The Department: 
As a community owned, not for profit municipal electric utility, Silicon Valley Power (SVP) has provided dependable electric service for over 125 years. SVP provides electricity service to over 57,000 residential and business customers. Today, SVP owns, operates, and participates in more than 1200 MW of electric generating resources and serves a peak load of approximately 700 MW. SVP’s expansion plan will double the operating capacity over the next ten years. High-profile customers include large corporations such as Intel, Applied Materials, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and NVIDIA. SVP currently provides more than 40% of Santa Clara’s electricity from carbon free renewable resources. In addition to using green energy from large-scale wind, solar, geothermal, and hydroelectric projects outside of the area, SVP employs innovative ways to produce electricity locally by capturing and burning methane gas from a closed city landfill and using power from solar generating systems on city-owned garages and vacant, unusable land. SVP is supported by a staff of 222 full-time employees and has a revenue budget of more than $761 million for the fiscal year 2024-25.

The Position: 
SVP is seeking a candidate who is a strategic thinker, enjoys challenges, and will work collaboratively with other areas of the organization and City to elevate the use of technology in all aspects of operating an electric utility.   SVP is in a unique position among electric utilities in experiencing dramatic growth over the next 5-10 years, primarily due to energy intensive data centers but also due to electrification.  The successful candidate will continue efforts to elevate technology to support SVP’s growth plans and other goals while at the same time ensuring a focus on core functions and continuous improvement in the way SVP operates, including:
 

• Develop, manage, and continually update a proactive Cybersecurity portfolio for the Electric Department, including a Utility Cyber Security Policy that maintains NERC CIP Compliance yet promotes Utility Business functionality. 
• Develop Utility Strategic Technology Plan that identifies core competencies and principles of SVP focused Systems Support Group. This plan should leverage existing abilities of City IT group, Cloud computing opportunities, and consultants to deliver current and emerging technology
• Support, maintain, and administer more than 50 databases (Oracle, SQL), all on-prem, cloud, and hybrid/hyper-converge servers
• Support and administer AMI network, NERC CIP and other compliance initiatives, technology needs, SharePoint (corporate and NERC), GIS platform, and security cameras and monitoring
• Provide physical security planning support for Electric Dept facilities and substations; and
• Develop and implement workforce technology changes
• This position will play a critical role over the next few years to not only support SVP’s ambitious goals, but also the City of Santa Clara as it hosts several high profile events, including the February 2026 Superbowl and several Soccer World Cup Games later in Summer 2026

 
As a member of the City's Unclassified Service, this is an "at-will" position and the incumbent serves at the discretion of the City Manager.
 
The position is housed at SVP main offices in Santa Clara but may also have the flexibility to work partially from Northern California Power Agency’s Satellite Office in Citrus Heights in Sacramento County.
 
Additional Information: 
Applications must be filled out completely (e.g. do not write “see resume, NA, or personnel file.”). To receive consideration for the screening process, candidates must submit a 1) Cover Letter and 2) Resume. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
 
Application packets may be submitted online through the “Apply Now” feature on the job announcement at www.santaclaraca.gov. Applications must be submitted by the filing deadline of October 18, 2024 at 4:00 PM. 

THIS RECRUITMENT MAY BE USED TO FILL MULTIPLE POSITIONS IN THIS, OR OTHER DIVISIONS OR DEPARTMENTS BESIDES THE POSITIONS LISTED BELOW.  IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN EMPLOYMENT IN THIS CLASSIFICATION, YOU SHOULD APPLY TO ENSURE YOU ARE CONSIDERED FOR ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES THAT MAY UTILIZE THE APPLICANTS FROM THIS RECRUITMENT. MEETING THE MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS DOES NOT GUARANTEE ADMITTANCE INTO THE EXAMINATION PROCESS.  ONLY THE MOST QUALIFIED CANDIDATES WHO DEMONSTRATE THE BEST COMBINATION OF QUALIFICATIONS IN RELATION TO THE REQUIREMENTS AND DUTIES OF THE POSITION WILL BE INVITED TO TEST OR INTERVIEW. 
 
The annual salary range for this position is $228,759.12 - $296,068.80. This position will be filled at or near the minimum of the salary range. 

Minimum Qualifications

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
• Education and experience equivalent to a bachelor's degree in Accounting, Economics, Engineering, Business Administration, Financial or Risk Management, Marketing, Mathematics, Public Administration or closely related field;
• Six (6) years of experience at a responsible level in engineering, administration, contracts administration, reliability standards compliance, customer relations and strategic services, economic trend analysis and forecasting, financial analysis, marketing, rate setting, resource planning, power contracts power trading, risk management, statistical analysis of market place business practices and operations, communications, information technology, environmental and regulatory compliance, engineering operation and maintenance in the electric utility industry or related field; and
• Including a minimum of 2 years of management experience.

SUBSTITUTIONS
• 8 years of applicable electric utility experience may be substituted for the education requirement.
• An advanced degree in Engineering, Business Administration, Public Administration or related field may be substituted for up to 2 years' experience on a year for year basis.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS
• An advanced degree in the applicable field is desirable; and
• Possession of a certificate of registration as a Professional Engineer in the State of CA is desirable.

LICENSE
• Possession of a valid California Class C driver's license is required at the time of appointment and for the duration of employment.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS
• Must be able to perform all of the essential functions of the job.
• May be required to work unusual hours in emergency situations;
• Required to pass initial and periodic comprehensive background checks, which may include fingerprinting, to meet Federal, State, and /or industry security requirements; and
• Seven (7) year criminal background check and employment verification are required.

Follow this link to view the entire Class Specification, which includes more information on Typical Duties and Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.
 
 
Federal law requires all employees to provide verification of their eligibility to work in this country. Please be informed that the City of Santa Clara will not sponsor, represent, or sign documents related to visa applications/transfers for H1B or any other type of visa which requires an employer application.  
  
The City of Santa Clara is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants for all job openings will be considered without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status or any other consideration made unlawful under any federal, state or local laws. The City of Santa Clara is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at (408) 615-2080 or HumanResources@santaclaraca.gov.

The position is housed at SVP main offices in Santa Clara but may also have the flexibility to work partially from Northern California Power Agency’s Satellite Office in Citrus Heights in Sacramento County

About Silicon Valley Power

Silicon Valley Power (SVP) is celebrating 125 years of service. SVP has an approved staffing of 200 full time employees and provides electric service to over 58,700 customer accounts across its 18.4-squaremile service territory. SVP has an operating budget of over $525 million dollars for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021-2022 and has invested nearly $435 million in capital assets including power generation facilities transmission and distribution assets. SVP owns and operates 57.8 miles of transmission and over 562 miles of distribution facilities with a system load factor of 75%. SVP owns and operates and outsources more than 1,000 Megawatts (MW) of electric generating resources. In calendar year 2020, SVP’s system peak reached 586 MW and consisted of 3,741 Gigawatt (GW) hours of energy sales. In 1980, SVP became a generating utility for the first time in 73 years with the start of operations of the 7 MW Cogeneration Plant and, in 1983, a lead partner holding 55% participation in the 110 MW NCPA Geothermal Project. SVP participates in further jointly owned power generation projects, including hydro-electric, natural gas, and wind. SVP also has Power Purchase Agreements for hy...dro-electric, land-fill gas, wind, and solar resources. In 2005, SVP placed the 147 MW Don Von Raesfeld Power Plant (DVR) into service. DVR is comprised of two GE LM6000s, plus a Mitsubishi Steam Turbine. SVP supports a broad range of energy conservation, energy efficiency, electric technology, low income, and renewable generation programs. SVP already exceeds receiving 30% of its power from renewable sources and is on track to meet the state-wide Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) goals for 2030. The utility will continue its support of a broad range of programs to encourage wise use of energy resources, especially renewable energy generation and innovative storage solutions. Silicon Valley Power is the 4th largest publicly owned electric utility in California and a recognized industry leader with a strong history and reputation of providing excellent customer service. The electric industry is rapidly changing and undergoing a fundamental transformation, shifting from a centralized resource grid toward an increasing decentralized electrical grid with distributed renewable energy resources (e.g. wind, solar, and biogas) and shifting variability in supply. SVP is estimated near-term and long-term load growth of 1,000 MW peak demand primarily driven by data centers and hyperscale data centers (100MW). The System Expansion Plan is underway and has identified $230 million in new major capital projects to replace end of life facilities and to accommodate the projected load growth. To learn more about Silicon Valley Power visit our website.

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Connections working at Silicon Valley Power