Senior Test Engineer - HIL
Build and run hardware-in-the-loop and real-time simulation environments for ON.energy's energy storage and power conversion products: develop real-time plant/grid models, integrate controllers and firmware, and execute automated test campaigns. Hands-on lab role using platforms like RTDS/RSCAD, Typhoon HIL, or OPAL-RT with Python tooling.
- Compensation
- Not disclosed
- Location
- Houston, Texas, United States
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Senior
- Employment
- Not specified
- Experience
- 5+ years
- Category
- Qa
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- 4+ years in HIL testing, real-time simulation, controls validation, or laboratory testing of grid-connected power electronics
- Bachelor's degree or higher in electrical engineering, power systems, controls engineering, or related discipline
- Direct experience with at least one real-time simulation platform (RTDS/RSCAD, Typhoon HIL, or OPAL-RT)
- Working capability with offline simulation tools such as MATLAB/Simulink and PSCAD, including real-time model conversion considerations
- Grounding in inverter controls, energy storage systems, and power system dynamics
- Python or comparable language used for test automation and data analysis
- Authored test plans, procedures, and acceptance criteria with analytical rigor
- Familiarity with SCADA systems and industrial communication protocols (Modbus, DNP3, CAN, IEC 61850)
- Bench comfort with power supplies, oscilloscopes, transducers, and data acquisition hardware
- Ability to present technical findings to engineering audiences and field/commissioning personnel
Nice to have
- Experience with grid-forming and grid-following inverter control
- Experience with UPS systems, microgrids, or facilities serving critical load
- Familiarity with ISO or utility interconnection requirements, model quality testing, or third-party product certification
- CI pipelines driving automated test suites, with version control applied to models
- Prior collaboration with national laboratories or university test centers
Full description
ON.energy is setting the standard for large load interconnection. ON’s patented AI UPS™ is a medium-voltage UPS that serves as a firewall, protecting the data center from the grid, and the grid from the data center. With multiple gigawatts currently under construction, we are enabling grid-safe data centers.
Role Summary
The HIL Test Engineer develops and operates hardware-in-the-loop and real-time simulation capability for ON.energy storage and power conversion products. The role covers real-time model development, integration of controllers and firmware with the simulation environment, execution of structured test campaigns, and the reporting that supports design reviews and product release. This is a hands-on laboratory and integration role, working closely with the controls, firmware, modeling, and product engineering teams.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and maintain real-time models of plant, grid, and equipment behavior for use in controller testing.
- Configure and operate the HIL environment, including real-time simulator, I/O interfaces, signal conditioning, and data acquisition.
- Integrate product controllers, control software, and firmware builds with the simulation environment, and maintain those configurations under version control.
- Integrate supplier-provided equipment models and develop equivalent models where required.
- Plan and execute functional, performance, fault, boundary-condition, and regression test campaigns against defined acceptance criteria.
- Verify control performance across normal operation, disturbances, abnormal conditions, and recovery.
- Compare test results against offline simulation studies and laboratory measurements, and resolve discrepancies.
- Develop scripts and tooling to automate test execution, data processing, and reporting.
- Investigate failures with controls and firmware engineers, support root-cause analysis, and re-test to closure.
- Prepare test reports documenting method, configuration, results, limitations, and recommendations.
- Maintain laboratory safety, equipment, configuration records, and documentation.
Key Requirements
- 5+ years of experience in HIL testing, real-time simulation, controls validation, or laboratory testing of grid-connected power electronics.
- Bachelor's degree or higher in electrical engineering, power systems, controls engineering, or a related discipline.
- Direct experience on at least one real-time simulation platform, such as RTDS/RSCAD, Typhoon HIL, or OPAL-RT.
- Working capability with offline simulation tools such as MATLAB/Simulink and PSCAD, and an understanding of what has to change when a model is made to run in real time.