Remote Operations Center Manager in Phoenix, Arizona at Atlantica

The Remote Operations Center (ROC) Manager leads a team of operators across rotating 24/7 shifts, providing real-time oversight of a multi-technology renewable energy portfolio spanning wind, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) assets. The portfolio is currently concentrated in the US Southwest (CAISO market), with planned expansion into MISO and ERCOT, and includes wind assets in Alberta and Québec with future MISO expansion.

The Manager ensures safe, reliable, and compliant operations across all assets, serves as the primary escalation point for real-time operational issues, and fosters a culture of continuous improvement within the ROC. This role is pivotal in bridging field operations, scheduling coordination, asset management, and SCADA-driven alarm management. In addition, the Manager will serve as a key contributor in the stand-up of a new ROC facility launching January 1, 2027, with significant hands-on involvement throughout the first three months of operations to ensure the center is fully staffed, operationally ready, and performing to standard.

Key Responsibilities

1. Team Supervision & Shift Management

• Supervise, mentor, and develop a team of ROC Operators working rotating 24/7 shifts, including days, nights, weekends, and holidays.

• Create and maintain shift schedules ensuring continuous coverage with no single points of failure.

• Conduct regular performance reviews, one-on-ones, and skills assessments to support operator development and retention.

• Establish and enforce Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), escalation protocols, and shift handover standards.

• Serve as the primary escalation contact for operators during complex or high-impact operational events.

2. Real-Time Operations Monitoring

• Oversee continuous real-time monitoring of wind, BESS, and PV assets via SCADA platforms across multiple geographic regions and regulatory markets.

• Ensure operators actively track generation performance, equipment status, and market signals for CAISO, MISO, ERCOT, AESO, and HQÉI interconnected assets.

• Direct real-time responses to curtailments, forced outages, grid emergencies, and market dispatch instructions.

• Ensure compliance with market rules, grid codes, and interconnection agreements across all operating jurisdictions.

3. SCADA Alarm Management

• Oversee the team's systematic monitoring, triage, and resolution of SCADA alarms across the full asset portfolio.

• Ensure alarm events are correctly classified, escalated, and documented in accordance with established alarm management procedures.

• Direct operators to initiate SAP Work Orders for field technician dispatch in response to equipment alarms, faults, and performance deviations.

• Review alarm logs and Work Order completion rates; identify recurring issues and drive root cause analysis efforts with O&M engineering teams.

• Champion continuous improvement of alarm rationalization and suppression strategies to reduce nuisance alarms and increase operator effectiveness.

4. Coordination with Field Operations

• Serve as the primary ROC interface with field operators and site technicians at wind, BESS, and PV facilities.

• Oversee daily coordination of operations and maintenance (O&M) activities, ensuring safe system states and Lock Out / Tag Out (LOTO) compliance before and after field work.

• Authorize and document switching operations, clearances, and equipment isolation in coordination with field supervisors.

• Ensure the ROC team maintains accurate and up-to-date awareness of field crew activities, planned work, and site access conditions.

5. Outage Coordination & Scheduling

• Lead ROC coordination of planned and forced outages with scheduling coordinators and market operators (CAISO, MISO, ERCOT, AESO, HQÉI).

• Ensure timely and accurate submission of outage notifications, availability updates, and return-to-service confirmations to applicable ISOs and utilities.

• Collaborate with asset managers, O&M teams, and commercial schedulers to minimize revenue impact and optimize outage windows.

• Maintain outage logs and ensure compliance with reporting timelines required by each market and regulatory jurisdiction.

6. SAP Work Order Administration

• Ensure ROC operators proficiently create, assign, and close SAP Plant Maintenance (PM) Work Orders in response to SCADA alarms and operational events

• Monitor Work Order backlogs and escalate aging or high-priority items to maintenance supervisors and asset managers.

• Review and approve Work Orders for accuracy, completeness, and appropriate priority classification.

• Participate in weekly O&M planning meetings to align ROC-generated Work Orders with field maintenance schedules.

7. Reporting & Documentation

• Ensure accurate shift logs, incident reports, and operational summaries are produced for every shift.

• Prepare and deliver daily, weekly, and monthly operational performance reports to leadership.

• Track and report KPIs including asset availability, alarm response time, Work Order cycle time, and outage duration.

• Support post-event investigations and document lessons learned to prevent recurrence.

8. ROC Stand-Up & New Facility Commissioning

• Work as a key contributor alongside the project team to stand up a new Remote Operations Center launching January 1, 2027, with primary focus and elevated involvement expected through March 31, 2027.

• Contribute to the design and implementation of ROC operational infrastructure, including SCADA integration, alarm management frameworks, and workstation configuration.

• Assist in recruiting, onboarding, and initial training of ROC Operators for the new facility, ensuring all personnel are shift-ready prior to go-live.

• Develop and validate Standard Operating Procedures, shift handover standards, escalation protocols, and emergency response plans tailored to the new facility's asset portfolio.

• Coordinate with IT, SCADA/controls vendors, and O&M engineering teams to resolve integration issues and confirm system readiness before and during commissioning.

• Participate in tabletop exercises, mock-shift walkthroughs, and operational readiness reviews to verify the team and systems are prepared for live operations.

• Track and report stand-up milestones, open action items, and readiness gaps to project leadership throughout the commissioning period.

• Transition stand-up responsibilities to steady-state operations management no later than the end of Q1 2027, maintaining documentation of lessons learned for future facility launches.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, power systems, energy management, or a related technical field — OR equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Minimum 10 years of experience in ROC renewable power plant operations, grid control room operations, or utility/ISO operations.

• Minimum 5 years in a managerial role within a 24/7 operational environment.

• Demonstrated experience with SCADA platforms in a wind, solar, or BESS operations environment.

• Familiarity with SAP Plant Maintenance (PM) module for Work Order creation and management.

• Understanding of wholesale electricity markets and interconnection requirements in at least one of: CAISO, MISO, ERCOT, AESO, or HQÉI.

• Strong working knowledge of safety protocols including LOTO, switching procedures, and high-voltage safety practices.

• Excellent leadership, communication, and team development skills.

Preferred

• Experience operating across multiple ISOs/markets simultaneously, particularly CAISO and Canadian markets (AESO / HQÉI).

• Familiarity with all three asset classes: wind turbine generators, utility-scale PV inverters, and grid-scale BESS systems.

• Knowledge of NERC/WECC reliability standards and Canadian provincial grid codes applicable to renewable generation.

• Experience with energy management systems (EMS) and/or advanced SCADA historian platforms (e.g., OSIsoft PI, GE Predix, or similar).

• Professional certification: NERC System Operator Certification, PE license, or equivalent market certification.

• Bilingual (English/French, English/Spanish).

Core Competencies

Working Conditions

• Primary work location: Tempe, Arizona ROC facility (on-site required).

• 24/7 operational environment; manager must be available for escalation on-call outside of standard shifts.

• Sporadic travel to field sites in US Southwest (AZ, CA, NM, NV), Alberta (Canada), and Québec (Canada) may be required.

• May require short-notice response during major weather events, grid emergencies, or significant equipment failures.