[Hiring] Director, Generation Controls, Protection, and Automation @Nscale

Role Description

We are hiring a Director, Generation Controls, Protection, and Automation to own one of the hardest and most consequential technical problems in our portfolio: making multi-gigawatt, island-mode power systems stable, protected, and controllable while serving AI data center loads.

• Nscale's Power and Energy group develops behind-the-meter generation colocated with our data center campuses: large reciprocating engine fleets, battery energy storage systems, and medium- and high-voltage distribution operating as islanded microgrids.
• These systems must hold frequency and voltage through some of the most dynamic load profiles in the industry, where GPU training workloads can swing hundreds of megawatts in seconds.
• This role owns the controls, protection, and automation engineered as a single, coherent system.
• This is a hands-on technical leadership role.
• You will set the controls and protection philosophy for our microgrids, drive the engineering through design, factory and hardware-in-the-loop testing, commissioning, and into operation.
• You will engage directly with generation, BESS, switchgear, and relay OEMs, and with the EMT modeling and controls integration partners who validate the designs before we energize.
• You will work alongside a peer Director, Generation Electrical Engineering.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in power systems controls, protection, or automation engineering, with significant time on islanded, industrial, or microgrid power systems rather than purely utility-interconnected plants.
• Deep protective relaying expertise: scheme design, coordination studies, and settings development on modern digital relay platforms.
• Hands-on experience with plant or microgrid control systems: power management systems, governor and excitation coordination, and grid-forming or grid-following inverter controls.
• Working fluency with power systems studies and models: EMT (PSCAD or equivalent), dynamic stability, short circuit, coordination, and arc flash.
• Solid grounding in SCADA and substation automation, communications protocols (IEC 61850, DNP3, Modbus), and OT cybersecurity practices.
• Experience taking controls and protection scopes through commissioning and energization on major projects.
• Proven ability to direct OEMs, consultants, and EPC engineering teams, and to make technically defensible decisions under schedule pressure.
• Exposure to behind-the-meter generation, BESS, or mission-critical facilities is a strong advantage.
• Proven ability to build standards, processes, and small teams in a fast-scaling environment.
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field; PE license preferred.
• Willing and able to travel to project sites and vendor facilities regularly (typically 25%, higher during factory testing and energization campaigns).

Requirements

• Own the microgrid control architecture: the power management system, generation dispatch and load sharing, frequency and voltage regulation in island mode, and coordinated response to load transients and contingencies.
• Define control philosophies and functional specifications for the plant master controller, engine governor and AVR coordination, and grid-forming BESS controls.
• Direct dynamic performance requirements and verification: control tuning, load acceptance and rejection behavior, black start and resynchronization logic, and load ramp coordination with data center energization plans.
• Oversee EMT and dynamic modeling of the microgrid (PSCAD and similar platforms).
• Own the protection philosophy for islanded systems with high inverter penetration and non-utility fault characteristics.
• Review and approve protection designs, relay settings, and coordination studies produced by EPC partners, OEMs, and consultants.
• Direct controller and protection hardware-in-the-loop (CHIL/HIL) testing campaigns.
• Establish settings management discipline: version control, change management, and as-left documentation from factory test through commercial operation.
• Own the plant automation and SCADA architecture for the generation scope.
• Define signal lists, alarm philosophy, and operator interfaces.
• Set OT network and cybersecurity requirements for the controls and protection estate.
• Ensure automation designs integrate cleanly with data center building management and Nscale's wider operational data platforms.
• Carry the controls and protection scope through the project lifecycle.
• Support root cause analysis of controls, protection, and power quality events during startup and operations.
• Develop Nscale's engineering standards, specifications, and reference designs for microgrid controls, protection, and automation.
• Build and lead a small team of controls and protection engineers, and direct specialist consultants and studies firms.
• Manage the technical relationship with relay, controls, BESS, and switchgear OEMs.
• Partner closely with the Director, Generation Electrical Engineering.
• Coordinate with data center operations and controls teams.
• Communicate complex power systems issues clearly to project leadership, commissioning teams, and executives.

Benefits

• Highly competitive US compensation package (base + bonus + equity), with performance reviews every 12 months.
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• 401(k) retirement plan with company match.
• Generous PTO plus US federal holidays.
• A career-defining opportunity to be an early member of one of the fastest growing AI infrastructure companies in the world.
• A human-first approach: We treat you as humans first.