Director, Electrical Balance of Plant (EBOP)
Job Type: Exempt, Salaried | Full-Time, Permanent
Location: United States – Remote - Texas
Reports To: VP, Operations
Department: Operations
Position Summary
The Director, Electrical Balance of Plant (EBOP) – Renewable Energy is responsible for leading the operational performance, maintenance readiness, repair execution, compliance, and field support programs for EBOP assets across utility-scale renewable energy facilities. This role oversees contractor-led repairs, switchyard and substation maintenance activities, protection system compliance, spare parts and inventory strategy, field technician training, and continuous improvement efforts that support safe, reliable, and compliant operation of solar, wind, and battery energy storage generation assets.
The ideal candidate will bring strong experience in renewable generation operations, high-voltage electrical maintenance, contractor management, regulatory compliance, field execution, work planning, and technician development.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the EBOP operations and maintenance function for renewable energy assets, including substations, switchyards, collector systems, transformers, breakers, relays, protection systems, grounding, controls, communications, SCADA interfaces, and related high-voltage equipment.
- Manage contractor-led inspections, troubleshooting, corrective maintenance, emergency repairs, equipment replacements, and restoration activities to ensure safe, timely, and high-quality execution.
- Own the repair execution process from issue identification through scope development, contractor mobilization, outage coordination, field oversight, documentation, closeout, and lessons learned.
- Ensure compliance with applicable NERC requirements, including PRC-005 maintenance and testing obligations for protection systems, automatic reclosing, sudden pressure relaying, batteries, relays, and associated components where applicable.
- Develop, maintain, and monitor maintenance schedules, testing intervals, evidence packages, corrective action tracking, and audit-ready documentation for substation and switchyard compliance programs.
- Partner with compliance, operations, engineering, asset management, and field leadership to identify compliance gaps, resolve overdue work, and improve maintenance program controls.
- Establish and lead training programs for field technicians, including substation safety, switching awareness, equipment inspection, maintenance standards, contractor interface expectations, troubleshooting fundamentals, documentation requirements, and compliance-sensitive work practices.
- Track and manage switchyard and substation inventory, including critical spares, long-lead components, test equipment, consumables, tools, and replacement parts needed to support maintenance and repair readiness.
- Develop sparing strategies for high-impact equipment such as relays, breakers, control components, batteries, communication devices, disconnect switches, instrument transformers, and other EBOP assets.
- Coordinate outage planning and switching support with operations, utilities, transmission operators, site teams, contractors, and internal stakeholders to minimize production impacts and maintain safe work conditions.
- Review field reports, inspection findings, test results, failure trends, and maintenance history to identify recurring issues and drive corrective actions.
- Support root cause analysis, incident investigations, equipment failure reviews, and reliability improvement initiatives for EBOP and substation assets.
- Develop and maintain standard work practices, repair procedures, contractor scopes, inspection checklists, maintenance templates, and quality expectations for EBOP field work.
- Manage contractor performance, including safety compliance, work quality, schedule adherence, cost control, documentation completeness, and post-work closeout.
- Provide leadership during forced outages, equipment failures, storm events, system alarms, and other urgent operational events requiring EBOP or substation support.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Electrical Technology, Construction Management, Operations Management, or a related technical discipline; equivalent field experience may be considered.
- Minimum of 10–15 years of progressive experience in renewable energy operations, substation maintenance, high-voltage electrical maintenance, power generation, utility operations, transmission, or industrial electrical systems.
- Demonstrated experience leading maintenance, repair, contractor management, or field execution programs for substations, switchyards, collector systems, or renewable generation facilities.
- Working knowledge of NERC reliability requirements applicable to renewable generation and substation assets, including PRC-005 maintenance and evidence expectations.
- Strong understanding of high-voltage and medium-voltage equipment, including transformers, circuit breakers, disconnect switches, relays, batteries, protection systems, controls, SCADA, metering, communications, and grounding systems.
- Experience managing contractors, outage work, maintenance schedules, spare parts, inspection programs, corrective actions, and field documentation.
- Proven ability to build training programs, standardize field procedures, and improve technician capability across geographically dispersed renewable sites.
- Strong leadership, communication, planning, and decision-making skills, including the ability to coordinate urgent repairs and communicate clearly with operations, compliance, engineering, and executive stakeholders.
Preferred Qualifications
- Professional certification, electrical license, NERC compliance experience, or formal substation maintenance training.
- Prior leadership experience in renewable energy owner/operator environments, independent power producers, utilities, EPC firms, or operations and maintenance service providers.
- Experience with computerized maintenance management systems, asset management platforms, inventory tracking tools, compliance evidence systems, and outage management processes.
- Hands-on familiarity with substation testing, relay maintenance, battery maintenance, breaker maintenance, infrared inspections, oil testing, grounding inspections, and equipment condition monitoring.
- Experience developing maintenance programs, training matrices, technician qualification standards, contractor scorecards, and audit preparation materials.
- Familiarity with ISO/RTO coordination, utility switching protocols, clearance procedures, lockout/tagout, energized work practices, and operational risk management.
- Experience managing critical spares, warranty claims, repair budgets, service agreements, and long-lead equipment procurement.
Core Competencies
- Operational leadership with a strong focus on safety, reliability, compliance, and execution discipline.
- Ability to lead contractors and field teams through complex repair events and time-sensitive outage work.
- Strong understanding of maintenance planning, compliance evidence, inventory readiness, and asset reliability.
- Practical problem-solving skills in high-voltage field environments.
- Ability to translate compliance, engineering, and operational requirements into clear field procedures and training expectations.
- Collaborative leadership style with the ability to align site teams, contractors, engineers, compliance personnel, and senior leaders.
Working Conditions and Travel
- Regular travel to renewable energy sites, substations, switchyards, contractor locations, and equipment suppliers may be required.
- Must be able to support outage planning, emergency repairs, field investigations, commissioning support, and urgent operational events as business needs require.
- Work may involve exposure to active construction sites, operating generation facilities, high-voltage environments, outdoor conditions, and safety-sensitive work areas.
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