Catalyzing a cleaner future.
At ESS (NYSE: GWH), our mission is to accelerate global decarbonization by providing safe, sustainable, long-duration energy storage that powers people, communities, and businesses with clean, renewable energy anytime and anywhere it’s needed. As more renewable energy is added to the grid, long- duration energy storage is essential to providing the reliability and resiliency we need when the sun is not shining, and the wind is not blowing.Our technology uses earth-abundant iron, salt, and water to deliver environmentally safe solutions capable of providing up to 12 hours of flexible energy capacity for commercial and utility-scale energy storage applications.
Established in 2011, ESS Inc. enables project developers, independent power producers, utilities, and other large energy users to deploy reliable, sustainable long-duration energy storage solutions. For more information visit www.essinc.com.ESS is seeking a hands-on Energy Storage Communications Engineer to own the development and implementation of the communication interface subsystem responsible for translating and managing control and monitoring signals between our BESSs and third-party energy assets, including site controllers, solar/wind inverters, SCADA systems, and utility EMS platforms.
This role bridges the digital communication layer between heterogeneous energy systems and our storage technology, ensuring high reliability, protocol compliance, and low-latency performance in real-world grid environments.
Key Responsibilities:
- Own the architecture, design, and implementation of the BESS communication gateway subsystem.
- Develop and maintain protocol translation logic between our native system protocols and external standards (e.g., CAN, PCAN, RTU-serial, TCP/IP, ethernet, Modbus, DNP3, IEC 61850, SunSpec, OPC UA, IEEE 2030.5).
- Work with inverter vendors, solar/wind developers, and SCADA/EMS teams to ensure end-to-end communication interoperability.
- Collaborate closely with BESS controls, software, and system integration teams to ensure tight synchronization between internal control logic and external site commands.
- Design fail-safe communication architectures, including watchdogs, fallback states, and redundant links to meet grid reliability requirements.
- Support the creation and enforcement of cybersecurity best practices in communication interfaces.
- Troubleshoot real-time system integration issues during commissioning and operation.
- Assist in the development of commissioning tools, diagnostics, and logging utilities related to communication performance.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.
- Experience working in energy systems integration, preferably in battery energy storage, inverter development, or grid-tied renewable power systems.
- Strong understanding of power system communication protocols: CAN, PCAN, RTU-serial, TCP/IP, ethernet, Modbus (RTU/TCP), DNP3, IEC 61850, OPC UA, SunSpec, IEEE 2030.5.
- Experience implementing protocol translation on embedded platforms or industrial PCs using Python, C/C++, or IEC 61131-3 (e.g., Structured Text).
- Familiarity with site-level controls and supervisory systems (EMS, SCADA, or DERMS).
- Practical experience with commissioning tools such as packet sniffers, protocol analyzers, or serial bus monitors.
- Familiarity with power system controls and telemetry signals (active/reactive power, frequency response, volt-var control, etc.).
- Working knowledge of cybersecurity principles for industrial communication (TLS, secure key exchange, firewall configuration).
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with renewable energy plant integration (PV + BESS or wind + BESS).
- Experience with protocol gateway platforms (e.g., HMS Anybus, Moxa, Kepware, or custom Linux gateways).
- Knowledge of regulatory requirements or grid interconnection standards (e.g., IEEE 1547, CA Rule 21, FERC 841).
- Experience with remote diagnostics, over-the-air updates, or edge computing for industrial assets.
Benefits of working at ESS.
In addition to the value of working with and helping grow a global reaching clean technology, ESS offers Company assisted medical, dental and vision, 401k with Company match, Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), a generous PTO accrual, and 8 paid holidays.As an equal opportunity employer, we are open to considering every qualified candidate who is eligible and legally authorized to work in the United States on a full or part-time basis, without a need for sponsorship.Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job.
Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.#LI-RA1
