About This Position

The Program Manager of Advanced Grid Technologies Distribution Reliability Manager is responsible for ensuring the reliability, resilience, and overall performance of the electric distribution system. The manager plays a critical role in advancing the Electric System Resilience Plan (ESRP) and supporting system performance, customer service, regulatory compliance, and operational excellence. This role manages circuit‑hardening efforts, coordinates with cross‑functional teams, and provides engineering support during operational events. The manager responds to customer and executive escalations, supports power quality investigations, and contributes to root cause analyses and regulatory requirements. Additional responsibilities include assisting with emergency management activities, supporting planning and field operations, coordinating material and budget needs, and ensuring effective use of tools and applications that support outage analysis and distribution performance.

Job Description:

Program Manager, Advanced Technology

Purpose: Under general direction, this position manages and technically leads specific Smart Grid, Grid Modernization, and other Austin Energy (AE) advanced program(s).

Duties, Functions and Responsibilities:

Essential duties and functions, pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, may include the following. Other related duties may be assigned.

• Leads planning activities to develop short- and long-term strategic plans, roadmaps, and objectives for advanced technologies and programs.
• Creates and manages operational budgets for short and long term technology projects and contracts.
• Leads cross functional teams to achieve technology initiatives.
• Manages existing and future contracts with vendors.
• Leads market research activities to identify market trends in technologies and programs.
• Produces periodic metrics to measure and improve: systems, projects, vendors, and service provider performance.
• Manages assigned matrix resources.
• Leverages functionality to identify operational efficiencies to improve customer satisfaction and reduce operational costs.
• Produces business cases, including cost versus benefit analysis and Request for Proposal (RFP’s) to support related technologies and initiatives and programs.
• Facilitates and leads periodic executive round table and steering committees on related technologies and programs.
• Facilitates internal communication, education, and training to staff, and internal and external stakeholders on technologies and programs.

Responsibilities - Supervisor and/or Leadership Exercised:

May be responsible for the full range of supervisory activities including selection, training, evaluation, counseling, and recommendation for dismissal.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Must possess required knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience and be able to explain and demonstrate, with or without reasonable accommodations, that the essential functions of the job can be performed.

• Knowledge of electric utility operations: generation, transmission, distribution, or other related fields.
• Knowledge of advanced analytical, mathematical, or programming techniques.
• Knowledge of fiscal planning and budget preparation.
• Knowledge of applicable processes, engineering principles, data analysis, and application design.
• Knowledge of regulatory requirements and applicable Federal, State, and Local laws and ordinances.
• Skill in leading and directing personnel in a project and program capacity.
• Skill in determining needs and gathering, analyzing and presenting data to provide accurate information for management's use.
• Skill in oral and written business and technical communication including preparation of written reports.
• Skill in handling and prioritizing multiple tasks and planning and organizing a program.
• Skill in using computers and related software applications.
• Skill in data analysis and problem solving.
• Skill in negotiations, program monitoring, and conflict resolution.
• Skill in conducting presentations on behalf of a public entity.
• Skill in projecting needs for equipment and personnel and formulating operating budgets.
• Ability to perform complex analysis, calculations, and problem solving.
• Ability to work with frequent interruptions and changes in priorities.
• Ability to direct the timely production of project proposals and agreements.
• Ability to prepare and evaluate business cases.

Minimum Qualifications:

Graduation with a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in Business or Engineering related to the job, plus five (5) years of experience in a related field, two (2) years of which were in a program or project management capacity.

Licenses and Certifications Required:

None.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Electrical Engineering degree, PE preferred.
• Strong knowledge of reliability engineering principles and statistical analysis.
• Experience supporting legal teams with technical or engineering documentation for case-related matters.
• Experience evaluating or implementing new technologies, applications, and equipment.
• Experience responding to executive‑level, key account, and customer escalations.
• Analyze outage data and prepare clear, professional reports and executive-level presentations.
• Manage staff, including assigning work, monitoring performance, providing feedback, and ensuring program objectives are met.
• Ability to travel to multiple sites as part of the regular job duties.

Compensation Range:

The annual hiring range for this position is $118,900.00-$152,200.00

Location:

2500 Montopolis, Austin, TX 78741

Days and Hours:

Monday through Friday. 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
40 Hour Work Week (Hybrid Available)
Additional work hours may be required to support the 24-hour Utility operations, which may include evenings, weekends, holidays, inclement weather and emergency closures.

Working with Austin Energy provides a number of health and welfare benefits such as low-cost medical, dental, vision, paid leave time, a highly competitive retirement plan, career development opportunities and more.

Important Note to Applicants:

Please be aware that the Job Posting Close Date reflects the final day to apply, but the posting will close at 11:59 PM the day before the date listed. All application steps, including attachments and submission, must be fully completed before that time.