Director Integrated Grid Operations

Minimum Pay Rate: $223,995.20

Maximum Pay Rate: $311,937.60

Civil Service Status: Non-Civil Service

Apply by Date: 11/20/2026

Posting Type: Open

SMUD is seeking an accomplished, strategic, and forward-thinking Director of Integrated Grid Operations to help lead the future of a safe, reliable, and increasingly advanced electric grid. As a member of the Senior Leadership Team within the Generation & Grid Operations business unit, this position provides executive leadership and direction for critical electric system functions, including real-time engineering, market operations, transmission and distribution operations, power system operations training, Geographic Information System (GIS), and scheduling and interchange.

In this high-impact leadership role, the Director of Integrated Grid Operations is responsible for helping ensure 24/7 safe, reliable, compliant, and operationally excellent performance across SMUD's electric system. This is a unique opportunity to lead highly skilled teams, strengthen grid reliability and emergency preparedness, support the integration of advanced technologies and evolving grid capabilities, and make a meaningful difference for the customers and communities SMUD serves.

We are seeking a strong leader with a demonstrated track record of building partnerships, leading through complexity, and collaborating effectively with internal stakeholders, external agencies, and policymakers to make sound, timely, and high-quality decisions.

Application Supplemental Question

Applicants should be prepared to respond to the following question during the application process:

Given your understanding of the Director of Integrated Grid Operations role, please provide a brief summary of your experience, education, training, and leadership accomplishments that best prepare you for this position. Please include relevant examples of your experience in electric system operations, Balancing Authority, transmission and distribution operations, market operations, emergency response, safety leadership, regulatory compliance, and leading teams in a complex operational environment.

Employee Benefits:

• Competitive Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage
• Retirement through Public Employees Retirement System
• 457 and 401(k) plans available
• Flexible Savings Account
• Short and Long-Term Disability
• Employee and Spouse Life Insurance

Purpose

The Director Integrated Grid Operations has primary responsibility, in alignment with SMUD's Generation & Grid Operations business unit, for the Real-Time Engineering, Market Operations, Transmission and Distribution Operations, Power System Operations Training, and Scheduling & Interchange functions. In collaboration with the Chief Generation & Grid Operations Officer and peer senior management team members, the Director designs and implements the processes necessary to ensure the safe, reliable, secure, and compliant operation, control, and monitoring of SMUD's generation, transmission, distribution, and gas pipeline systems. The Director also manages contracted operations for the Balancing Authority of Northern California (BANC) in accordance with North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) reliability standards, as well as BANC's operation as a California ISO Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM) entity.

Nature and Scope

This is a department level senior management position. It is distinguished from other director positions by its emphasis on the Integrated Grid Operations Department. This position provides ongoing direction and management to ensure the safe, compliant, reliable and efficient operations of the following functional areas: Real-Time Engineering, Market Operations, Transmission and Distribution Operations, Power System Operations Training, and Scheduling & Interchange functional areas. The role is required to attend, present and/or lead at Board, executive, team, customer, community, and one-on-one meetings; in person, as needed.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Manages, organizes, oversees, and coordinates a united approach to the operations and functions of Real-Time Engineering, EIM Operations, Transmission and Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Operations, Power System Operations Training, and Scheduling & Interchange.
• Promotes the safety of SMUD employees, contractor staff, and customers through adherence to established SMUD policies and goals, development of specific goals for the work segment, and monitoring and responding to safety concerns.
• Manages, oversees, supports, and coordinates reporting managers in Integrated Grid Operations with other SMUD departments, external entities internal to the SMUD transmission system and BANC Balancing Authority, as well as with interfacing transmission operators and balancing authorities, to meet load requirements and energy delivery schedules on a continuous 24 hours per day, 7 days per week basis.
• Management responsibility for Geographical Information System unit to ensure accurate and timely updates of the grid.
• Employs prudent utility practices and provides leadership to interpret, implement and comply with all mandated NERC and WECC Reliability Standards, regulatory requirements, and policies.
• Coordinates active participation by the appropriate units in the NERC and WECC Reliability Standards Development Process.
• Advocates SMUD's interests and strategic goals during interactions with external entities and regulatory agencies to align with SMUD and BANC Balancing Authority operation and interconnection requirements; promotes electric grid reliability; influences related industry benchmarks and competitiveness.
• Participates in and provides critical input to the integrated planning and design review process to prevent implementation of unsafe, inoperable, or inefficient system designs.
• Evaluates proposals, plans and conclusions of other divisions, departments, agencies, and Balancing Authority entities to protect the safe, reliable, secure, and compliant operation of the present and future bulk power system.
• Develops and manages effectively applicable unit budgets, costs, contracts, and projects related to department, SMUD and BANC strategic goals and requirements.
• Anticipates proactively and resolves effectively multiple, diverse and complex problems and issues occurring simultaneously; evaluates and delivers effective decisions and solutions regarding operational issues, often in real time and without entirely established or defined answers to critical criteria.
• Leads emergency response and system restoration during storms and outages.
• Oversees and supports the implementation of advanced control systems like ADMS, DERMS, OMS, and GIS.
• Develops and drives initiatives that improve system reliability metrics and operational performance.
• Performs other related duties as needed; schedules, hours and locations may fluctuate based on business needs.

Required Education

• Bachelor's degree in relevant discipline from an accredited college or university.

Required Experience Qualifications

• Seven or more (7+) years of progressively responsible relevant combined work experience in transmission or distribution operations, real-time decision-making capability and progressively increasing skill and experience in managing O&M and Capital budgets. Five or more (5+) years of direct managerial experience over personnel that support or operate a transmission and/or distribution operations area.

Knowledge Of

• Fundamentals and practices of complex planning, management, organizing, staffing, and monitoring at a department level;
• Business and political acumen;
• Budget development and administration;
• Project management;
• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) and organizational culture change;
• Community engagement;
• Comprehension of applicable employment laws and practices.

Specific to Director Integrated Grid Operations:

• Fundamentals of generation, gas, distribution, transmission, and high voltage substation system design, construction, operations, and maintenance;
• Practices related to managing the bulk electric system to contractual requirements;
• Current utility industry structure and applicable federal, regional, state, and local codes, regulations and mandated FERC, NERC, and WECC Reliability Standards, practices, and policies;
• Organization of and procedures for interacting with local, state, and national authorities, agencies and regulatory bodies;
• The Western United States transmission and generation system;
• Fundamentals and practices of electrical distribution, transmission and gas pipeline system planning, design, protection, maintenance, testing, and operations;
• Electrical equipment ratings and limitations;
• System operating procedures, concepts and techniques;
• Load flow and stability calculations;
• Electrical theory;
• Computer-based metering data acquisition and translation systems;
• Safety and construction practices, standards, and applicable codes

Skills To

• Oversee, influence, persuade, and motivate;
• Establish policies, set goals, and manage the implementation of strategic and operational plans for area(s) of responsibility;
• Direct activities through management staff;
• Manage and drive change across cross-functional teams;
• Demonstrate commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment;
• Interface effectively with SMUD's executive team, the Board of Directors, regulatory and/or public agencies, customers, industry groups, and SMUD staff

Specific to Director Integrated Grid Operations:

• Lead, plan, manage, and review the work of multi-disciplinary professional, technical and represented personnel in the performance of complex engineering and operating assignments under significant time constraints;
• Initiate, maintain and oversee adherence to safety policies and procedures;
• Support the reliable integration of intermittent resources into SMUD's electric system;
• Proactively anticipate problems and apply innovative, creative, logical techniques in their resolution.
• Manage emergency events such as a generation outage, storm event, safety or environmental incident, etc.
• Perform post-event root cause analysis and continuous improvement initiatives

Desirable Qualifications

The ideal candidate will possess many of the following qualifications:

• NERC Reliability Coordinator (RC) Operator Certification.
• Registration as a Professional Engineer (PE) in the State of California.
• Experience in the California or Western energy markets.
• Direct supervisory experience over personnel who support or operate a Balancing Authority Area and Transmission Operations Area.
• Experience working with regulatory and governmental agencies.
• Experience supporting or leading emergency operations, including response to natural disasters or other major grid events.
• Experience building, supporting, and sustaining a strong safety culture.
• Experience with Balancing Authority and Western energy market operations.
• Experience managing a unionized operational workforce in a complex utility or electric system operations environment.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple high-priority, complex issues simultaneously, including for extended periods of time.
• Demonstrated ability to address highly complex or controversial issues with tact, diplomacy, and sound judgment.
• Bachelor's of Science degree in Electrical Engineering
• Professional Engineering License in Electrical Engineering
• FEMA Incident Command System - ICS-100, 200, 300, and 400

Physical Requirements

Applicants must be able to perform the essential job functions with or without a reasonable accommodation.