Microgrid Controller Development Firmware Engineer - Raleigh/Morrisville, NC

Delta Electronics (Americas) Ltd.

$140K — $180K *
Energy & Utilities
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Power Electronics, Controls, or Computer Engineering (or equivalent experience)
  • Strong understanding of power-electronics control techniques and dynamics
  • Experience in real-time embedded software development using C/C++ under RTOS
  • Hands-on experience with industry controllers and Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs)
  • Knowledge of power-system communication protocols and synchronization methods
  • Experience with model-based design and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing
  • Ability to interpret technical documentation and write clear specifications

Responsibilities

  • Develop real-time control applications for Microgrid Controllers on RTOS/RT-Linux
  • Implement secondary control functions for power management within specified timeframes
  • Design protection coordination logic for system reliability and safety
  • Tune power-electronics control loops to ensure stability and compliance with grid standards
  • Configure and program various industry-standard controllers
  • Develop middleware and communications protocols for performance optimization
  • Conduct thorough verification on HIL systems for varied operational scenarios

Benefits

  • Comprehensive health and wellness programs
  • Opportunities for professional development and continuous learning
  • Support for work-life balance initiatives
  • Inclusive and collaborative company culture
  • Access to advanced technology and innovative projects
Full Job Description
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 60 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 60 20 bcs
  • 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


Minimum 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


Pay Range

USD $140,000.00 - USD $180,000.00 /Yr.

Preferred Qualifications

  • 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


Benefit at Delta Electronics Americas

https://www.delta-americas.com/en-US/career/Life-at-Delta

#LI-DM

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