Staff Electrical Engineer, Balance of Plant
Redwood Materials - San Francisco, California, United States
Still listed by Redwood Materials · checked today · posted 4 Oct 2026 (2 days ago)
About Redwood MaterialsRedwood Materials was founded in 2017 by JB Straubel, co-founder and former CTO of Tesla, on a simple but radical idea: the critical minerals powering the energy transition already exist. They just need to come back. Today Redwood is the largest lithium-ion battery recycler in North America — recovering, refining, and redeploying critical minerals from end-of-life batteries back into the supply chain. On the energy side, Redwood has deployed the largest second-life battery project in the world, delivering power to AI data centers in months rather than years using proprietary energy architecture engineered entirely in-house. The company is profitable, the market it operates in is projected to grow 20 to 50 times over the next decade, and Redwood is the only company with the supply chain, the technology, and the operational scale to lead it.Position Summary:
Redwood is localizing a global battery supply chain that seamlessly integrates recovery, reuse, and recycling — keeping critical minerals in circulation and driving the energy transition. We're delivering low-cost and large-scale energy storage and producing battery materials in the U.S. for the first time, all from batteries we already have. The Staff Electrical Engineer, Energy Storage BoP performs and reviews balance-of-plant power system studies, specifies major electrical equipment for Redwood’s energy storage systems, and develops protection and coordination designs. This is primarily an on-site role, with the potential for a hybrid arrangement depending on the candidate’s experience level. Some travel is also expected as part of this role.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Perform and review balance-of-plant power system studies including load flow, short-circuit, protection coordination, DC and AC arc flash, transformer energization, motor starting, reactive power analysis, transient overvoltage, harmonic analysis, insulation coordination, grounding design, battery sizing, and auxiliary system sizing
Hands-on experience with power system protection design, relay selection, settings development, and coordination studies, particularly using SEL protective relays (e.g., SEL-751, SEL-351, SEL-487E, or equivalent).
Proficiency with SEL acSELerator QuickSet, relay configuration, protection logic development, and testing/commissioning of protection schemes for MV/HV electrical systems. Experience with ETAP, ASPEN, and/or Omicron test equipment is a plus.
Work closely with the energy storage team to develop accurate AC and DC system models and study assumptions
Develop, review, and validate protective relay coordination studies, relay settings, and configuration files
Size and specify major electrical equipment including transformers, circuit breakers, switches, inverters, generators, capacitor banks, reactors, surge arresters, switchgear, current transformers, power cables, and UPS systems
Create and maintain detailed power system models using ETAP, SKM, and/or EasyPower
Apply industry standards, codes, and best practices to analysis results and design recommendations (IEEE, ANSI, IEC)
Prepare clear engineering reports, study summaries, and design documentation for internal and external stakeholders
**Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities **
5+ years of experience performing power system analysis, including protection and coordination studies
MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering with specialization in power systems
Strong foundation in power system analysis including fault calculations, symmetrical components, arc flash calculations, cable sizing, and protective device selection and coordination
Expert proficiency in ETAP is required; experience with SKM or EasyPower is highly preferred
Experience with grounding and cable ampacity analysis tools such as CYMCAP and CDEGS is preferred
Working knowledge of applicable codes and standards including NEC, IEEE, and related industry practices
Experience with battery energy storage systems (BESS), inverter-based generation, and/or data center electrical systems is a plus
Familiarity with short circuit and protective relay software tools such as ASPEN and/or CAPE is a plus
Familiarity with PSCAD and/or PSS®E is a plus
Familiarity with Python for analysis automation or data processing is a plus
The position is full-time. Compensation will be commensurate with experience.
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