Job Description

Job Description

Minimum Pay Rate: $146,806.40

Maximum Pay Rate: $194,438.40

Civil Service Status:  Civil Service

Apply by Date: 06/15/2025

Official SMUD Classification: Principal Energy Trading Specialist

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is actively seeking a highly motivated and experienced Supervisor to lead our Day Ahead Trading team. This pivotal leadership position is crucial for steering our efforts in the optimization of energy procurement, scheduling, and market participation, particularly as we advance towards the integration of SMUD into the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) Extended Day-Ahead Market (EDAM) and achieving SMUD’s carbon goals.

The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in ensuring we meet our load obligations through the reliable, efficient, and cost-effective procurement and scheduling of wholesale energy. In this role, you will lead a dedicated team of traders and schedulers, directing the development and implementation of sophisticated trading strategies. You will be responsible for ensuring compliance with all applicable regulatory and market requirements, which is paramount in the ever-evolving landscape of energy markets.

A significant aspect of this role involves guiding your team through the preparations and transition activities associated with CAISO's EDAM and SMUD’s decarbonization goals. This transition will require strategic foresight, meticulous planning, and robust collaboration across various departments to facilitate successful market integration and foster long-term operational prosperity for SMUD.

The successful candidate will play an integral role in shaping SMUD’s energy procurement strategy at a time when the industry is undergoing profound changes. If you possess comprehensive expertise in power trading and scheduling, exemplary leadership abilities, and a deep understanding of CAISO market intricacies, we encourage you to consider this exceptional opportunity to influence SMUD’s future in the energy market landscape.

If you are ready to take on this vibrant challenge and help drive SMUD’s market initiatives forward, we welcome your application

To reliably procure, schedule, manage, and hedge SMUD’s wholesale energy requirements to serve our customers. In this context, wholesale energy includes power, gas, hydro, gas and power transmission, gas storage, financial hedging, and carbon and ancillary services.

There are five (5) levels in this job classification series that have similar job content but with progressively more challenging degrees and levels of skill, responsibility, knowledge, experience and qualification requirements:

Flex Classifications (that permit progression from lower-level classes to higher level classes without examination based upon assessment of an individual’s experience and performance) within the series: 

• Entry: Incumbent acquires knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the tasks associated within the series but are not yet demonstrating these at the Journey level. 
• Intermediate: Incumbent continues to acquire the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the tasks associated within the series but are not yet demonstrating these at the Journey level. 
• Journey: Incumbent is demonstrating the required skills and knowledge to independently perform the full scope of the job. 

Non-Flex Classifications (that promote from lower-level classes to higher level classes and require an examination, such as an interview, based upon individual experience and performance) within the series: 

• Senior: Advanced journey level resource who is responsible for advanced assignments, as dictated by the work needing to be performed; may serve in a lead role. 
• Principal: Subject matter expert/lead level and is responsible for leading the most advanced work, as dictated by the work needing to be performed. 

Entry/Intermediate to Journey: Incumbents at the entry (or intermediate) level are required to successfully “progress” to the journey level within 60 months of appointment to remain within the job series.

Seniors and Principals must be hired through a promotional process and do not automatically progress from lower levels in the series.

• Conducts all weather and load forecasting and portfolio optimization processes.
• Forecasts customer energy requirements considering historical demands, applicable load shapes, and weather projections.
• Performs weather forecast evaluation.
• Creates load and generation schedules for the Power System Operator (PSO).
• Runs hourly Portfolio Optimization as market, weather or load conditions deem necessary.
• Communicates with the PSO to review planned generation schedules.
• Submits resource plans with balanced base schedules at hourly and sub-hourly intervals to CAISO.
• Ensures that resources, load, and interchange are balanced for EIM each hour.
• Manages hydro reservoir levels and in-flows to ensure economic dispatch of UARP and minimize potential for spill.
• Evaluates market conditions, generating plant limitations (hydroelectric and thermal), maintenance, outages, transmission ratings and curtailments, and existing contract provisions.
• Identifies resource costs and availability considering existing market conditions, generating plant limitations (hydroelectric, thermal, renewable, battery, etc.), maintenance, outages, transmission ratings and curtailments, and existing contract provisions.
• Manages resources to meet NERC/WECC Reliability criteria during all operating conditions.
• Utilizes various market applications to submit capacity, energy, transmission, and ancillary service bids.
• Negotiates purchases and sales of energy, capacity, ancillary services, and the purchase of transmission to meet load and SMUD objectives.
• Purchases monthly and hourly transmission.
• Works with Scheduling if any scheduling conflicts arise.
• Communicates with management and the Real Time Traders for review to provide a summary of the next day position, strategy for generation and available options.
• Transacts within SMUD’s risk parameters and ethical business practices.
• Develops and maintains a good working knowledge of integrated power system operations and WECC, NERC, FERC and CAISO policies, procedures, protocols, and business practices.
• Trains co-workers on new trading policies and protocols as they develop.
• Conducts economic assessment of current resource options and market opportunities.
• Negotiates financial contracts within the confines of the SMUD Trading Guidelines and management directives.
• Identifies optimal short-term use of existing power purchase contracts based on market information.
• Works with Resource Optimizer to develop shadow price for energy limited resources.
• Develops a trading strategy for energy, capacity, transmission, and/or ancillary services.
• Evaluates and optimizes the resource preschedule, in real-time, to generation dispatch, capacity needs, energy, transmission and ancillary services purchases and sales.
• Performs "if-then” analysis to develop optimized strategy for the dispatch of generation resources, and to optimize purchases and sales of capacity, energy, transmission, and ancillary services.
• Implements SMUD Trading Guidelines and management directives.
• Develops and maintains harmonious operations with electric trading partners and other SMUD stakeholders through the use of effective communication practices.
• Performs other related duties as needed to include working outside of typical business hours when necessary.

Bachelor’s degree majoring in Public or Business Administration/Management, Economics, Computer Information Services, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field from an accredited college or university, or equivalent experience.  If no degree, an additional four (4) years of relevant work experience is required. 

• At least three (3+) years of total experience as a Senior Energy Trading Specialist gained working in two or more specialty areas, or at least seven (7+) years of equivalent professional work experience in at least two of the relevant specialty areas, or at least seven (7+) years of experience working in a related area such as, but not limited to, Business Resource Planning, System Operations, Energy Risk Management, or the Long-term Contract & Regulatory group on matter related to the relevant specialty area.

• Contract fundamentals.
• Accounting and financial statements.
• Economic analysis fundamentals.
• Federal, state, and local laws, codes and regulations governing the purchase, sale, and exchange of power, gas,power physical and financial trading, optimization, transmission, scheduling and carbon market instruments
• Computers and software such as Excel, Word, Access and PowerPoint.
• Utility industry extensively.

• Effectively communicate verbally and in writing internally and externally.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships internally and externally.
• Utilize a personal computer and/or computer terminal, systems and software relevant to the job.
• Prioritize work on multiple projects with multiple deadlines.
• Serve as a consultant/subject matter expert for your department.
• Serve as an expert witness.
• Guide efforts for continuous business improvements and processes.
• Interpret and apply policies and regulations.
• Implement relevant trading directives from management.

• In-Depth Market Knowledge: Strong understanding of CAISO markets, including Key Day-Ahead Market components, DAME, WEIM, and EDAM, for effective market participation.
• Trading and Scheduling Expertise: Experience in bilateral trading and scheduling to enhance operational efficiency and reliability.
• Asset Portfolio Familiarity: Knowledge of SMUD's generation portfolio (hydro, thermal, renewable, storage).
• Leadership Skills: Experience leading trading or scheduling teams, focusing on talent development and performance management.
• Analytical Skills: Proficiency in market analysis, load and price forecasting, and using trading tools for informed decision-making.
• Regulatory Knowledge: Understanding of CAISO tariffs, market rules, and compliance with FERC, NERC, and WECC regulations.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and market readiness efforts across departments, ensuring market integration.
• Communication Skills: Strong communication and collaboration skills to convey complex information and foster teamwork.
• Adaptability: Proven ability to navigate market shifts, regulatory changes, and organizational transformations successfully.

Applicants must be able to perform the essential job functions with or without a reasonable accommodation.

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) - Who We Are

As the nation's sixth-largest community-owned electric service provider, we're proud of our reputation as one of thebest places to work in Sacramento. Our employees tell us in our engagement surveys they're "Happy, satisfied andengaged" which helps create a workplace that best serves our customers. Sacramento was named as the 2ndhappiest place to work in America by Forbes Magazine. Lake Tahoe, San Francisco and the world-renowned NapaValley are within easy driving distance of our locations.

Our Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

SMUD celebrates diversity, and inspires an inclusive culture based on trust and respect to create belonging andconnection among our employees, customers, and communities. By working together, we are powering positive,equitable opportunities for all. We aspire to be a workplace where you can be yourself, achieve your best, andthrive together.

An example of our commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging is when SMUD signed the CaliforniaEqual Pay Pledge in 2020. This requires equal pay for employees who perform “substantially similar work,” whenviewed as a composite of skill, effort, and responsibility at the time those employees started within thatclassification. As such, initial hiring salary range is not subject to negotiation and salaries will vary over time basedon performance.

SMUD is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate in employment decisions on the basisof race, color, religion, gender (including pregnancy), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, genderidentity or expression, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, veteran status, or any other applicablelegally protected characteristic. All employment decisions are made on the basis of individual qualifications, merit,and business needs and interests.

Why Sacramento, California?

The capitol of California, Sacramento is the state's sixth-largest city, and the 35th largest in the U.S. Localuniversities include California State University, University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law, and theUniversity of California, Davis and several competitive community colleges. The UC Davis Medical Center, a world-renowned research hospital, is one of more than a dozen hospitals and shared services centers in the Sacramentoregion. Part of the agriculturally-rich Central Valley, Sacramento is at the forefront of the farm-to-fork foodmovement. Northern California is home to some of the country's top technology companies, including Google andLinkedIn, and a multitude of startups in many industries. Sacramento is home to the NBA Kings, the River Cats(AAA baseball), the Republic FC (soccer) and the San Francisco Giants, NBA Warriors and NFL 49er's aren't faraway. Sacramento offers an affluent liberal arts community with Broadway, Mondavi Center, Crocker Museum andsummer musical theater to name a few.

Hybrid Work

This position may be eligible for SMUD's remote work employee benefit, the schedule of which will be determinedby the successful candidate and the Hiring Manager. SMUD takes...

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