Microgrid Controls Validation Engineer

About Intersect

We're a team united by a mission to preserve our planet through innovative energy solutions and modern infrastructure. Following Google's agreement to acquire Intersect in December 2025, we will continue to develop, construct, and operate ambitious power and data infrastructure. Intersect's operations will remain separate from Alphabet and Google under the Intersect brand. We are on an aggressive growth trajectory and seeking individuals passionate about tackling the planet's largest energy challenges.

Location & Team Gatherings

Intersect has embraced a fully flexible workplace model since its inception in 2016, offering work-from-home, hybrid, and in-office options. We prioritize deepening social connections through quarterly Team Week experiences and at our established Hub locations: SF Bay Area, NYC Metro Area, NY; Denver, CO; Houston, TX; Calgary, AB; and Toronto, ON. We are currently looking for candidates located within 60 miles of any of these listed hubs to foster in-person connections while maintaining our flexible remote culture.

About This Role

As a Microgrid Controls Validation Engineer within Intersect’s Microgrid Engineering team, you will define and implement the validation framework to ensure microgrid control software operates safely and reliably prior to field deployment. This role is central to building simulation environments, validation tools, and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing to verify controls code across diverse real-world operating conditions. Collaborating closely with controls engineers, power systems engineers, utilities, and external partners, you will play a crucial role in ensuring microgrid systems meet performance, compliance, and reliability expectations at scale.

Team Overview

This team is vital to Intersect’s mission of accelerating the clean energy transition, by designing and operating systems that provide reliable power on a massive scale. The Microgrid Engineering team works across software, hardware, operations, and with external stakeholders to validate complex systems under realistic conditions, ensuring safety, performance, and long-term operability. Joining this team offers direct exposure to advanced validation techniques and large-scale energy systems, contributing to work with significant real-world impact.

What You’ll Do

• Build and Maintain Validation Frameworks: Develop software validation tools and simulation frameworks to test control algorithms across a full spectrum of operating conditions, including failure modes, communication delays, and equipment faults. Define requirements for using real-time simulators for Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing.
• Automate Testing and Reporting: Automate test execution to establish reproducible validation workflows and reporting tools. Design verification metrics to demonstrate control performance, safety, and compliance.
• Define Test Cases and Performance Criteria: Collaborate with engineering teams, utilities, and external stakeholders to establish test cases and performance requirements, validating both steady-state behavior and abnormal operating scenarios.
• Integrate Field Learnings into Validation: Support the analysis of field operating data to refine simulation models and identify edge cases. Integrate field learnings into regression test suites to continuously enhance validation coverage.
• Maintain Validation Assets and Traceability: Manage a structured repository of validation assets, test artifacts, and documentation. Ensure clear version control, traceability, and repeatability across validation workflows.

What You’ll Bring

• B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• 3–7+ years of experience in real-time system validation, embedded software testing, or SIL/HIL simulation.
• Ability to design automated test pipelines and verification metrics for real-time or embedded systems.
• Experience with simulation tools such as Simulink or Modelica and real-time simulators, including SIL, HIL, or comparable validation methods.
• Proficiency in industrial control and embedded languages such as C++, IEC 61131-3 Structured Text, SEL RTAC logic, CODESYS, Lua, Rust, or C.
• Experience with modern development practices including version control and automated validation workflows.
• Familiarity with utility grid interconnection and market requirements, particularly in ERCOT.
• A collaborative work style and the ability to work effectively with cross-functional technical teams.
• Strong attention to detail and a mindset focused on safety, quality, and system reliability.

Total Rewards

At Intersect, we prioritize your well-being, growth, and balance:

• Total Compensation: USD$185,000 - $195,000 (inclusive of base salary + bonus)
• Health & Wellness: 100% premium coverage for you and your dependents on medical, dental, and vision plans.
• Time to Recharge: Unlimited PTO, complemented by two company-wide breaks (Fourth of July & end of year).
• Family Support: Up to 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave, plus an additional 6 weeks for birth parents; access to family planning and family care support via Carrot and Maven.
• Mental Health: Free access to Spring Health, including 5 complimentary therapy and psychiatry sessions, and a Headspace account for mindfulness through our physical health vendor, Wellhub+.
• Perks & Extras: $150 monthly food stipend, $150 monthly reimbursement for cell phone and internet, pet insurance allowance, full home office setup, free access to UrbanSitter with $625 in quarterly company-paid credits, ActiveHero, and One Medical.

Key skills/competency

• Microgrid Controls
• Real-time Systems
• HIL Simulation
• SIL Simulation
• Automated Testing
• Validation Frameworks
• Embedded Software
• Power Systems Engineering
• C++/IEC 61131-3
• Version Control