Research Development Process Engineer Jobs in Little Rock, AR

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 and transparent 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 bonus (if applicable)
• Hybrid working environment for positions that are eligible
• Fantastic contributions to your retirement through a 401(k) savings plan with employer-match benefits and a pension (defined benefit plan) fully funded by SPP

PLEASE NOTE: SPP is not able to sponsor employment visas or student-work authorizations (STEM OPT) for this position. Please ensure you are eligible to work in the U.S. without sponsorship prior to applying.

COMPENSATION INFORMATION
The salary range(s) represents our good faith estimate for the role at this time. While we strive to provide competitive and transparent compensation, there may be circumstances where an offer is above or outside of the listed range. We are open to discussing salary expectations with qualified candidates considering factors such as the candidate's qualifications, skills, competencies, experience and geographic location will all be considered during the hiring process.

• Engineer I Pay Range: $80,000 - $87,000
• Engineer II Pay Range: $90,000 - $99,000

Overview
The Engineer-Model Delivery is responsible to the assigned Manager for primarily performing the NERC Reliability Verification and Validation to improve the modeling of the SPP electrical transmission system. Based on assignments by supervision the Engineer I also supports the creation of the power flow, dynamic and the short circuit models of the SPP electrical transmission system to support the RTO tariff required studies for Southwest Power Pool Inc.
Core Responsibilities

• Engineering Concepts and Tools
• Develop expertise with the SPP power system analysis tools and processes
• Engineering Responsibilities
• As directed by supervision, enthusiastically complete the specific assignments directed by ad hoc stakeholder/committees, and engineering data coordination efforts associated with the creation of and the use of the SPP electrical transmission system models
• Governing Processes
• Detailed understanding of specific governing documents and processes will be required depending on specific support needs
• Stakeholder Relationships
• Develop positive stakeholder technical, supervisory, leadership and/or management level relationships as necessary to accomplish SPP objectives and assigned directives
• Assist as directed by more experienced engineers or supervisor to develop, Interact, and gather the needed modeling data from the SPP membership, and/or stakeholders.
• Assist as directed by more experienced engineers or supervisor to Validate model information based upon NERC Model Validation Working Group (MVWG) recommendations in the areas of wind generation, specific needs of the dynamic dyre file data for governor, exciter, generator, SVC frequency response, and combined cycle generation.
• Assist with specific assignments as directed by more experienced engineers or supervisor to develop necessary technical stakeholder relationships to collect data and share results. In these cases, facilitate stakeholder feedback discussions to reach a positive stakeholder consensus, to the fullest extent possible
• Engineering Judgment
• Exercise intermediate decision-making skills for technical studies and services to adapt between standard and non-standard techniques
• Develop basic project management skills by taking responsibility for the completion of any assigned independent projects
• Develop necessary skills by working with and observing more experienced engineers as they make technical and project management level decisions
• Teamwork and Leadership Skills
• Provide necessary technical support in a teamwork environment
• Independently handle a SPP technical process, study or task with limited scope and minimum supervision
• Assist more experienced engineers with technical process or advanced studies with appropriate supervision
• Maintain awareness of more experienced engineering decision-making behavior in anticipation of future development of fundamental leadership abilities
• SPP Culture and Core Values
• 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 engineering
• Understand and comply with SPP Policies and Procedures

Qualifications

• • 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
• Engineer I
  
  • No experience required
• Engineer II
  • 2 years of relevant engineering experience or job-related work experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• A Professional Engineer (PE) License
• Advanced degree in related field of study

Other Requirements:

• Competent with the administrative and communication tools for word processing, spread sheet development and time keeping, as a minimum
• Intermediate proficiency with most SPP power systems analysis tools with a solid command of several SPP tools and/or processes
• Practical understanding of the SPP Open Access Transmission Tariff, FERC & NERC governing documents, SPP By-Laws, SPP Criteria and the SPP Committee structure
• Intermediate knowledge of several power systems analysis tools applicable to power system steady state, dynamic, short circuit, or database management systems
• Strong inter-personal and teamwork skills along with excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Competent working skills with communication and data handling software such as Microsoft Office© Word, Excel, Access

Position Type and Expected Hours of Work:

This is a full-time position. The typical work schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Work hours may vary based on organizational and operational needs, as determined by management. Occasional extended or nonstandard hours may be required.

Travel Requirement:

This position requires minimal travel (approximately 10%)

Southwest Power Pool is an equal opportunity employer that makes employment decisions without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, veteran status, age, disability status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Further, Southwest Power Pool makes good faith efforts to employ and advance in employment qualified protected veterans and qualified individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, please contact us at HR@spp.org and let us know the nature of your request. We will only respond to messages left that involve a request for a reasonable accommodation in the application process.

At SPP we believe in a culture of belonging. Learn more here: Culture of Belonging - Southwest Power Pool.