Job Type
Full-time
Description
The Director, Substations is responsible for the execution performance and operational discipline of the Substation business unit. This role is accountable for portfolio delivery, utilization rates, backlog conversion, and forecast accuracy.
The Director ensures consistent execution standards across offices and teams, drives operational efficiency, and protects profitability through disciplined project oversight and risk management.
Requirements
Operational Execution & Delivery Management
• Lead day-to-day operational oversight of the Substation project portfolio.
• Ensure projects are delivered on schedule, within budget, and at or above target margins.
• Standardize execution processes and project controls across offices.
• Monitor schedule performance, cost tracking, and scope adherence.
• Implement corrective action plans for underperforming projects.
• Reduce rework and improve overall delivery predictability.
• Ensure alignment between staffing plans and active project workload.
Technical Excellence & Quality
§ Ensure compliance with client standards, NESC, IEEE, NEC, and regional utility requirements.
§ Oversee design disciplines including physical, protection & control, relay settings, and studies.
§ Champion innovation, digital design tools, and automation within substation workflows.
§ Maintain the Substation Quality Management framework aligned with the Divisional QMS.
§ Review and mitigate technical risks on large or complex projects.
Financial Performance & Margin Management
• Drive operational performance KPIs, including Direct Labor Multiplier, gross margin, utilization, and overall profitability for the Substation portfolio.
• Monitor write-offs, write-ups, and margin trends.
• Ensure accurate revenue forecasting and backlog reporting.
• Support annual budget planning and quarterly financial reviews.
Portfolio Risk & Commercial Governance
• Oversee delivery risk management across all active projects.
• Enforce change management and scope control procedures.
• Lead recovery strategies for distressed projects.
• Monitor scope creep and ensure appropriate change order execution.
• Proactively manage decisions to avoid unnecessary high-risk project exposure.
Resource Optimization & Team Performance
• Align staffing with backlog and workload demands.
• Balance resources across offices to maximize efficiency.
• Establish clear performance metrics for Engineering Managers.
• Partner with recruiting to ensure operational staffing needs are met.
• Promote accountability and performance discipline within delivery teams.
Process Improvement & Operational Scalability
• Implement continuous improvement initiatives to increase throughput and consistency.
• Drive adoption of standardized workflows and delivery tools.
• Establish operational performance dashboards tracking schedule, cost, and margin.
• Improve operational systems to support sustainable growth without margin erosion.
Client Relationships & Delivery Oversight
• Ensure consistent client experience through disciplined delivery.
• Support pricing reviews to confirm alignment between scope, resources, and margin expectations.
• Build and maintain relationships with utility, EPC, and developer clients.
• Manage high-level issue resolution and client escalations.
• Support proposal strategy, fee development, and interview presentations.
• Represent the firm at industry conferences and leadership forums.
• Identify long-term partnership opportunities and cross-selling initiatives.
Preferred Qualifications:
• Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license.
• 10+ years of experience in utility substation engineering and project delivery.
• Experience managing multi-office engineering teams.
• Demonstrated experience developing utility client relationships.
• Experience with multi-discipline coordination.
• Demonstrated ability to scale teams while maintaining technical quality.
• Ability to balance strategic growth initiatives with operational discipline.
• Willingness to travel to support clients and team locations.
