Protection & Controls Engineer

SpaceXAI’s mission is to create AI systems that can accurately understand the universe and aid humanity in its pursuit of knowledge. Our team is small, highly motivated, and focused on engineering excellence. This organization is for individuals who appreciate challenging themselves and thrive on curiosity. We operate with a flat organizational structure. All employees are expected to be hands-on and to contribute directly to the company’s mission. Leadership is given to those who show initiative and consistently deliver excellence. Work ethic and strong prioritization skills are important. All employees are expected to have strong communication skills. They should be able to concisely and accurately share knowledge with their teammates.

Join the High Power Engineering team to design, set, commission, and maintain protection and control systems for large electrical infrastructure. As a Protection & Controls Engineer, you will own schemes and settings from the transmission interconnection through distribution, on-site generation, and battery energy storage, down to medium- and low-voltage buses serving data halls and other mission-critical loads. The position is based in Memphis, TN, with potential travel to other sites.

• Develop protection philosophy, one-line and three-line diagrams, DC control schematics, wiring diagrams, and relay panel layouts for the electrical system from the utility interconnection to facility buses.

• Calculate, implement, and maintain protective relay settings and logic for transmission lines, buses, power transformers, distribution feeders, generators, and battery energy storage / inverter-based resources.

• Specify relays, current and voltage transformers, trip circuits, lockout schemes, breaker-failure protection, and communications-assisted schemes (permissive, blocking, transfer trip).

• Perform short-circuit, protective-device coordination, and arc-flash studies; keep settings aligned with the study of record as the system changes.

• Commission protection systems: functional checks, primary and secondary injection, end-to-end scheme tests, and in-service timing checks. Use industry test sets (e.g. Doble, Omicron).

• Collect and analyze fault and disturbance records (COMTRADE and equivalent); recommend setting or scheme changes after events, misoperations, or staged tests.

• Maintain the settings management database, as-left files, and firmware/config control for in-service relays.

• Integrate protection with SCADA, RTUs, and plant/facility monitoring: DNP3, Modbus, IEC 61850 (including GOOSE), and IEEE C37.118 synchrophasors as applicable.

• Support NERC PRC evidence and testing where the interconnection or generation/storage fleet requires it (e.g. PRC-005, PRC-019, PRC-024, PRC-027).

• Work with field technicians, operators, and contractors during outages, switching, and troubleshooting. Stay hands-on at the panel.

• Apply IEEE C37 (including line, transformer, bus, and generator protection), NESC, NFPA 70 / 70E, IEEE 1547, and IEEE 2800 as they apply to the assets in scope.

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or another engineering discipline.

• 3+ years of protection and controls experience (settings, design, or commissioning) on medium- or high-voltage