Controls Engineer - Plant Controls Products

Terabase Energy•Berkeley, CA

About The Position

Position Summary Terabase is seeking a highly technical Controls Engineer to work on Plant Controls Product team. This role will contribute to development and continuous improvement of our plant-level controls software and validation platforms. This role is focused on controls development, product engineering, and system validation across Terabase’s Plant Controls portfolio, including Master Plant Controller (MPC), PV Site Controller, Energy Management System (EMS), Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing-as-a-service and other initiatives. The ideal candidate is deeply experienced in IEC-61131-3 based control logic development, capable of independently debugging complex systems, and comfortable working across software, power systems modeling, and real-time validation environments. This role is primarily product engineering focused, with limited project support responsibilities (<20%) as needed.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related technical field.
Experience developing control logic using IEC-61131-3 environments such as, Codesys, AcSELerator or similar PLC-based platforms
Strong debugging skills - able to independently trace code execution and identify bugs or other issues
Demonstrated excellence in documentation and technical communication. Ability to clearly convey validation results and technical findings to engineering teams and stakeholders.
Self-sufficient and proactive — able to own features from concept through validation

Nice To Haves

Experience with utility-scale renewable generation (PV, BESS, hybrid plants) or traditional power generation.
MATLAB / Simulink modeling experience.
Power systems analysis experience (PSCAD, PSS®E, or equivalent tools).
Experience with Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) systems such as OPAL-RT, Speedgoat or RTDS
Familiarity with grid interconnection requirements and plant-level control strategies.
Experience developing products in a structured product lifecycle environment.

Responsibilities

Controls Development & Product Engineering Design, develop, and maintain control logic for Terabase plant-level controllers using IEC-61131-3 platforms (e.g., Codesys, AcSELerator, or equivalent).
Architect modular, scalable, and maintainable control solutions across multiple product lines.
Debug, trace, and resolve complex control system issues at both software and system levels.
Contribute to feature development, algorithm refinement, and performance optimization.
Collaborate cross-functionally with project engineering and product management.
Validation & Testing Develop and execute structured test plans for new product features and releases.
Support and enhance Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) environments for controller validation.
Analyze and interpret system performance data to validate functional and grid compliance requirements.
Clearly document and communicate test results to internal and external stakeholders.
Documentation & Engineering Rigor Produce professional-grade documentation, which may include functional specifications, test plans and validation reports, and release documentation.
Maintain strong configuration management and change control discipline.
Present technical findings in a clear, structured, and professional manner.
Project support Provide technical expertise during project implementation, commissioning, or issue resolution.
Support troubleshooting and root cause analysis for deployed systems