.

The successful candidate will work collaboratively with engineers, scientists, project managers, and external partners to address technical and operational challenges associated with electrical and industrial control systems for critical utilities.

This position offers a diverse range of technical and project-oriented responsibilities. The successful applicant will need to be adaptable, collaborative, and capable of balancing multiple priorities across research and applied engineering efforts.

Duties include:

• Lead and support engineering assessments of hydropower industrial control systems (ICS), including PLCs, turbine governors, and plant-level automation, to identify opportunities for improved performance, reliability, and resilience.
• Develop engineering-focused modernization roadmaps for aging control systems, defining technical requirements for hardware lifecycle, secure protocol transitions (e.g., Modbus to DNP3), and system hardening.
• Serve as the control systems subject matter expert, providing critical guidance to ensure that new technologies and modern security architectures are compatible with the physical process, safety logic, and real-time requirements of the ICs.
• Provide technical leadership and direct oversight in the field during system upgrades, coordinating with facility operators and vendors to validate that modernization efforts are implemented correctly, safely, and without disrupting plant operations.
• Author and present high-quality technical products—including engineering analyses, documentation, reports, and publications—to effectively communicate project findings to sponsors, partners, and the broader technical community.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary technical teams to identify engineering challenges, assess risks, and develop innovative solutions supporting reliable and sustainable hydropower generation.
• Support research and engineering activities spanning early-stage research and development through applied science and technology demonstration projects.
• Contribute to the preparation…