The Lead Substation Engineer - P&C serves as an engineer on electric substation design projects for high-voltage utility systems and renewable energy interconnection projects. He/she will apply NESC, NEC, and other applicable codes and standards in the engineering design and will also independently produce: one-line diagrams, three-line diagrams, potential and current schematics, control schematics, alarm schematics, protection and control specifications, and I/O mapping.
He/she should be familiar with protection scheme functionality. However, ability to develop relay settings and associated points mapping is not required but preferred. He/she will also work with other internal and external project stakeholders to ensure project milestones and expectations of contracted services are met.
Requirements
- Lead and oversee execution of substation Protection and Control scope across multiple concurrent projects, maintaining full technical ownership of studies, deliverables, and engineering quality.
- Serve as Engineer of Record (EOR), performing final technical reviews and providing approval and PE stamping of protection and control, and design deliverables.
- Guide engineers, designers, and analysts across one or more projects, ensuring consistent application of standards, protection philosophies, and study methodologies.
- Coordinate across disciplines (system protection, SCADA, telecom, transmission, distribution) to ensure complete integration of system protection with control systems and field implementation.
- Lead client communication and technical strategy, including protection philosophy discussions, design reviews, issue resolution, and alignment on project scope and expectations.
- Interpret contracts and project scope requirements to ensure protection deliverables align with contractual, regulatory, and reliability requirements.
- Identify scope gaps, inconsistencies, and potential scope creep across studies and deliverables; coordinate resolution across stakeholders.
- Support and contribute to proposals, engineering estimates, and change order development, including scope definition for protection studies and settings development.
- Monitor and influence project performance from a technical delivery perspective, including schedule, study quality, coordination accuracy, and client satisfaction.
- Lead project coordination meetings, including technical reviews, study alignment, and milestone tracking across project teams.
- Contribute to resource planning and staffing discussions, providing input on study workload, technical expertise, and execution strategy.
- Oversee QA/QC processes P&C design deliverables, ensuring adherence to company standards and industry requirements.
- Provide technical mentorship and guidance to engineering staff, including training on protection and control, tools, and industry standards.
- Support procurement and construction activities, including protection and control implementation, testing, commissioning support, and resolution of complex field issues.
- Identify and drive improvements to protection and control tools, study methods, templates, and processes to enhance efficiency, consistency, and technical quality.
Skills and Qualifications: - Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from an ABET-accredited engineering program.
- Professional Engineer (PE) license required.
- 6+ years of relevant experience in substation protection and control engineering.
- Proven ability to lead engineering teams and guide technical execution across multiple concurrent projects.
- Strong understanding and application of applicable codes and standards (e.g., NESC, NEC, IEEE, and NERC PRC requirements).
- Demonstrated ability to coordinate multidisciplinary engineering efforts and deliver fully integrated protection solutions.
- Strong communication and leadership skills, with proven experience leading client interactions and technical discussions.
- Ability to identify risks, resolve complex technical issues, and make sound engineering decisions with minimal or no oversight.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office and strong working knowledge of protection analysis and relay coordination tools.
For Preferred Consideration (Not Required): - Demonstrated experience serving as Engineer of Record for P&C scope on substation projects.
- Experience leading proposal efforts, including P&C scope definition, study planning, and resource estimation.
- Experience coordinating multi-discipline teams across large or programmatic work.
- Familiarity with utility-specific protection philosophies, NERC compliance requirements, and regional grid practices.
