---
title: 'Microgrid Controls Engineer, Energy Storage at Redwood Materials'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/microgrid-controls-engineer-energy-storage-redwood-materials-san-francisco-grqg4pcbmyz3'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-07'
---

# Microgrid Controls Engineer, Energy Storage at Redwood Materials

- **Company:** Redwood Materials
- **Location:** San Francisco California, United States
- **Compensation:** $145k–$255k
- **Posted:** 2025-12-05
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-07
- **Apply:** https://boards.greenhouse.io/redwoodmaterials/jobs/5731003004?gh_jid=5731003004

## Job description

## About Redwood Materials

Redwood is localizing a global battery supply chain that seamlessly integrates recovery, reuse, and recycling — keeping critical minerals in circulation and driving the energy transition. Founded in 2017, we’re delivering low-cost and large-scale energy storage and producing battery materials in the U.S. for the first time, all from batteries we already have.

Microgrid Controls Engineer, Energy Storage

Responsibilities will include:

- Design, develop, and implement plant-level microgrid control algorithms for BESS operating in both grid-following (GFL) and grid-forming (GFM) modes, from concept through validated deployment.
- Design and architect the site controller to manage GFL inverters in direct P/Q, power factor, and voltage/frequency droop modes, and to process Vref and Fref commands to the GFM inverter.
- Implement active and reactive power control (P/Q), voltage and frequency control (V/F), and droop-based control strategies to coordinate generating assets operating as GFL with BESS as GFM master.
- Design control systems that integrate BESS with other assets including solar PV, gensets, and loads for applications spanning utility-scale power plants, off-grid and islanded microgrids, and data center power.
- Develop and modify control algorithms in PSCAD and/or MATLAB/Simulink, and verify performance through simulation and HIL environments including RTDS and/or Typhoon HIL.
- Verify MGC behavior under normal operating conditions and abnormal system events, including fault scenarios, mode transitions, and disturbances, using simulation, HIL, and field testing.
- Develop simulations and workflows to test and troubleshoot BESS site controller behavior prior to and during field deployment.
- Translate validated control designs into clear implementation specifications for production software teams, and support integration and commissioning activities as needed.
- Collaborate with controls, power systems, firmware, and software engineers to define control behaviors, validation scenarios, test cases, and performance requirements driven by customer and grid needs.

Desired Qualifications:

- MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Power Systems, or Controls Engineering.
- 3 to 6 years of hands-on experience designing and implementing microgrid or BESS plant controllers, with direct experience taking control designs from Simulink into a real-time site controller platform.
- Strong foundation in control systems, including linear control theory, PI controllers, low-pass filtering, limiters, and anti-windup techniques.
- Solid understanding of GFL and GFM inverter concepts, including frequency and voltage droop for both inverters and synchronous generators.
- Clear understanding of what a plant or site controller does for BESS in both grid-connected and islanded modes.
- Demonstrated experience with HIL validation using RTDS and/or Typhoon HIL.
- Practical experience with islanded microgrid operation including black start, resynchronization, and mode transitions.
- Practical understanding of P/Q control and energy management, including SoC-based charge and discharge constraints.
- Familiarity with microgrid protection concepts and the ability to reason about fault behavior across different operating modes.
- Experience supporting commissioning, troubleshooting, or operational validation of BESS or power systems in a lab or field environment.
- Familiarity with utility interconnection requirements and grid operations is a plus.
- Proficiency in Rust and/or C++ for real-time or embedded control applications is a plus.
- Comfortable collaborating across disciplines and communicating clearly with power systems, firmware, software, and field engineering teams.

In accordance with California pay transparency laws, the salary range for this position is listed below. Actual compensation may vary based on a variety of factors, including experience, education, and skills.

California Pay Range: $145,200—$255,000 USD

The position is full-time. Compensation will be commensurate with experience.

We collect personal information (PI) from you in connection with your application for employment with Redwood Materials, including the following categories of PI: identifiers, personal records, professional or employment information, and inferences drawn from your PI. We collect your PI for our purposes, including performing services and operations related to your potential employment. If you have additional privacy-related questions, please contact us at privacy@redwoodmaterials.com.

## About Redwood Materials

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Redwood Materials recycles lithium-ion batteries to recover critical minerals and deploys large-scale energy storage systems, building a domestic circular supply chain for batteries.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Late-stage; Series E closed at $425M in October 2025)
- **Headquarters**: Carson City, Nevada, USA (with campuses in Northern Nevada, South Carolina, and an R&D center in San Francisco)
- **Founded**: 2017
- **Founders**: JB Straubel (former Tesla CTO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Battery recycling, critical materials production, and energy storage
- **Target customers**: B2B – automotive OEMs, data center operators, utilities, and grid-scale energy storage buyers
- **Mission/purpose**: “Securing U.S. critical materials. Powering America’s energy future.” – building a resilient domestic supply chain for batteries and enabling the energy transition.

## Products & Services
- **Critical Materials Production**: Recovers lithium, nickel, cobalt, and copper from end-of-life batteries (recycling) and produces cathode active material at scale. [redwoodmaterials.com](https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/)
- **Redwood Energy**: Designs, integrates, and deploys large-scale energy storage systems (BESS) for data centers and the grid, using both new and repurposed batteries. [redwoodmaterials.com](https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/)
- **Battery Bin**: Consumer-facing recycling program launched in December 2025 to collect end-of-life batteries. [redwoodmaterials.com/about/](https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/about/)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: ~$6 billion (as of October 2025, per Wikipedia)
- **Key Metric**: Total funding raised >$1.4B (over $1B in 2023 plus $425M Series E in 2025). Annual revenue not publicly disclosed.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Partners include Volkswagen Group of America, Panasonic, GM/Ultium Cells, Volvo, Amazon, Toyota, Southern Company, BMW of North America, Crusoe, Lime, Caterpillar, Isuzu. [redwoodmaterials.com](https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/)
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - Opened South Carolina recycling campus (2025) and SF R&D center (2025)
  - Launched Redwood Energy storage division (2025)
  - Expanded into Europe (2022)
  - Recognized as Fast Company’s World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies (2024, 2026) and Time100 Climate (2024)
  - Active job postings: 79 (as of mid-2026), with monthly growth of +83.7% [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/redwood-materials)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Technology moat**: Recovers >95% of metals (nickel, cobalt, lithium, copper) from end-of-life batteries, creating a low-cost domestic source of critical materials.
- **Vertical integration**: Combines recycling, refining, cathode production, and energy storage deployment under one roof.
- **Strategic partnerships**: Deep relationships with nearly every major automotive OEM and energy companies, ensuring feedstock and offtake.
- **First-mover in U.S. battery circularity**: One of the largest domestic sources of critical minerals, reducing reliance on foreign supply chains.

## Strategic Focus
- Scale domestic battery material production and energy storage manufacturing to meet U.S. grid and EV demand.
- Expand Redwood Energy as a standalone business unit for utility and data center storage.
- Grow consumer recycling programs (Battery Bin) and deepen partnerships with automakers and energy companies.
- Continue R&D in advanced battery chemistries and recycling processes at the San Francisco innovation center.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven culture**: Employees are motivated by building a resilient U.S. energy future and solving climate challenges.
- **Pioneering environment**: Described as “pioneers, innovators, and collaborators” working on chemistry, materials science, automation, and advanced equipment design. [redwoodmaterials.com/join/](https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/join/)
- **Locations**: Multiple campuses – Tahoe (Northern Nevada), Carolina (South Carolina), and downtown San Francisco R&D center.
- **Growth opportunities**: Rapid scaling with 79+ open roles across engineering, operations, EPC, software, and business functions. Top talent sources include Tesla (207 alumni), Panasonic, Rivian, and Chewy.
- **Work style**: Hybrid/office presence expected at campuses; culture emphasizes making difficult decisions and implementing design constraints to drive impact.

## Sources
1. [redwoodmaterials.com](https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/)
2. [redwoodmaterials.com/about/](https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/about/)
3. [redwoodmaterials.com/join/](https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/join/)
4. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/redwood-materials)
5. [wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redwood_Materials)

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