Principal Backend Engineer - Battery Storage

Plus Power recruits outstanding energy industry professionals who are driven to develop, build and operate assets safely and reliably to decarbonize the power markets while growing their careers. Our team looks for data-driven and fact-based mindsets, engaging and collaborative behaviors, and personal growth-focused professionals.     

In order for the global energy system to make the transition from a carbon-based grid, to a renewable energy grid, large scale energy storage must be introduced into the electricity system to balance intra-hour supply and demand.  Energy storage is the enabler of high penetration variable renewable generation like solar and wind. 

Standalone energy storage is rapidly transforming the North American energy markets, because it is cheaper than new natural gas plants, faster to build than fossil peakers or transmission, and able to perform diverse energy services. Plus Power partners with electricity system operators, utilities, and investors to originate, develop, finance, own and operate standalone energy storage projects that provide critical services to the wholesale electric market. Plus Power’s team applies an intentional mindset to energy storage development by using a data-driven approach to development and operations. 

At Plus Power, we are focused on solving hard climate problems, profitably.  We are growing fast, and value candidates who, like us, share a focus on setting high expectations, owning and learning from mistakes in the spirit of radical transparency, and are committed to internal partnering as a key element of our ideas meritocracy. Our team praises Plus Power’s culture and excels through our game-changing mission and supportive ecosystem. 

About the Role 

As a Principal Software Engineer at Plus Power, you will play a key role in shaping the future of the energy storage industry. You’ll collaborate with a passionate, diverse team of engineers and data scientists to create high-impact applications that will help the world transition to sustainable energy solutions. You’ll be responsible for building scalable, robust applications that integrate seamlessly with cutting-edge BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems) technologies. You will design and implement backend systems to host our data science models and integrate with industry platforms to operate our energy trading solution. You’ll leverage your experience and strengths to lead development efforts, drive innovation, and ensure accountability within an inclusive, remote-first environment. 

Key Responsibilities 

• Lead the design and development of highly reliable and scalable applications for operating BESS assets deployed on the AWS cloud using Python. Drive the technical vision and roadmap for new features and enhancements. 
• Implement and advocate for best practices in software development with a relentless focus on high quality code, meaningful testing and guardrails, visibility and observability and continuous improvement.  
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to a growing team of software engineers and data scientists. 
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams (including product managers, data scientists, and energy traders) to define and execute project goals. 
• Foster a collaborative and inclusive team environment by modeling effective communication and accountability. 
• Contribute to the evolution and scaling of our application stack into new markets and assets. 

Skills & Qualifications 

• 10+ years proven experience in high quality backend software development, with strong expertise in developing applications with Python and deploying in cloud environments, particularly AWS using cloud native services. 
• Experience designing and building scalable distributed systems for mission critical systems, with a focus on data integrity and transactional resilience. 
• Comfortable working with modern web frameworks, such as Next.js (or willingness to learn). 
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical initiatives, from concept through execution, including managing timelines and expectations. 
• Strong communication skills, with a focus on proactive and clear interaction in remote teams. 
• Experience developing APIs and services that integrate data science models into production systems, working closely with data scientists to deploy models as scalable, maintainable services. 
• Experience integrating monitoring and observability tools into complex systems, ensuring that the codebase provides full diagnostic visibility into application health, and creating clear, easy-to-understand dashboards and reports. 
• A passion for solving complex technical challenges and a deep commitment to creating meaningful, sustainable solutions in the energy sector. 
• Experience mentoring junior engineers and providing technical leadership in collaborative settings. 
• A desire to work in a diverse, inclusive environment that fosters personal and professional growth. 
• Proficiency in SQL and database design and integration. Proven ability to design tables and effectively integrate them with application code. 

Additional Preferred Skills 

• Experience in energy storage systems (BESS) or related domains. 
• Familiarity with infrastructure-as-code tools like Terraform or CloudFormation. 
• Experience with modern front-end frameworks such as Next.js, React, or similar. 
• Experience architecting and engineering audit ready or compliance driven systems. 
• Experience with C, C++, Rust or other lower-level languages. 
• Experience with the python data science ecosystem (pandas, NumPy, Sklenar, XGBoost, scikit-learn, etc.). 
• Experience with/preference for a functional style of software development. 
• Experience integrating databases with internal and external systems, ensuring smooth data flow, integrity, and auditing for mission critical systems. 

Compensation, Location, and Benefits

Highly competitive total compensation from one of North America’s leading energy storage developers, owners and operators. Flexible, work from home or hybrid work from Plus Power’s offices in San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, Seattle, and Palm Beach.

The expected salary range* for this position begins at $180,000. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant experience, skills, qualifications, geographic labor market, and other factors consistent with applicable law. This position is also eligible to participate in our annual bonus program.

Plus Power offers a comprehensive benefits program, unlimited vacation, flexible remote work, educational assistance, parental leave, and a highly engaging company culture with opportunities for in-person connection and learning and growth.

The deadline* for applying to this role is 2/25/2025