Congestion Hedging Engineer - I, II, Senior, Senior II or Lead - Southwest Power Pool

Southwest Power Pool (SPP) is about more than power. We’re about the power of relationships. Our employees have the opportunity to work together to ensure electricity is delivered reliably and affordably to the millions of people living in our service territory. We have been voted one of Arkansas’ Best Places to work by Arkansas Business and we are looking for a member of our team who is passionate about our mission to keep the lights on!

We have a core ideology here at SPP that we stand by: Do the right thing, for the right reason, in the right way.

We believe in supporting our employees through a fantastic benefits package:

• Competitive pay with bonus opportunities
• Excellent insurance package including three great medical plans to choose from, employer-paid short term disability, long term disability, and life insurance
• Relocation assistance
• Flexible working environment for positions that are eligible where employees have the flexibility to work from home and come in where collaborative in person work is needed.
• Fantastic contributions to your retirement through a 401(k) savings plan with employer-match benefits and a defined benefit plan fully funded by SPP

Overview

The Engineer - Congestion Hedging is responsible for developing SPP’s Congestion Hedging mechanism for the Integrated Marketplace.  Key responsibilities include implementing Auction Revenue Rights (ARR) and Transmission Congestion Rights (TCR) mechanism in coordination with SPP stakeholders and addressing Stakeholders inquiries. The position provides support to Congestion Hedging’s overall objectives, critical issues, new concepts, and policy matters. As such, the position requires knowledge in Congestion Hedging applications and the ability to demonstrate this knowledge by coordinate testing efforts of Congestion Hedging’s applications.

The Engineer provides coordination of activities with various Engineering departments of SPP, Operation departments of SPP, vendors and consultants.  The position requires extensive contact and work with employees at all levels of the organization and SPP Market Participants, as well as with members and customers of the company. As such, the position requires an in-depth knowledge of the ARR and TCR Process.

Engineer I Essential Functions

• Learn and perform ARR/TCR Market Operation duties
• Learn and perform power systems analysis
• Learn and perform economic analysis
• Develop and maintain ARR/TCR software in coordination with vendor
• Participate in testing of business applications and processes to verify that all requirements are incorporated according to the integrated market design
• Support stakeholder working groups
• Support technical assessment associated with ARRs/TCRs
• Participate in regulatory audits
• Other duties as assigned

Engineer II Essential Functions

• Perform ARR/TCR Market Operation duties
• Develop and maintain ARR/TCR software in coordination with vendor
• Support stakeholder working groups
• Support technical assessment associated with ARRs/TCRs by understanding and performing load flow and economic analysis for TCR Markets
• Work alongside other departments in coordination of Markets related topics
• Responsible for ensuring the quality and accuracy of the TCR Markets
• Develop and implement improvements to the overall TCR process for efficiency and risk mitigation
• Participate in regulatory audits
• Other duties as assigned

Senior Engineer Essential Functions 

• Develop ARR/TCR software in coordination with vendor and stakeholders
• Monitor/oversee and participate in the testing of business applications to verify that all requirements are incorporated according to the integrated market design
• Operate, monitor and provide technical oversight of the TCR markets to verify that all processes are completed
• Actively participate on various working groups Make technical assessments in support of recommendations on issues associated with ARRs/TCRs
• Participate in regulatory audits
• Prepare for and participate in financial audits, including the development and modification of desk procedures and financial controls
• Represent SPP on various inter-regional committees that deal with Congestion Hedging Issues
• Understanding of and compliance with SPP Tariff and Integrated Marketplace Protocols
• Mentor and train SPP Staff in technical areas such as Powerflow and Congestion Hedging concepts
• Development of Congestion Hedging reports, manuals and presentations
• Understanding of and compliance with SPP Policies and Procedures
• Other duties as assigned

Senior Engineer II or Lead Essential Functions  

• Develop ARR/TCR software in coordination with vendor and stakeholders
• Oversee the testing of business applications to verify that all requirements are incorporated according to the integrated market design
• Operate and provide key technical oversight of the TCR markets to verify that all processes are completed in a teamwork environment
• Independently conduct analysis on ARR and TCR funding and implement necessary feedback loops that will directly impact system forecasting and future funding
• Actively participate on various SPP Working Groups and make technical assessments in support of recommendations on issues associated with ARRs/TCRs
• Development of Congestion Hedging reports, manuals and presentations as assigned and delivery of presentations to various SPP Working Groups
• Participate in regulatory audits

• Prepare for and participate in financial audits, including the development and modification of desk procedures and financial controls
• Understanding of and compliance with SPP Tariff and Integrated Marketplace Protocols
• Assist in developing language for the regulatory support structures for the TCR process
• Mentor and train SPP Staff in technical areas such as Powerflow and Congestion Hedging concepts
• Exercise strong decision-making skills for technical studies and services to adapt between standard and non-standard techniques
• Embrace and promote the SPP Culture, Mission and Core Values in attitude toward stakeholder relationships, current work assignments as well as long term goals and strategic initiative of the organization
• Incorporate a fundamental working understanding of the SPP Culture Drivers, Mission and Core Values and apply this directly to all engineering assignments and any SPP related effort, not necessarily limited to operations
• Understanding of and compliance with SPP Policies and Procedures
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

Education Requirements:

• Bachelor of Science in Engineering, this degree should:
  • Be from a university that meets the requirements to sit for the Professional Engineering exam (in Arkansas, that is most typically a degree from an ABET accredited university or a graduate degree from a college that has an ABET accreditation),
  • Degree should be in a calculus-based engineering field and preferred degree programs are Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or Systems Engineering

Experience Requirements:

• Engineer I - No experience Required
• Engineer II - 2+ years of job-related experience
• Senior Engineer - 5+ years of relevant Engineering experience; Professional Engineer License may satisfy one year of experience requirement.
• Senior Engineer II - 9+ years of relevant Engineering experience; Professional Engineer License or Advanced degree in related field of study may satisfy one (1) year of experience requirement. Two (2) years of experience may satisfy both a Professional Engineer License and Advanced degree in related field.
• Lead Engineer - 
  • 12 years’ of relevant Engineering experience; OR
  • 11 years’ of relevant Engineering experience with an advance degree  OR
  • 11 years’ of relevant Engineering experience with a Professional Engineers License OR
  • 10 years’ of relevant Engineering experience with an advance degree and a Professional Engineers License

• Professional Certification Requirements:

  12 years’ of relevant Engineering experience; OR11 years’ of relevant Engineering experience with an advance degree  OR
  • A Registered Professional Engineer license is required for this role; however, 12 years’ relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a Professional Engineer License

Engineer I Requirements

Required:

• Flexibility and ability to function with constantly changing and multiple priorities
• Strong inter-personal and team work skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Competent working skills with communication and data handling software such as Microsoft Office© Word, Excel, and Access
• Understanding of and compliance with SPP Policies and Procedures

Preferred:

• Registered with a state Professional Engineering Board as an Engineer-In-Training (EIT)
• Master of Science in Electrical Engineering or an MBA
• Economics background and experience

Engineer II Requirements

• Flexibility and ability to function with constantly changing and multiple priorities
• Strong inter-personal and team work skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Competent working skills with communication and data handling software such as Microsoft Office© Word, Excel, and Access
• Understanding of and compliance with SPP Policies and Procedures

Preferred:

• Registered with a state Professional Engineering Board as an Engineer-In-Training (EIT)
• Master of Science in Electrical Engineering or an MBA
• Economics background and experience

Senior Engineer Requirements

• Flexibility and ability to function with constantly changing and multiple priorities
• Strong inter-personal and team work skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Competent working skills with communication and data handling software such as Microsoft Office© Word, Excel, and Access

Preferred:

• Master of Science in Electrical Engineering or an MBA
• Economics background and experience
• Professional Engineer License
• Electric Utility Industry experience

Senior Engineer II or Lead Requirements 

• Competent with the administrative and communication tools for word processing, and spread sheet development, as a minimum
• Strong knowledge of several power systems analysis tools applicable to power system steady state, dynamic, short circuit, or database management systems
• Strong inter-personal and team work skills along with good written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent working skills with communication and data handling software such as Microsoft Office© Word, Excel, Access
• Understanding and comply with compliance with SPP Policies and Procedures

• A Professional Engineer License
• Advanced degree in related field of study
• Electric Utility Industry experience
• Proficient with most SPP power systems analysis tools with a solid command of several SPP tools and/or processes
• Sound understanding of the SPP Open Access Transmission Tariff, FERC & NERC governing documents, SPP By-Laws, SPP Criteria and the SPP Committee structure

Work Environment:

This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.

Physical Demands:

The physical and mental demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to perform the essential functions of this job successfully.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to make decisions, interpret data, and problem solve.
• The employee frequently is required to stand or sit for extended periods; use hands to operate a computer keyboard and standard office equipment.
• The employee must occasionally lift and move up to 10 pounds.
• Requires the ability to work and collaborate with managers and employees at all levels to exchange ideas, information, and opinions to facilitate the task.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, and ability to adjust focus.

Position Type and Expected Hours of Work:

This is a full-time position. Days and hours of workweek are Monday through Friday; 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Working extended hours may be required.

Travel Requirement:

This position requires minimum travel (approximately 10%).

Should you elect to apply for this position SPP will review your qualifications and if after reviewing the qualifications and experience of all applicants, your skills and credentials meet our needs, someone from our organization may contact you. Please be advised that the time required to complete the applicant review process typically takes between 30 and 90 days, but could extend beyond that. Once the position has been filled, all applicants will be notified via email.

Southwest Power Pool is an Equal Opportunity Workplace and an Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age or any other protected category.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines “reasonable accommodation” as a change or adjustment to a job or work environment that allows a qualified individual with a disability to satisfactorily perform the essential functions of a particular job, and does not cause an undue hardship for the employer. SPP adheres to the ADA and reasonable accommodations may be made to enable a qualified individual with a disability to perform the essential functions.

Education

• Bachelors or better

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)