Principal Engineer - Generation Services

If you have what it takes to become part of the Vistra family and would like to start a promising career with a global leader, take a look at the exciting employment opportunities that are currently available and apply online.

Job Summary

The ideal candidate will bring strong experience in emergency incident response, emergency preparedness, fire investigations, and industrial risk reduction within asset-intensive environments. This position plays a critical role in reducing operational risk, strengthening emergency response readiness, supporting safe and continuous operations, and enhancing coordination with site personnel, first responders, and external agencies across Vistra’s coal, gas, solar, and BESS assets.

Job Description

Key Accountabilities

Emergency Management & Incident Response

• Lead and support fleetwide emergency preparedness, emergency drill coordination, and incident response readiness activities.
• Support sites with emergency drills, exercises, and preparedness activities as needed.
• Assist with development, review, and continuous improvement of site emergency response plans, pre-fire plans, and related emergency procedures.
• Partner with site leadership to enhance emergency readiness, incident response coordination, and recovery planning.
• Meet with first responders, fire departments, emergency management organizations, and Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs) to develop strong partnerships and enhance emergency incident response.
• Support lessons learned reviews following drills, exercises, and actual events, and recommend improvements to strengthen site and fleet readiness.

Fire Protection Program Support

• Support evaluation and continuous improvement of fire protection programs across a diverse fleet of fossil generation, solar, and BESS facilities.
• Review fire protection system performance, impairments, and operational readiness in partnership with site teams.
• Support compliance with applicable standards including NFPA, OSHA, and IFC as applicable to site operations and equipment.
• Identify gaps and recommend corrective actions to mitigate fire and explosion risks.

Fire Investigations & Corrective Actions

• Lead or support fire investigations, event reviews, and root cause analysis related to fire events, near misses, and emergency response performance.
• Support post-incident assessments to identify lessons learned and strengthen prevention and response strategies across the fleet.

Project Scope Development & Program Support

• Support development of scopes for fire protection improvements, emergency response enhancements, and risk reduction initiatives.
• Review technical specifications, contractor work scopes, and related documentation supporting fire protection and emergency preparedness improvements.
• Support capital and expense planning activities, including cost estimates, schedules, and risk assessments for fire protection and emergency management initiatives.

Contractor & Vendor Coordination

• Support oversight of contractors and vendors during installation, testing, commissioning, or emergency preparedness support activities.
• Review contractor submittals, test records, inspection documentation, and related deliverables.
• Coordinate with external service providers to ensure quality execution and compliance with operational requirements.

Risk Management & Continuous Improvement

• Collaborate with insurance carriers and internal stakeholders during site assessments and audits.
• Identify recurring risks, program gaps, and improvement opportunities across coal, gas, solar, and BESS operations.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, Security, and EHS teams to integrate fire protection and emergency management requirements into plant activities.
• Build effective working relationships across organizational boundaries to support consistent fleetwide implementation of fire protection and emergency management expectations.

Education, Experience & Skill Requirements:

• BS or greater in an Engineering discipline
• Licensed Professional Engineer or minimum 5 years of experience in emergency incident response, emergency management, fire investigations, industrial safety, fire protection program support, or related roles within industrial, power generation, or similar asset-intensive environments.
• Demonstrates and applies knowledge of current and pending regulatory, code and general industry issues to resolve Vistra’s interests.
• Strong working knowledge of NFPA standards
• Demonstrated experience conducting or supporting fire investigations, event reviews, and corrective action development.
• Familiarity with emergency planning, drill support, responder coordination, and incident command concepts preferred.
• Proficient in fossil, solar, battery, or nuclear plant technologies
• Minimum 8 years of experience in power plant operations / engineering or comparable industries
• Communication -Must be able to effectively communicate with peers, management and/or represent Vistra’s interests to outside agencies
• Able to execute projects/strategies with some oversight.
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and coordinate with contractors, consultants, and site personnel simultaneously.
• Demonstrated high performer through consecutive evaluations or work history for external candidates.

Key Metrics:

Compliance & Risk Reduction

• Reduction in identified fire protection and emergency preparedness program deficiencies across the fleet.
• Improved emergency preparedness performance through stronger planning, coordination, and response readiness.

Incident Response & Investigations

• Effective support of site drills, exercises, and emergency response readiness activities.
• Timely and thorough completion of fire investigations, event reviews, and corrective actions.
• Timely closure of audit findings, preparedness gaps, and corrective actions.

Job Family

Company

Locations

We are a company of people committed to: Exceeding Customer Expectations, Great People, Teamwork, Competitive Spirit and Effective Communication. If this describes you, then apply today!

If you currently work for Vistra or its subsidiaries, please apply via the internal career site.

It is the policy of the Company to comply with all employment laws and to afford equal employment opportunity to individuals in all aspects of employment, including in selection for job opportunities, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, military service, protected veteran status, or any other consideration protected by federal, state or local laws.

If you are an individual with a disability and need assistance submitting an application or would like to request an accommodation, please email usat [email protected] tomake a request.