Battery Service Engineer

About the role

ABB's Smart Power division is hiring a Battery Service Engineer in Richmond, Virginia, reporting to the Service Engineering Manager. The role oversees the deployment, maintenance strategy and operational readiness of UPS battery infrastructure, moving from hands-on execution to program-level ownership of the entire lifecycle of critical backup power storage, including installation, commissioning, preventive maintenance, diagnostics and replacement of VRLA, flooded lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries. It is an onsite position.

Key responsibilities

• Manage programs for installation, startup, configuration, maintenance and testing of UPS battery strings
• Oversee internal Field Service Engineers and third-party vendors, define scope of work, manage SLAs and audit field service reports
• Use diagnostic tools such as internal resistance/conductance testers, thermal imagers and data loggers to isolate cell failures, thermal runaway risks and capacity degradation
• Oversee battery monitoring systems, ensure accurate data reporting, alarm thresholds and Modbus/SNMP communication with the UPS or building management systems
• Analyze capacity test data, internal resistance trends and runtime calculations to predict end-of-life cycles
• Enforce safety protocols aligned with OSHA, NFPA 70E (Arc Flash) and EPA battery disposal and recycling requirements
• Serve as escalation point for major battery failures and lead root-cause analysis and preventative actions

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering plus at least 6 years of field service experience with industrial UPS systems (3-phase preferred) and large-scale battery plants
• Strong knowledge of 3-phase UPS systems and VRLA, NiCad and lithium-ion batteries
• Experience commissioning or troubleshooting lithium-ion BESS is a plus
• Willingness to travel to domestic customer sites (about 50-75% initially)
• US work authorization required

Required skills

• Digital multimeters, battery impedance testers (Alber, Megger, Midtronics), load banks
• IEEE 450, IEEE 1188, IEEE 1679 and NFPA 70E electrical safety certification (a plus)
• CMMS, Excel, Power BI and project management software

What we offer

• Salary expected between $83,300 and $133,280 annually
• Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short and long term disability, accident and hospital indemnity insurance
• 401(k) with company contributions, paid parental leave, 11 paid holidays and vacation