Project Engineer

Position Description:

The Project Engineer is responsible for ensuring the safe, effective, and efficient commissioning of utility-scale power plants. The ideal candidate will possess strong communication skills, troubleshooting abilities, and technical knowledge across multiple disciplines and project phases. We seek an organized, responsive, and agile individual who can work independently with guidance. This position will report to the Manager of Project Engineering.

Key Responsibilities:

Project Engineer I:

• Lead project execution from a technical standpoint by overseeing weekly commissioning meetings, reviewing engineering design packages against project deliverables, and collaborating with the customer to complete and close out deliverables for successful project closeout.
• Ensure that customer technical and performance project requirements are met or exceeded.
• Collaborate closely with customers, internal teams, and external stakeholders to supervise and support power plant commissioning, achieve Site Acceptance, and fulfill all contractual obligations for assigned utility-scale projects.
• Provide support for troubleshooting tier I and tier II SCADA, controls, and network issues.
• Offer feedback to the Business Development and Engineering teams regarding ongoing commissioning challenges and ISO/utility requirements.
• Take charge of commissioning efforts and related project meetings post equipment delivery to ensure efficient and timely project completion.
• Verify the completion and accuracy of all pre-commissioning checklists, commissioning task lists, and close-out documentation.
• Maintain timely interaction with customers for support on assigned projects and provide assistance to the Services Organization as needed for previous projects, ensuring a high level of customer satisfaction among all stakeholders.
• Provide detailed resolutions to service tickets to contribute to and expand the knowledge database.
• Support other technical functions, such as SCADA, network, controls, and infrastructure, as required.
• Collaborate closely with the Project Management and Service teams to deliver projects within defined timelines and budgets.
• Adhere to Merit Controls’ technical standardization documentation.
• Work closely with the Engineering team to deploy scalable and supportable controls, SCADA, and network solutions.
• Collaborate with project management to report project status, risks, and mitigation measures.
• Encourage creativity in developing innovative solutions.
• Demonstrate excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Utilize proven problem-solving and troubleshooting abilities.
• Adhere to quality management processes in accordance with Merit Controls’ ISO 9001 certification.

Position Requirements:

Experience:

• Basic understanding and knowledge of controls engineering techniques and practices.
• Basic understanding of PLC and RTAC programming, including structured text (IEC61131), ladder logic, and function block diagram.
• Familiarity with industry-standard communications protocols such as Modbus, OPC-UA/DA, and DNP-3.
• Experience with SCADA platforms, particularly Inductive Automation Ignition and Wonderware, is a plus.
• Understanding of electrical one-line schematics.
• Basic understanding of power systems.
• Experience with basic PV solar and storage monitoring functions and designs is a plus (related technical experience will be considered).
• Project Management experience is a plus.
• 5+ years of relevant technical or engineering experience or technical experience with data collection, databases, and programming & scripting. Experience working within renewable energy including industrial or utility scale PV solar, BESS or Wind is preferred.

Education:

Bachelor’s degree in an Engineering-related field such as Electrical, Computer Science, or Mechanical. A bachelor’s degree in related fields is also beneficial.