Controls Group Engineering Manager - Oglethorpe Power Corporation

The Controls Group Engineering Manager leads a team of engineers responsible for providing technical support, project management, and consultation as Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for OPC's power generation facilities. This role oversees the Controls Group and also provides technical direction to over 75 engineers, project managers, and technicians across Plant Operations, Capital Projects, and Technical Services, ensuring effective collaboration during the growth for OPC's power generation capabilities.

In this position, the Controls Group Engineering Manager plays a key leadership role, providing mentoring and supervision to the Controls Group. The manager facilitates cross-functional communication and cooperation between Plant Operations, Capital Projects, and Technical Services to drive productivity and efficiency. The Controls Group focuses on distributed control systems, programmable logic controllers, field instrumentation, plant networks, and other related control equipment. The team is responsible for developing, managing, and maintaining plant control systems and, in some cases, directly performing maintenance activities.

The Controls Group Engineering Manager and their team serve as SME consultants during all stages of power plant projects, including development, construction, startup, and commissioning, during the expansion of OPC's power generation fleet. This role also involves significant responsibility for supporting OPC's Low Impact NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Program across all facilities. The manager and their team are responsible for ensuring plant control systems and networks comply with CIP requirements through patching, equipment testing, and responding to data requests related to regulatory oversight and cyber security.

Safety is a top priority for the Controls Group Engineering Manager, who implements safe working practices, identifies hazards, and drives hazard reduction initiatives. This individual is also responsible for promoting compliance with federal, state, local, and OPC safety and environmental regulations.

Additionally, the Controls Group Engineering Manager ensures appropriate site coverage and support for all OPC power generation facilities and may occasionally be required to provide onsite support when needed or requested.

Job Duties:

• Provides mentoring, leadership, and supervision to the Controls Group and serves to facilitate timely communication between the different Technical Services Groups, Capital Projects, and Plant Operations Staff at headquarters and each power generation facility.
• Develop, implement, and revise the maintenance practices, processes, and procedures for plant distributed control systems, plant programable logic controllers, field instrumentation, plant networks, and other routable control equipment supporting each plant's Computer Maintenance Management System (CMMS) and workflows.
• Promote innovation with the Controls Group's engineered solutions, develop their engineering and technical skills, and encourage continuous improvement of their work processes and practices.
• Ensure OPC power generation facilities remain in compliance with Low Impact NERC CIP reliability standards and document CIP-related activities for evidentiary purposes.
• Manage the development and implementation of engineered control solutions for power plant systems equipment modification, and upgrades.
• Utilize problem definitions, alternatives analysis, project scoping, cost estimating, and business cases for project development and implementation.
• Provide or assign a team member to perform the required testing and maintenance for the power generation facilities supporting OPC's Low Impact NERC CIP Program with the related engineering, patch installation, troubleshooting, and operational support for each plant-related assets: i.e. DSCs, PLCs, and routable protection devices.
• Establish and implement the Controls Group Team's short- and long-term goals, objectives, policies, and procedures, monitor and evaluate effectiveness, and initiates improvement as necessary. Maintain knowledge and understanding of OPC's policies and procedures.
• Provide services, such as the review of drawings, specifications, design memoranda, etc., to generation projects in development or under construction.
• Perform various ad hoc studies, analysis, and research special topics and issues, and develop communications products such as PowerPoint presentations, white papers, or briefing materials as necessary.

Required Qualifications:

Education: Bachelor's degree in engineering or engineering technology (preferably BSEE or equivalent) - Technical and business knowledge of generating plant operations, maintenance, design, performance, and economics.

Experience: Ten plus (10+) years of engineering and five years minimum preventive and predictive maintenance experience in an operating commercial electric power generating plant is required, including planning, budgeting, preventive and predictive maintenance, and maintenance analysis. 5 years minimum experience with performance management, including supervision of direct reports.

Equivalent Experience: Fifteen plus (15+) years in the power generation industry, oil/gas/petrochemical industry, aircraft maintenance, military or merchant marine services related to the operation and maintenance of power generation equipment or similar propulsion equipment and control systems. Five (5) years minimum experience with performance management, including supervision of direct reports. First-line supervision and leadership with craft labor, A&P mechanics, or field technicians related to rotating equipment/prime movers

Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations: Professional Engineering (PE) license is preferred and valid driver's license that meets the insurance requirements under Oglethorpe Power's Drivers Qualification Program.

Specialized Skills (i.e., computers, software, tools, and equipment uses): Creativity; ability to organize and manage time well and to work with autonomy; good interpersonal skills; strong oral and written communication abilities; good technical and business analytical skills; PC fluency. Ability to work directly with the Plant Manager and senior plant staff

Familiarity and/or expertise with power generation distributed process control systems and related field instrumentation such as Siemens T-3000, GE Mark V & VIe, Emerson Delta V, Allen Bradley PLCs, and Continuous Emissions Monitors (CEMs). Working knowledge and familiarity with power generation plant network environs with layered security consistent with low-impact NERC/CIP requirements is preferred.

Travel: 40%

Unusual hours required of this position: The generating plants operate on a 24‑hour basis. At their discretion, the incumbent may elect to remain on‑site around the clock during forced outages, maintenance outages, or to attend plant meetings that occur outside normal office hours. The incumbent is on 24‑hour call in the event of incidents that affect the operation, rating, or reliability of the Corporation's generating assets.