Senior Electrical Test Engineer, Medium Voltage

The role

This person will perform hands on field engineering focused on electrical testing and failure investigation for medium voltage solutions. They will lead investigations of failed transformers, switchgear, and converters to determine root causes.

What you will do

• Lead hands on field investigations of failed medium voltage transformers, switchgear and converters.
• Perform and interpret medium voltage electrical tests.
• Use test results and physical damage analysis to determine failure mechanism and root cause.
• Document investigations using SMA’s 8D process.
• Conduct initial site analyses and on site technical evaluations.
• Provide technical consultation to customers and service teams.
• Create detailed failure descriptions and collaborate with headquarters.
• Recognize and document known failure patterns.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary and international teams to implement corrective and preventive actions.
• Execute, monitor and evaluate corrective actions implemented by service teams and suppliers.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or a related field, or equivalent experience, such as NETA Level III or IV certification, military power generation training or a technical degree with prog
• Minimum 7 years of combined experience in electrical testing, commissioning, field service or failure investigation, including customer facing work.
• Hands on field experience testing, troubleshooting and investigating failures on medium voltage equipment, roughly 1 kV to 35 kV.
• Demonstrated ability to identify the failure mechanism and specific root cause of a medium voltage equipment failure.
• Ability to present findings and corrective actions to senior leadership.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills across cross functional and international teams.
• Ability to travel approximately 20 to 30%, including to customer sites and the Rocklin, CA office.
• Availability for occasional early morning meetings with headquarters in Germany.
• Proficiency in written and verbal English.

Nice to have

• Master’s degree
• Proficiency in German
• Experience performing or interpreting medium voltage electrical tests, such as insulation resistance, power factor, turns ratio, dissolved gas analysis, contact resistance and breaker timing
• NETA Level III or IV certification, or equivalent electrical testing credentials
• Experience with structured root cause methods such as 8D, 5 Why, Ishikawa diagramming or Pareto analysis
• Experience with an electrical testing services firm, a utility, or a transformer or switchgear OEM field service group
• Experience with hermetically sealed equipment
• Experience with solar PV inverters, battery energy storage or medium voltage power stations
• Military power generation background, such as U.S. Army Prime Power or Navy electrical ratings
• Working knowledge of SAP, Salesforce and JIRA

Benefits

• Medical plan options through Aetna, plus Kaiser in California
• SMA covers about 90% or more of medical premiums
• Contribution up to $1,500 a year to HSA on the high deductible plan
• $0 employee only dental and vision options
• Short and long term disability
• $50,000 in life and AD&D insurance at no cost
• 16 days of PTO, increasing with tenure
• 12 paid holidays
• 401k plan with a 100% match up to 5%
• Tuition reimbursement
• Opportunities for professional development

Before you apply

• Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full time basis.
• SMA America does not offer employment visa sponsorship of any kind.
• Candidates who currently require or will in the future require visa sponsorship are not eligible.
• Candidates operating under a temporary work permit or any visa tied employment authorization are not eligible.

About the company

SMA America is the U.S. subsidiary of SMA Solar Technology AG. They develop solar inverter technology and provide solutions for residential rooftops to large scale utility plants.