Electrical Engineer - Data Center Power Generation

Basic Function

The Electrical Engineer - Data Center Power Generation will serve as SB Energy’s owner-side electrical engineering subject matter expert for simple-cycle and combined-cycle gas power generation projects. This role will provide technical oversight throughout engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and turnover, helping ensure electrical systems meet project requirements and support safe, reliable plant operation.

The engineer will coordinate electrical design interfaces among original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractors, consultants, and SB Energy’s internal teams. Key responsibilities include reviewing design packages, resolving technical questions, and developing coordinated owner responses to requests for information (RFIs), submittals, and proposed design changes.

Responsibilities

Electrical Engineering and Design Oversight

• Serve as the owner’s electrical engineering SME for simple-cycle and combined-cycle gas generation projects, providing technical guidance from initial design through commissioning and closeout.

• Review electrical design criteria, specifications, calculations, drawings, and equipment selections for alignment with contractual requirements, applicable codes and standards, and plant operating needs.

• Review plant electrical systems, including generator connections, generator step-up and auxiliary transformers, medium- and low-voltage distribution, switchgear, motor control centers, emergency power, DC and UPS systems, grounding, lightning protection, and cable systems.

• Review electrical studies, including load flow, short circuit, protective device coordination, arc flash, motor starting, and grounding; coordinate specialized analyses with qualified internal and external resources.

• Evaluate designs for constructability, maintainability, equipment access, system reliability, and integration with plant operations.

• Identify technical gaps, conflicting requirements, and design risks; track resolution and escalate issues affecting safety, performance, cost, or schedule.

OEM and EPC Interface Coordination

• Coordinate electrical interfaces among gas turbine, steam turbine, generator, and balance-of-plant OEMs and the EPC contractor, as applicable to each project configuration.

• Establish and maintain clear interface requirements, scope boundaries, responsibilities, and required engineering deliverables.

• Coordinate OEM electrical data, equipment ratings, auxiliary load requirements, protection requirements, connection details, and control interfaces for incorporation into the EPC design.

• Verify alignment among OEM package designs, plant distribution systems, protection and controls, plant control systems, and grid interconnection requirements.

• Coordinate with the data center electrical design team, generation OEMs, and EPC contractor to align generation capabilities with campus load requirements, including load ramping, operating modes, protection, controls, and energization sequencing.

• Lead technical interface meetings, document decisions and action items, and drive timely resolution of open issues.

• Work with project management and project engineering personnel to align technical deliverables and decisions with procurement, construction, and commissioning milestones.

Design Reviews RFIs and Submittals

• Lead or participate in electrical design reviews at key project milestones, consolidating owner comments and tracking their disposition through closure.

• Develop and coordinate SB Energy’s technical responses to electrical RFIs, equipment submittals, shop drawings, technical deviations, and proposed substitutions.

• Engage other engineering disciplines, operations personnel, consultants, and OEM specialists when responses affect systems beyond the electrical scope.

• Review proposed design changes for impacts on equipment ratings, protection, reliability, operability, cost, and schedule; provide recommendations to project leadership.

• Maintain clear records of technical decisions, review comments, accepted deviations, and outstanding engineering issues.

• Coordinate reviews with the Owner’s Engineer and support responses to Independent Engineer questions and document requests.

Equipment and Procurement Support

• Develop or review electrical equipment specifications, technical requisitions, and procurement package requirements.

• Perform technical bid evaluations, identify exceptions, and support clarification of supplier proposals.

• Review vendor drawings, calculations, test plans, and technical documentation for compliance with project requirements and coordination with connected systems.

• Support factory acceptance testing and equipment inspections, as required, and coordinate resolution of technical deficiencies.

• Work with procurement and project teams to address technical issues affecting long-lead electrical equipment and delivery schedules.

Utility and Interconnection Coordination

• Coordinate with utilities, ISOs/RTOs, OEMs, and the EPC contractor to address interconnection requirements, resolve technical comments, and align protection, metering, telemetry, and controls interfaces.

• Support interconnection-related energization and commissioning, including outage coordination, required documentation, witness testing, and verification of readiness for grid connection and operation.

Construction Commissioning and Turnover Support

• Provide owner-side technical support for electrical installation questions, field changes, nonconformances, and construction issues.

• Work with site engineering, construction, and QA/QC teams on first articles, installation benchmarks, inspections, and resolution of electrical deficiencies.

• Review electrical testing and commissioning procedures, protection settings, and energization plans with the responsible specialists and operating personnel.

• Support troubleshooting during equipment testing, initial energization, startup, and plant commissioning.

• Review test results and support verification that electrical systems meet project acceptance and turnover requirements.

• Review as-built drawings, final studies, relay settings, equipment manuals, test records, and other electrical closeout documentation for completeness and consistency with the installed systems.

Qualifications/Requirements

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering.

• Experience in electrical engineering for gas-fired power generation, with direct involvement in simple-cycle and/or combined-cycle projects.
• 7-10+ years of professional experience.

• Strong understanding of power plant electrical systems, including generators, transformers, medium- and low-voltage distribution, switchgear, motors, grounding, DC systems, and UPS systems.

• Experience coordinating electrical design interfaces between major equipment OEMs and EPC engineering teams.

• Ability to independently review electrical drawings, specifications, calculations, equipment submittals, and engineering studies, and provide clear, actionable technical comments.

• Working knowledge of power system protection, electrical studies, equipment testing, and commissioning practices.

• Experience working with utilities and Independent System Operators (ISOs) or Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) through the generator interconnection process, including technical reviews, interconnection requirements, energization approvals, commissioning, and testing.

• Familiarity with applicable electrical codes, industry standards, and utility requirements.

• Ability to assess technical issues, develop practical recommendations, and recognize when additional specialist input is needed.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain technical issues to project managers, contractors, and operations personnel.

• Strong organization and follow-through in managing design comments, RFIs, submittals, and technical action items.

• Ability to work remotely and travel approximately 25% to project sites in Pike County, Ohio.

Preferred

• Experience with both simple-cycle and combined-cycle gas generation projects.

• Experience serving as an owner’s engineer or technical representative for a developer, asset owner, or utility.

• Experience with gas-powered data center projects, including coordination of electrical interfaces between generation facilities and data center loads, with consideration of load profiles, load changes, power quality, reliability, and operating requirements.

• High-voltage experience involving substations, switchyards, generator step-up transformers, transmission interconnections, and associated protection and controls.

• Experience with gas turbine and steam turbine generator packages and their integration into plant electrical systems.

• Familiarity with generator protection, excitation systems, synchronization, and interfaces with plant and turbine control systems.

• Experience using or reviewing results from power system analysis software such as ETAP, SKM, or equivalent tools.

• Experience supporting field construction, commissioning, startup, and operating plant troubleshooting.

• Professional Engineer (PE) license.

Location: Hybrid - remote work with approximately 25% travel to project sites in Pike County, Ohio.

Base Pay - $140,000 - $170,000

The pay range mentioned above is a guideline. We tailor each offer based on your unique skills, experience, location, and market benchmarks—while ensuring internal parity across our teams. The compensation range provided reflects base pay. Total rewards may also include performance-based bonuses, equity grants, and a market leading comprehensive health and wellness benefits package. Final details will be discussed during the later stages of the hiring process.

Our Health & Wellness Benefits

At SB Energy, we invest in our people and their families with benefits designed for flexibility, support, and peace of mind. Full-time employees enjoy:

• 100% Company-Paid Medical, Dental & Vision (for employees and dependents)
• 401(k) with Company Match
• Generous Paid Time Off + 11 Paid Holidays
• 12 Weeks Parental Leave
• Life, AD&D & Long-Term Disability Coverage
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) for Medical, Dependent Care, Transit & Parking (with company contributions)
• Mental, Physical & Social Wellness Support (with company contributions)
• Flexible Work Arrangements & Hybrid Office Setup Benefits
• Monthly Reimbursement for Phone, Internet & Data
• Optional Legal & Pet Insurance Plans
• Device Purchase Support

At SB Energy, the success of our projects is driven by a desire to see our projects benefit as many people as possible. We work to serve local communities through volunteering, fundraising, and much more. For example, we’re proud to support access and opportunity in engineering and clean energy through impactful mentorship programs and workforce training. When you join SB Energy, you can become a part of these efforts, collaborating with team members who share a vision of building a better future now!

SB Energy is built on a foundation of collaboration and inclusion. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other legally protected class.

To learn more about us, visit www.sbenergy.com.