Microgrid Controller Development Firmware Engineer

Role Summary: Own the design and in-house development of the real-time control software that runs on the Microgrid Controller (MGC). This role sits at the intersection of power-electronics control theory and deterministic embedded software, building the droop / grid-forming / grid-following, dispatch, mode-transition, and protection logic that coordinates PCS, BESS, PV, and genset assets. You will bring hands-on knowledge of industry-grade controllers and translate control laws into safe, bounded, real-time code verified on HIL.

Key Responsibilities: Develop the MGC real-time control application on a deterministic RTOS/RT-Linux target — droop/VSG, PLL, GFM/GFL reference generation, P/Q dispatch, and bumpless mode transitions within ≤ 1 ms loops. Implement secondary control (P-f and Q-V droop, virtual inertia, SOC-aware allocation, ramp-rate limiting, black-start sequencing, resynchronization) at the 1–100 ms layer. Build protection coordination logic (50/51, 27/59, 81/81R, anti-islanding, interlock state machine, GOOSE fast trip/block) with hardware trip paths executing in ≤ 20 μs. Design and tune power-electronics control loops interfacing to PCS/BESS unit controllers; validate stability, ride-through (LVRT/HVRT), and grid-fault behavior. Configure and program industry controllers. Implement deterministic comms and middleware — IEC 61850 GOOSE/MMS/SV, Modbus TCP, DNP3, PTP (IEEE 1588), lock-free IPC (DDS / shared-memory SPSC queues), with no dynamic allocation on the RT path. Verify all functions on HIL (Typhoon HIL, OPAL-RT, RTDS, dSPACE) for grid-tied, islanded, black-start, failover, and fault-injection scenarios. Support certification and release evidence — UL 1741 SB, IEEE 1547, IEC 61850 conformance, IEC 62443 / NERC CIP — with clear design and test documentation.

Required Qualifications: B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Power Electronics, Controls, or Computer Engineering (or equivalent experience).Strong grasp of power-electronics control — inverter current/voltage loops, PLL, droop, grid-forming/grid-following, and inverter-based-resource dynamics. Hands-on real-time embedded software in C/C++ on RTOS (FreeRTOS/SafeRTOS/ThreadX) or PREEMPT_RT Linux, with bounded WCET, ISR, and deterministic scheduling discipline. Practical experience with industry controllers / IEDs .Working knowledge of power-system protocols: IEC 61850 (GOOSE/MMS), Modbus, DNP3, and PTP time synchronization. Experience with model-based design and HIL (MATLAB/Simulink, PLECS, Typhoon HIL / OPAL-RT / RTDS) and test automation in Python. Ability to read SLDs, I/O lists, protection settings, control narratives, and register maps; clear technical writing for specs, test plans, and release evidence.

Preferred Experience: Microgrid / BESS plant controller, PPC, or grid-forming inverter control development. Familiarity with Azure DevOps, Git mono-repo workflows, CI/CD, and formal change control / release gates.