Operations Programmer Analyst I Or Ii

Southwest Power Pool (SPP) is about more than power. We’re about the power of relationships. Our employees have the opportunity to work together to ensure electricity is delivered reliably and affordably to the millions of people living in our service territory. We have been voted one of Arkansas’ Best Places to work by Arkansas Business and we are looking for a member of our team who is passionate about our mission to keep the lights on!

We have a core ideology here at SPP that we stand by: Do the right thing, for the right reason, in the right way.

We believe in supporting our employees through a fantastic benefits package:

• Competitive pay with bonus opportunities
• Excellent insurance package including three great medical plans to choose from, employer-paid short term disability, long term disability, and life insurance

• Flexible working environment for positions that are eligible where employees have the flexibility to work from home and come into the office when collaborative in person work is needed.

• Relocation assistance to those that currently live 50 miles away from SPP’s office in Little Rock
  • Senior level for this position is remote eligible outside of a 50 mile radius of office location
• Fantastic contributions to your retirement through a 401(k) savings plan with employer-match benefits and a defined benefit plan fully funded by SPP

Overview

The Programmer/Analyst  Software Developer is responsible for all aspects of the system development life cycle for situational awareness and engineering applications used by the Reliability, Tariff, Scheduling, and Market Operators.  As such, accurate and effective decision making, sometimes in stressful situations, is required.  

The Programmer/Analyst Software Developer provides guidance to business owners on system design and development including ensuring proper technology is used. They work with the end user directly to understand needed functionality and throughout development to ensure requirements are met.

The Programmer/Analyst  Software Developer is responsible for reviewing application architecture and recommend improvements that includes hardware and software acquisitions and upgrades, frameworks, and overall application design. They are also expected to work within the accepted technology stack at SPP and justify any variation from the standard.

The Programmer/Analyst Software Developer is responsible for the setting up and configuring environments for applications including frameworks, databases, and security. They work with Cyber Security team to ensure penetration and vulnerability issues are addressed and resolved for new and existing development.

The Programmer/Analyst Software Developer receives guidance from the supervisor on required tasks and a subset of work performed requires screening by the supervisor.  The majority of assignments are designed to develop professional work knowledge and abilities, requiring application of standard techniques, procedures and criteria.  Exercise of judgment is required on details of work and in making preliminary selections and adaptations of design alternatives.

Essential Functions

General Responsibilities:

• Intermediate proficiency on the applications, functionality, and processes used within the major areas of the SPP Coordinated Operations: Integrated Marketplace, Consolidated Balancing Authority (CBA), Reliability, Tariff, Markets, Scheduling and Engineering
• Coordinate Change and Release Management
• Support, develop, and improve processes and procedures for the Operations Support Team
• Create and maintain existing data points in the EMS Data Historian
• Create and maintain the Asset Framework contained within the EMS Data Historian
• Application of detailed knowledge around specific applications or interfaces (Recognized as Subject Matter Expert)
• Perform tasks or special projects as assigned by the management team or by senior team members.
• Coordination of implementation plans that span across multiple support teams in IT, vendor support and Market Participants
• Mentor new team members. Provide mentoring to other IT team members based on experience.
• Understanding of and compliance with SPP Policies and Procedures.
• Provide on-call duties as required

Development Responsibilities:

• Develop, maintain, test, and support Coordinated Operations tools/displays and processes to increase Operator situational awareness and reduce human error risks and to assist with training users of such tools.

• Develop, maintain, test, and support the operational archive data and support organizational uses of operations historical data for Operations, as well as other organizational business units.
• Develop, maintain, test, and support the use of synchrophasor data and applications for both real-time situational awareness and post event analysis. Training staff on the uses, benefits, and new developments created from this technology is also required.
• Define software development project plans, including scoping, scheduling, configuration, and implementation.
• Consistently write, translate, and code software programs and applications according to specifications to enhance functionality and/or performance of operators’ situational awareness and reducing human error risks.
• Work with database administrator to design, develop, and update databases as they relate to user interface design and functionality.
• Provide analysis and definition of customer, business, and technical requirements
• Coordinate with other groups in IT to design and implement technical solutions
• Follow SPP's SDLC best practices for development activities

Testing Responsibilities:

• Create and execute test plans, scripts, cases, and scenarios for all types of application testing as needed, such as unit, application/system, regression, load, performance, and acceptance testing methods to validate system functionality against requirements
• Ensure that any new software integration into company systems meets functional requirements, system compliance, and interface specifications.

The statements contained herein describe the scope of the responsibility and essential functions of this position, but should not be considered to be an all-inclusive listing of work duties and responsibilities. Individuals may perform other duties as assigned including work in other areas to cover absences, or relief to equalize peak work periods or otherwise balance the workload. 

Qualifications

Education Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, related field, or equivalent work experience; Two (2) Years of Information Technology development/programming/support experience may be considered in lieu of degree requirement

Experience Requirements:

• Programmer Analyst I - No experience required
• Programmer Analyst II - Three (3) years of Information Technology development/programming/support experience

Required:

• Experience with User Experience (UX) design
• Experience in C#, JavaScript, SQL, and other similar development languages
• Understanding of object-oriented analysis and design concepts
• Knowledge of front-end build processes
• Effective working knowledge of Microsoft Windows, Unix or Linux operations systems, and database management systems
• Experience with version control including Git
• Strong inter-personal and teaming skills
• Effective written and verbal communication skills
• Initiative to expand knowledge of the electrical industry, SPP business practices, and related systems
• Ability to work with a broad spectrum of individuals with diverse interests when resolving problems
• Competent skills with communication and data handling software such as Microsoft Office© Word, Excel, and Access
• Understanding of and compliance with SPP Policies and Procedures

Preferred:

• Three (3) or more years of experience with any JavaScript Frameworks, such as Angular, React, or Vue.
• One (1) or more years working with Typescript
• Two (2) or more years of experience with C#
• Two (2) or more years of experience with SQL
• Experience in building intranet based web applications or tools
• Experience with building and deploying Docker containers

Work Environment:

This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and work at a computer for long periods of time, talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle or feel; and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to climb or balance; and stoop. The employee may be required to lift and move up to 10 pounds.

Position Type and Expected Hours of Work:

This is a full-time position. Days and hours of workweek are Monday through Friday; 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Working extended hours may be required.

Travel Requirement:

This position requires minimal travel (approximately 0-15%).

Should you elect to apply for this position SPP will review your qualifications. If after reviewing the qualifications and experience of all applicants, your skills and credentials meet our needs, someone from our organization may contact you. Please be advised that the time required to complete the applicant review process typically takes between 30 and 90 days, but could extend beyond that. Once the position has been filled, all applicants will be notified via email. 

Southwest Power Pool is an Equal Opportunity Workplace and an Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age or any other protected category.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines “reasonable accommodation” as a change or adjustment to a job or work environment that allows a qualified individual with a disability to satisfactorily perform the essential functions of a particular job, and does not cause an undue hardship for the employer.  SPP adheres to the ADA and reasonable accommodations may be made to enable a qualified individual with a disability to perform the essential functions.

• Bachelors or better

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)