BACKGROUND

About Energy Trust of Oregon

Energy Trust of Oregon is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to energy efficiency and renewable energy development. We serve Oregon customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural, Cascade Natural Gas and Avista, and SW Washington customers of NW Natural. Year over year Energy Trust is recognized as one of the 100 Best Nonprofits to Work For in Oregon.

Our Vision

Clean, affordable energy for everyone.

Our Commitment to Diversity

We recognize the lack of diversity in our industry, and we actively seek to address it with our hiring and retention practices as well as our values. We believe every person and their lived experience is integral to building a vibrant culture and delivering effective services to all customers we serve. We are committed to the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion, and we encourage candidates with diverse backgrounds and experience to apply.

Our Location

Energy Trust provides for a range of work location options, including remote, hybrid and in-office work. This position will represent Energy Trust in public settings and potentially at community events. We are open to candidates who live throughout Oregon and Washington. The Engineer or Sr. Engineer would be expected to report to the office on a quarterly basis, at minimum.

What We’re Looking For:

Energy Trust is looking to hire either an Engineer or Sr. Engineer. Applicants that meet either level of qualifications are encouraged to apply.

Engineers and Sr. Engineers work as part of the Planning and Evaluation group to develop, review and approve energy efficiency measures, including new offerings and measures proposed by Energy Trust’s Program Delivery Contractors (PDC’s) and Program Management Contractors (PMC’s). Engineers and Sr. Engineers assists the Lead Engineer and Measure Development Manager in prioritizing development, review, approval, and documentation of prescriptive and semi-prescriptive efficiency measures; and continuously improving the measure development process and associated tools, templates, and documents. Engineers and Sr. Engineers ensure that all approved offerings are technically sound, cost-effective (or obtain exception approval) and consistent with Energy Trust requirements. They engage with staff from Energy Trust programs, evaluation, PMCs and PDCs to develop pilots, field tests, and other research to inform measure development. They also contribute to the oversight of technical field trials commissioned by Energy Trust and/or regional and national groups to verify measure savings or inputs.

In addition to the duties of the Engineer, the Sr. Engineer has final measure approval authority, subject to Lead Engineer or Director review as needed if required. The Sr. Engineer has responsibility for developing and scanning for emerging products and services and identifying those that are close to being market-ready. This involves representing Energy Trust in regional bodies such as the Regional Technical Forum, committees and working groups of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, and other regional and national organizations. The Sr. Engineer is also responsible for delivering training to measure development teams, maintaining and researching technical guidelines, leading projects within the group and coaching to others internal and PMC/PDC staff in best practices for energy efficiency analysis.

What You’ll Do:

For either Engineer or Sr. Engineer:

• Review and develop and cost-benefit analyses of energy saving measures, and document information sources, analysis, and findings.
• Review PMC- and PDC-provided measure development work scopes, draft measure approval documents and associated cost-benefit analyses, provide feedback and suggestions for improvement, and decide when measures analyses are acceptable to be published. Work with the Measure Development Manager to consider program design impacts and/or changes while scoping analyses.
• Identify which key assumptions included in measure analyses need to be verified through evaluations or other market research; coordinate and communicate with Energy Trust staff, PMCs, and regional organizations to obtain information needed to verify assumptions.
• Review evaluation and market research plans and reports to ensure they meet the needs of measure development and/or accurately reflect current measures.
• Acquire information on changes in federal and state codes and standards, anticipate effects on baseline efficiencies, and incorporate into estimates of cost, savings and cost-effectiveness for efficiency measures. Provide this information to Planning staff for incorporation into Energy Trust’s Resource Assessment and to programs to inform goals.
• Participate in outside committees, working groups, projects and pilots through organizations such as the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), Regional Technical Forum (RTF), and Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE), to assist in their efforts and to help identify products, services or data sources to inform new measures and measure updates.
• As a subject matter expert, contribute to maintenance and continuous improvement of the measure development process, training and mentoring both internal staff and contractors on associated tools and templates.
• Prepare documents for the Public Utility Commission or other public and regulatory groups.
• Research and help define, design and oversee pilot projects and evaluations for emerging technologies and approaches.
• Assist in the management and oversight of engineering contractors for the Planning and Evaluation group.
• Maintain and enhance project and measure archives to support measure analysis and cost-effectiveness decision-making.
• Make public presentations and facilitate discussions with regional and national energy efficiency organizations and forums.
• Serve as a resource for ad hoc requests for information and engineering support.
• Perform all functions of the job in a safe manner.

In addition, for Sr. Engineer:

• Manages research contracts and projects. Assists in the management and oversight of engineering contractors for the Planning and Evaluation Group.
• Provides technical advice for the development of market transformation models for measures for which the costs are justified by multi-year, market-wide changes in market preferences.
• Ensure resources and scopes of work defining analytic approaches and needs are appropriate to circumstance.
• Produce and present training related to measure development and measure technical guidelines to internal and external teams.
• Keep measure development technical guidelines up to date, considering changes in technology, information sources and changing policy landscape.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

• Oversees the work of contractors, suppliers, and/or vendors as necessary in the course of managing specific projects or developing measures.

What You’ll Need:

Basic requirements for either Engineer or Sr. Engineer:

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical or mechanical engineering, physics, or other relevant quantitative degree, or equivalent experience, is required.
• Experience applying engineering concepts pragmatically to help assess typical costs and savings for efficiency measures.
• Advanced technical knowledge of residential, commercial and industrial energy-using processes, such as HVAC, lighting, water heating, pump systems, heat recovery, etc.
• Experience with utility regulation is highly desired.
• Proficiency with Excel; ability to review and troubleshoot complex spreadsheet analyses.
• Willingness and skills to do a combination of communications and coordination, negotiation, documentation, and detailed technical work.
• Demonstrated ability to work at the detailed analytical level and at strategic levels.
• Verbal and written communication skills. In particular, ability to analyze complex technical issues and succinctly convey conclusions, inferences, and applications in general terms for diverse technical and public audiences.
• Must be able to interact with a diverse workforce and be comfortable working in culturally diverse settings and groups.
• Experience interpreting the effects of codes and standards changes on energy efficiency measures and programs.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.

In addition to basic requirements, for Engineer:

• 2 years of experience in an engineering role in the implementation or evaluation of energy efficiency programs.
• Knowledge of applying business and economic analysis techniques including life cycle cost analysis, net present value, internal rate of return, and other quantitative economic criteria, ideally for consideration of investments in energy efficiency and renewable resources.

In addition to basic requirements, for Sr. Engineer:

• 6 years of experience in an engineering role in the implementation or evaluation of energy efficiency programs.
• 3 years of project management or similar leadership experience, including the management of technical contractors.
• Experience applying business and economic analysis techniques including life cycle cost analysis, net present value, internal rate of return, and other quantitative economic criteria, ideally for consideration of investments in energy efficiency and renewable resources.
• Oregon Professional Engineering License and Certified Energy Manager (CEM) are highly desired.

The above information is designed to outline the functions and position requirements of this job. It does not identify all tasks that may be expected, nor address the performance standards that must be maintained.

What You’ll Get:

• Health/dental/vision insurance
• Employer sponsored and paid life/disability
• 401(k) with a company contribution of 6% of your salary after 90 days of employment
• TriMet pass
• Access to health and dependent FSA/HSA accounts
• Generous paid vacation, holidays and sick days
• Paid volunteer hours
• Employee assistance program
• Career advancement opportunities
• Great colleagues and culture
• Flexibility to work from home and/or an office space at the Portland, OR location
• Work from home laptop provided

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that candidates from certain demographics are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification—for example, women and People of Color. At Energy Trust we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace—if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply. You may be the right candidate for this or other roles.

Please indicate which role you are interested in being considered for Engineer or Sr. Engineer. We ask that you submit your cover letter and resume on Energy Trust’s website www.energytrust.org/About/careers.

Attn: Engineer or Sr. Engineer – Energy Efficiency

Energy Trust of Oregon is committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all persons regardless of race, color, religion (including religious dress and grooming practices), sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, pregnancy, medical condition, genetic information, mental and physical disability, political affiliation, union membership, status as a parent, military or veteran status or other non-merit based factors. We will provide reasonable accommodations throughout the application, interviewing and employment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation, contact us. Energy Trust of Oregon is an E-Verify employer. This policy is applicable to all phases of the employment relationship, including hiring, transfers, promotions, training, terminations, working conditions, compensation, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment.

Energy Trust is committed to pay equity. Energy Trust is committed to fair employment practices and non-discrimination, including pay equity for all employees. We do not discriminate on the basis of protected class (race, sex, veteran status, disability, age, color, religion, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation) in the payment of wages or screen applicants on the basis of their current or past compensation. We determine salary by completing a review of your application materials to evaluate your related education, experience and training.

Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, depth of experience, and certifications in the pay equity assessment to determine equitable salary placement.

Starting Compensation for Engineer: $83,800 – $106,400

Starting Compensation for Sr. Engineer: $90,500 – $115,700