Distributed Control System Operator Jobs in Pittsburgh, PA

About the Opportunity

This is an open position with the FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Electric Company, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp.

All employees who apply for a posted position must notify their supervisors that they have applied.  Employees who have not been in their current position for at least one year or who are in a position with specific requirements beyond one year, must obtain approval from their supervisor before applying. 

The selected candidate may be offered a position within the same job family, at a level that is lower than what was posted. This will be determined based upon the results of the interview process which considers the candidate's skills, work history, experience level, and other relevant qualifications.

Responsibilities Include:

• Monitoring the day-to-day operations of the regional distribution system.
• Outage restoration during emergency or abnormal conditions with timely and accurate documentation associated with the distribution system.
• Recommending operational improvements and communicating system events to appropriate personnel
• Demonstrating sound internal and/or external customer service.
• Operating the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, Energy Management System (EMS), PowerOn Outage Management System (OMS), Energy Delivery Outage Application (EDOA) and Regional Dispatch Operations (RDO) notifications as well as radio and telephone systems.
• Analyzing and acting promptly in cases of system disturbance so that the system can be restored to a normal configuration.
• Providing technical analysis, monitoring systems, scheduling and authorizing distribution equipment outages and load transfers.
• Developing detailed scenarios to identify operating problems caused by contingency outages. Assigning and directing switching activities and work assignments to field personnel.
• Monitoring system and weather conditions.
• Coordinating staffing requirements by calling additional resources to handle emergencies.
• Completing training and development to progress to the Regional Distribution System Operator level. Possessing basic understanding of bargaining unit agreements with field labor.
• Required to work nights, weekends, extended days or scheduled days off when system or weather conditions warrant the need.

Qualifications include: 

• Associate's degree or greater in Electrical Engineering, Electrical Engineering Technology, or related certification from an ABET accredited institution.
• Equivalent working experience with demonstrated understanding to operate the distribution system will be considered, in lieu of above stated educational requirements (minimum of 4 years of related work experience).
  • Related work experience includes but is not limited to: Knowledge of Transmission and Distribution operation, maintenance and construction practices, procedures, work methods, materials, equipment and tools to operate the distribution system.
• Capable of effective performance in problem solving, multi-tasking and teamwork.
• Demonstrate effective performance in prioritizing work for efficient and safe operations.
• Possess knowledge of, or ability to learn Transmission and Distribution System Operations, maintenance and construction practices, procedures, work methods, materials, equipment and tools to operate the distribution system.
• Possess reading and comprehension skills to effectively interpret switching requests, engineering drawings, schematics, equipment instruction manuals, standards and procedures used to develop distribution switching orders.
• Possess skills in the development, collection, organization, and analysis of information from a variety of sources to develop switching orders and recommendations.
• Effective oral and written communication skills to effectively communicate with customers, supervisors, peers, employees, and contractors involved with the construction, operation, and maintenance of the T&D facilities.
• Demonstrate a questioning attitude to learn, produce results and develop relationships and have enough maturity to exercise independent judgment on moderately complex projects and assignments.
• Excellent interpersonal and analytical skills to make quick assessments and deliver well-thought decisions, when situations occur that require independent judgment.
• Knowledge of, or ability to learn, specific mainframe and PC applications.
• Ability to remain professional and maintain a calm demeanor in high stress, high volume work environment. Able to remain professional in high-stress, high-volume work environment.
• Must reside within a 60-minute proximity of the reporting location due to job related requirements.

EEI Testing
We administer selection tests for a variety of positions. The required tests have been developed by the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), a trade association of investor-owned electric utility companies.  We strongly encourage potential employees to review all information, including the sample test brochures, and to use the available practice tests before taking the actual tests.  Click this link to access the practice tests. You will be prompted for a name and password. Use firstenergy for both.
https://secure.eei.org/eeitests/onlineproducts/Login.aspx

Practice tests provide sample questions and detailed discussions of the correct answers. It's important to take the practice test as you would the actual one, with similar intensity and concentration.  You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer. 

Note: EEI website does not allow access to actual tests. Testing is held at various locations throughout our service territory based on where the job is located.

All employees must have an account to use a FirstEnergy computer to apply for jobs.   If you do not know if you have an account, please contact the IT Service Desk at 330-315-4357, Option 1 - 1 for assistance.