Principal Engineer

Company

Orenda is on a mission to make the grid more efficient with renewable energy projects and proprietary asset management technology. We develop, build, own and operate battery energy storage projects in dense urban environments to bridge the gap between renewables and electricity consumption.

We are a dynamic, NYC-based company at the forefront of a new industry. We are seeking highly motivated and incredibly talented individuals who wish to contribute to our important mission.

About the Team

Orenda’s Asset Management department is responsible for the safe, compliant, and profitable long-term operation of the company’s entire fleet of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) assets. Our primary objective is to maximize asset availability, revenue capture, and operational lifespan while managing all contractual, regulatory, and stakeholder obligations. Four functions report to the Director of Asset Management: Operations & Maintenance (site operations), Asset Integrity (engineering), Central Operations (24/7 command center & markets), and Commercial & Regulatory (contracts, compliance and reporting). We own the operating system that makes fleet operations repeatable at scale: engineered maintenance programs, a 24/7 monitoring capability, disciplined handovers from construction, and decision grade reporting.

We partner cross functionally with Development, Pre-Construction, Construction, Asset Technology, and Finance to ensure assets arrive operable and operate profitably.

About the Role

The Principal Engineer is the fleet's technical conscience. As the independent, senior most engineering authority of the Asset Management department, you ensure the long term health, safety, and engineering integrity of every Orenda BESS assets: the ultimate technical steward from asset acceptance through decommissioning. Your sign off is binding: no asset enters the fleet, no maintenance program governs it, and no engineering change touches it without your approval.
Reporting to the Director of Asset Management, you build the technical foundation from zero: the failure mode analysis and alarm philosophy the command center runs on, the master maintenance plans the field executes, the departmental safety program every crew works under, and the test protocols that make our performance guarantees enforceable against OEMs. You cross check the Engineer of Record and the equipment OEMs and catch what they miss.

• This role is ideal for: a senior power systems engineer who has caught what the EOR missed, builds maintenance programs from failure modes rather than vendor brochures, and wants their engineering judgment to be the standard an entire fleet is run by.

What you’ll do

• Lead technical due diligence for all new asset handovers from construction: final engineering review and binding sign off on as-built documentation, system configurations, and commissioning data
• Develop, own, and maintain the master Preventative Maintenance plans, scopes of work, and technical specifications for the fleet, executed by Operations & Maintenance
• Develop and own the departmental safety program: site-specific electrical safety plans, Emergency Action Plans, and Lockout-Tagout (LOTO) procedures
• Own the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), alarm rationalization (severity matrix), and response playbooks for BESS and balance-of-plant systems
• Provide and approve all engineering solutions for on-site modifications, retrofits, and major repairs; lead complex root cause analysis (RCA) efforts
• Define capacity and round trip efficiency (RTE) test protocols; capture warranty grade performance baselines at commissioning
• Define the EMS/dispatch architecture (NOC ↔ EMS ↔ site controller) and lead integration testing
• Own commissioning acceptance: FDNY acceptance testing coordination and class A punch sign-off authority
• Proactively identify long term technical risks to the fleet: component obsolescence, systemic design issues and own mitigation strategies
• Serve as the primary engineering resource for the Operations & Maintenance and Central Operations functions; technical authority for all SOPs
• Author and issue technical bulletins, SOPs, and MOPs for complex maintenance executed by Site Operations, and define the CMMS engineering data standards.
• Define and own the Asset Management design and equipment standards — site design, equipment selection, and specifications — and ensure every project is designed and all equipment procured in conformance with them, driving requirements up front rather than commenting after the fact.
• Engage Construction and Development through delivery to confirm each site is designed and built to your specifications and in compliance with your standards before you accept it.
• Start as the hands-on engineering authority, then build and lead the engineering team (integration, maintenance, sustainment) until it performs nearly all the work.
• Accept and sign off the handover 'Project Archive' into the central repository as the binding technical record for each new asset.
• Review each project's design and equipment selections as they develop, ensuring conformance with Asset Management requirements before construction.
• Own the lessons-learned program: convert field data and RCA findings into design-standard and equipment-selection improvements fed back to Development and Project Execution.
• Own the technical interface with Con Edison: interconnection requirements, protection settings, and metering; resolve utility engineering comments and witness conditions.
• Coordinate with the three peer managers: issue the master PM plans, SOPs/MOPs, standards and safety program to the Site Operations Manager and serve as their senior engineering escalation; supply the FMEA, alarm philosophy and response playbooks the Central Operations Manager runs on; and provide RCA findings and technical-risk items to the Commercial Asset Manager as warranty-claim evidence and risk-register input.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or a closely related engineering field.
• 10+ years in power systems engineering across generation, storage, or transmission & distribution, including 3+ years as a senior or final technical authority: owner's engineer, lead/chief engineer, or design review sign-off responsibility where your judgment was the deciding word.
• Demonstrated engineering depth, not familiarity: has performed or authoritatively reviewed protection and coordination studies, arc-flash analyses, one-line designs, and MV switchgear applications and can defend that work under challenge.
• Working command of the codes and standards that govern this fleet: NEC (NFPA 70), IEEE 1547, UL 9540/9540A, and NFPA 855/70E/70B.
• Reliability methods in practice: has personally led FMEA/RCM programs, alarm rationalization, and root-cause investigations through to implemented corrective action.
• Commissioning or test protocol experience producing contractually enforceable results: acceptance testing, witness authority, or performance baselines that survived OEM dispute.
• Genuine field presence: substantial time on energized MV equipment and operating sites; comfortable being the engineer the crew calls from the field.

Preferred Qualifications (Bonus)

• Professional Engineer (PE) license strongly preferred; New York licensure a plus
• Utility scale or distributed BESS commissioning or operations experience
• NYISO / VDER technical familiarity (interconnection, dispatch, and metering constructs)
• CMMS implementation experience; Python or SQL for engineering analytics
• Previously built an engineering function, standards library, or maintenance program from scratch

Skills and Attributes

• Treats engineering integrity as non-negotiable: reviews EOR and OEM work thoroughly, raises deficiencies directly, and withholds sign off until they are resolved.
• Makes timely, well reasoned engineering decisions that weigh safety, availability, and warranty consequences, and knows when to escalate.
• Organized and process driven; produces engineering documents, test protocols, and maintenance programs that withstand FDNY, legal, and OEM scrutiny, and maintains them as living records.
• Communicates clearly in writing and in person. Translates technical analysis into concise recommendations that give leadership what they need to act, and is equally credible with a field technician, an OEM engineering team, and the CEO.
• Works effectively across departments and builds strong working relationships with EORs, OEMs, and commissioning teams without compromising Orenda's position.
• Takes full ownership of fleet technical outcomes and holds OEMs and engineers accountable with documented evidence, without being adversarial.
• Positive, solutions oriented mindset and genuine work ethic.

Work Environment

This is a full-time position based at Orenda’s headquarters in Brooklyn, NY, with extensive and regular work at active sites across the five NYC boroughs, including on-call rotation participation.

Why join Orenda?

At Orenda, you’ll help build the real-world infrastructure that makes the energy transition possible.

You’ll join a mission-driven culture that values ownership, accountability, continuous learning, high performance, and genuine collaboration. We work hard, move quickly, and enjoy doing it together.

In addition to the chance to do important work with a great team, Orenda offers a competitive compensation package designed to attract and retain top talent:

• Base Salary: The anticipated base salary range for this full-time position in New York City is $140,000-$205,000 per year. The final base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the successful candidate's relevant experience, skills, and qualifications.
• Bonus: In addition to the base salary, this role is eligible for a significant annual performance-based bonus.
• Benefits: Our comprehensive benefits package includes:
  • Health, dental, and vision insurance
  • 401(k) plan, with 3% employer match
  • LifeTime Fitness corporate membership
  • Monthly commuter stipend
  • Learning and education stipend
  • Flexible Paid Time Off (PTO) policy
  • Regular company events

Orenda Inc. is an equal opportunity employer committed to fair and inclusive hiring and employment practices in accordance with federal, New York State, and New York City law. We do not discriminate in any aspect of employment—including hiring, promotion, compensation, or termination—on the basis of any protected characteristic, including race, color, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by law.

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