Principal Controls Engineer
About Wattch
Wattch enables observability, intelligence, and control for renewable energy systems of all shapes and sizes. We're building hybrid SCADA—unified monitoring and control for distributed energy. We serve customers across solar, battery storage, EV charging, and industrial power applications, from 10kW rooftop systems to 100MW utility-scale projects, bridging the gap between traditional SCADA and the fragmented monitoring tools used for distributed resources.
About the role
Wattch's controls practice was built by our founders—six years of architecting and implementing SCADA for our most demanding projects. As Wattch grows, their attention is increasingly split. We're looking for an engineer who can work shoulder-to-shoulder with them on these challenges and eventually own the technical direction of our entire controls practice.
You'll join a world-class engineering team and contribute to the core platform that powers our implementations—with technical leadership responsibilities that match your experience from day one. If you've spent years deploying other people's controls platforms and have opinions about how they should work, this is your chance to build something better.
What you'll work on
These are examples of real projects from our current queue you'd contribute to:
- 100MWh 24/7/365 offgrid-capable storage+solar for an industrial facility
- Data center PV integration with complex multi-interconnect load-following requirements
- Multi-asset VPP coordination across distributed sites
- Market-participating front-of-meter DC-coupled BESS
- Building processes that enable our project managerss to scale standardized implementations—load following, BTM storage, utility telemetry—across a rapidly growing portfolio
On a given day, you may...
- Architect and implement controls for complex distributed energy projects
- Implement utility interconnection requirements for telemetry and control
- Collaborate with software engineers to improve the underlying controls stack
- Interface with clients (technical and commercial), utilities, and OEMs
- Remotely support commissioning and troubleshooting alongside field teams
You're perfect for this role if you...
- Have a strong grasp of controls first principles—feedback loops, stability, system dynamics
- Are proficient with industrial protocols (Modbus TCP/RTU, DNP3, etc.)
- Have deep experience implementing SCADA systems (SEL RTAC, Ignition, or equivalent)
- Are familiar with IP networking in OT contexts—routing, diagnostics, security
- Have worked with grid-scale solar and/or battery storage systems
What sets you apart: you've contributed to the platforms themselves, not just deployed them. You've worked for a SCADA platform vendor, or you've built and shipped your own controls tooling. You know how these systems work under the hood, and you have opinions about how they should be better.
Bonus points if you...
- Have NERC CIP compliance experience
- Have worked with ISO market integration (CAISO, ERCOT, PJM)
- Can point to experience mentoring engineers or authoring technical processes
- Bring a power systems or electrical engineering background
Logistics
This role is based in our Atlanta office (Eastside Beltline), with an expectation of 3 days per week in-office. For exceptional candidates, we'll consider remote arrangements. For remote applicants, expect to be on-site for an initial ramp-up period, then roughly 3 weeks per year in Atlanta plus occasional site visits (2-5 days per year) for critical projects.
Company Benefits
- Unlimited PTO, plus 11 paid federal holidays and office closed last week of the year
- Comprehensive group health insurance
- Incentive Stock Options (ISO)
- Small, highly collaborative team at an exciting inflection point for the company
- Clear growth trajectory in a high-impact role
Wattch is an equal opportunity employer. We believe that the unique contributions of all Wattchers create our success and we aim to offer an inclusive environment in service to one another, our products, and the communities we serve. We value empathy, clarity, and sustainability and strive to make these values present in our daily interactions as well as our hiring process. To ensure that our products and culture continue to incorporate everyone’s perspectives and experience, we don't discriminate based on race, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, or marital, veteran, or disability status. We welcome all applications.