Director Operations SCADA & OT

FLSA Classification: Exempt

Salary Range: $185,000 - $215,000 plus bonus

Location: Brooklyn, NY (Hybrid)

About The Company:

NineDot's name derives from the classic mathematical puzzle for sparking out-of-the-box solutions. As a leading community-scale, clean energy developer with a growing portfolio of projects across a range of technologies, NineDot Energy is creating innovative energy solutions that support a more resilient electric grid, deliver economic savings, address environmental justice and reduce carbon emissions. Our pipeline includes more than 1 GW of clean energy projects designed to strengthen local power grids and provide clean, reliable and resilient power to the communities we serve.

With the backing of Manulife Investment Management and The Carlyle Group - two of the world’s leading infrastructure investors - NineDot is continuing to expand its core battery energy storage pipeline, deliver enhanced products and services, explore new regions and consider potential acquisitions all to advance the decarbonization of New York’s grid. This is an exciting opportunity to build a platform from the ground-up with a world-class team of developers and innovators.

Job Summary:

The Director, Operations SCADA & OT serves as NineDot Energy’s hands-on technical leader and owner for SCADA and supporting Operational Technology (OT) infrastructure across its growing portfolio of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and distributed energy assets.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role accountable for the technical direction, reliability, scalability, and continuous improvement of NineDot’s Ignition SCADA platform. The Director will work directly within Ignition while also managing external SCADA integrators, leading commissioning and testing, and establishing technical standards across the fleet.

A key objective of this role is to lead NineDot’s transition from individual site-level SCADA systems to a standardized, scalable enterprise SCADA platform that provides centralized monitoring, control, alarming, historian functionality, and operational visibility across the portfolio. The role will also provide technical ownership of supporting OT networks and telecommunications, implement practical OT cybersecurity controls, and provide SCADA and controls-related technical support to the O&M team.

Responsibilities:

SCADA / Ignition Ownership

• Serve as NineDot’s internal technical owner and subject-matter expert for the Ignition SCADA platform.
• Develop and modify Ignition screens, dashboards, templates, tags, alarms, trends, historian configurations, and related functionality.
• Troubleshoot the full SCADA data path, including Ignition gateways, scripts, databases, device connections, field controllers, site networks, communications, and backend applications.
• Administer SCADA software, firmware, configurations, backups, licensing, upgrades, and overall system health.
• Develop fleet-wide standards for SCADA architecture, visualization, alarming, naming conventions, data structures, and documentation.
• Lead the transition from individual site systems to a standardized enterprise SCADA platform, defining the technical roadmap, implementation priorities, and resource requirements.

Integrator Management & Commissioning

• Serve as NineDot’s technical lead for SCADA and controls integrators, maintaining sufficient internal expertise to independently troubleshoot and modify NineDot’s systems.
• Define technical requirements, scopes of work, standards, and acceptance criteria for new projects, and hold integrators accountable for quality, schedule, and delivery.
• Review integrator designs and deliverables, including points lists, control narratives, programming, screens, and system configurations.
• Lead or oversee FAT, SAT, point-to-point testing, alarm verification, functional testing, and end-to-end SCADA commissioning.
• Coordinate integration between BESS/EMS platforms, PLCs/RTACs, meters, relays, utilities, and NineDot SCADA systems.
• Ensure commissioning deficiencies are documented and resolved prior to operational turnover.

OT Networking, Telecommunications & Cybersecurity

• Own and standardize the OT network architecture and connectivity supporting NineDot’s SCADA environment, including IP addressing, remote access, network documentation, and communications with field equipment, utilities, and external systems.
• Configure and troubleshoot switches, routers, firewalls, VPNs, cellular gateways, and other OT network equipment.
• Manage telecommunications requirements and vendors across the project lifecycle, including contracts, service levels, renewals, billing, connectivity, and vendor performance.
• Implement and maintain practical OT cybersecurity controls, including user permissions, secure remote and vendor access, network segmentation, firewall rules, and system configurations.
• Maintain OT asset and configuration inventories and coordinate patching, vulnerability remediation, backups, and recovery activities.
• Work with NineDot IT and external cybersecurity resources where IT and OT responsibilities intersect.

O&M & Project Support

• Partner with Operations, Engineering & Construction, and Data & Technology leadership to prioritize SCADA and OT investments based on operational needs, system risks, and portfolio growth.
• Provide advanced technical support and root-cause analysis for SCADA, controls, communications, alarms, and other OT-related issues, using historian, alarm, and event data as appropriate.
• Develop diagnostic tools, dashboards, trends, and alarms that improve O&M effectiveness.
• Support project design reviews and incorporate operating lessons learned into future designs and fleet-wide technical standards.
• Train O&M personnel on SCADA functionality, alarms, controls, and basic troubleshooting.

Other duties as assigned

Core Competencies:

• Collaborates - Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives.
• Drives Results - Constantly achieving results, even under tough circumstances.
• Interpersonal Savvy - Relating openly and comfortably with diverse groups of people.
• Cultivates Innovation - Creating new and better ways for the organization to be successful.
• Financial Acumen - Interpreting and applying understanding of key financial indicators to make better business decisions.
• Strategic Mindset - Seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them into breakthrough strategies.
• Optimizes Work Processes - Knowing the most effective and efficient processes to get things done, with a focus on continuous improvement.

Required education and experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Computer Engineering, Automation Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field. Equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience with SCADA, industrial controls, automation, OT, power generation, utilities, renewable energy, or similar industrial systems.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience developing, configuring, maintaining, and troubleshooting SCADA systems.
• Experience developing HMI screens, tags, alarms, trends, historian configurations, scripts, and system integrations.
• Experience commissioning SCADA and controls systems, including point-to-point and functional testing.
• Working knowledge of industrial networking, TCP/IP, VPNs, firewalls, switches, routers, and telecommunications.
• Experience managing SCADA/controls integrators and technical vendors.
• Ability to read and interpret electrical one-lines, control schematics, network diagrams, points lists, and technical specifications.
• Strong troubleshooting, communication, and project-management skills.

Preferred education and experience:

• Hands-on experience with Inductive Automation Ignition strongly preferred.
• Experience with Ignition Perspective and/or Vision, Gateway administration, Tag Historian, alarming, scripting, and database integration.
• Experience with Python/Jython, SQL, APIs, or similar technologies used in SCADA applications.
• Experience with Modbus TCP/RTU, DNP3, OPC UA, MQTT, or similar industrial protocols.
• Experience with PLCs, SEL RTACs, protective relays, utility meters, and other intelligent electronic devices.
• Experience with BESS, solar PV, distributed energy resources, substations, or inverter-based resources.
• Experience developing or supporting multi-site or enterprise SCADA architectures.
• Familiarity with industrial networking and OT cybersecurity best practices.

Safety Sensitive Designation

This position is classified as a Safety Sensitive Role due to the nature of its essential job functions, which may include performing work in active construction, industrial, or energy infrastructure environments; operating motor vehicles; overseeing or performing work on or around energized electrical equipment; and/or engaging in activities where impaired performance could pose a risk to the health or safety of employees, contractors, the public, or critical infrastructure.

As a result, this position is subject to NineDot Energy’s Drug and Alcohol Policy, including applicable drug and alcohol testing requirements, and requires strict adherence to safety protocols, PPE requirements, and all applicable federal, state, and local safety regulations.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

At NineDot Energy, we believe diverse perspectives drive innovation and are the foundation of our success. As such, we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender expression, gender identity, age, or any other status of an individual or that individual’s associates or relatives that is protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.

If you're passionate about this role but don’t meet every qualification listed, we still encourage you to apply. You may be the right candidate for this or other opportunities with us. We’re committed to building a team that reflects a broad range of experiences, backgrounds, and skills.

NineDot Employee benefits include but are not limited to:

• Medical, dental and vision coverage
• 5% employer match on your 401k retirement account
• 20 paid vacation days off, plus 7 sick days, 9 federal holidays and 3 personal floating holidays
• 12 weeks of 100% paid parental leave for both the primary and secondary caregiver within the first year of birth or adoption
• Wellness initiatives including a $1,000 stipend
• 16 volunteer hours plus two planned company-wide volunteer outings per year