Electrical Commissioning Lead - Mission Critical

GMC Commissioning • San Diego, CA

4d • $150,000 - $180,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

This role is GMC's technical authority for critical power. You own how GMC commissions electrical distribution across Levels 1 through 5: the commissioning plans, the prefunctional and static checklists, the functional and integrated test scripts, the acceptance criteria, and the technical positions GMC defends in front of owners, engineers of record, and equipment vendors. This is a build-the-practice role, not a staff-the-practice role. Expect your first year to run roughly 70 percent authorship and standards development, 20 percent field support and escalation, and 10 percent business development. That balance shifts toward field leadership and team management as the group grows. The people in these three roles will define how GMC commissions mission-critical facilities: the templates, the standards, the technical positions, and the teams. Larger firms in this space will offer you a mature process to execute inside of. We are offering the opposite: you write the process, then you lead the group that runs it. If that is not what you want, this is the wrong role. If it is, there are very few seats like it.

Requirements

• Six or more years in electrical commissioning, acceptance testing, critical power startup, or electrical engineering, including at least three years on mission-critical facilities.
• Demonstrated authorship, not just execution, of L4 functional and L5 integrated test scripts and prefunctional checklists. Be prepared to discuss a test you wrote and what it exposed.
• Hands-on medium-voltage experience: switchgear, transformers, protective relaying, and switching under permit.
• Ability to read and critically review acceptance test reports, coordination studies, one-lines, relay setting sheets, and sequences of operation.
• Working knowledge of the applicable standards framework: NFPA (including 70E), NETA, IEEE, ANSI, and commissioning practice under ASHRAE Guideline 0 / 1.1 and BCxA.
• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, or equivalent depth earned in the field through testing, startup, or controls work.
• Qualified person status under NFPA 70E and the judgment to stop work when conditions do not warrant proceeding.
• Authorization to work in the United States without sponsorship.
• Valid driver's license, ability to rent vehicles, and ability to pass owner- and site-specific background screening; some clients require additional clearance for defense-adjacent work.
• OSHA 30 (or ability to obtain within 90 days) and working familiarity with NFPA 70E, PTW/LOTO, and arc-flash PPE requirements.
• Ability to work in active construction environments: extended standing and walking, ladders and lifts, elevated and confined spaces, mechanical rooms and electrical rooms, temperature extremes, and periodic night or weekend test windows.
• Strong technical writing in English: GMC deliverables are read and relied on by owner executives, engineers of record, and authorities having jurisdiction.
• Demonstrated independence: GMC verifies the work of general contractors and equipment vendors on behalf of owners, and does not advocate for installing parties.

Nice To Haves

• NETA Level III or IV technician background.
• Level I infrared thermography certification.
• Accredited commissioning credential: CxA (ACG), CCP (BCxA), or BCxP (ASHRAE).
• Generator paralleling and switchgear control experience; power quality analyzer setup and data interpretation.
• Experience with in-rack rectifier/battery architectures and high-density rack power distribution.
• Life science, healthcare, or defense electrical commissioning experience, essential power systems, NFPA 99, or facility-specific accreditation regimes.
• Professional Engineer license (electrical).

Responsibilities

• Test development (≈70% of year one). Author L2A installation, L2B static, and L3 prefunctional checklists and L4 functional and L5 integrated test scripts for medium-voltage switchgear, transformers, standby generators and paralleling switchgear, automatic and static transfer switches, UPS and battery systems, low-voltage switchboards, busway and tap-off boxes, power distribution units and remote power panels, and the electrical power monitoring system. This also covers the electrical MOP/SOP template library and L0 commissionability review of design documents and equipment submittals.
• Protection and coordination. Review short-circuit, coordination, and arc-flash studies for commissioning impact; verify as-left protection settings against the approved study; specify where primary and secondary injection testing is required and review the resulting acceptance test reports.
• Load and performance strategy. Define load bank strategy, staging, and instrumentation; set acceptance criteria for generator step response and performance class, UPS transient and steady-state performance, battery discharge to design autonomy, transfer switch operation including out-of-phase transfer, and full-load thermal scanning of busway and terminations.
• Integrated systems testing. Author the L5 scenarios that prove utility failure and return, generator start and load acceptance, transfer sequences under integrated load, and the interaction between power events and the cooling plant's response.
• Field support and escalation (≈20% of year one). Serve as the technical escalation point when a test fails, a protection scheme misbehaves, or a vendor's result does not reconcile with the design. Review contractor methods of procedure and switching plans for commissioning-impacting energizations and cutovers.
• Business development (≈10% of year one). Act as the technical voice on pursuits scoping electrical commissioning effort for proposals, presenting GMC's approach in interviews, and building the client and industry relationships that generate repeat work.
• Team development. Interview and hire electrical commissioning staff; build the training curriculum with GMC's Training Administrator; mentor field staff toward independent test leadership. Hiring volume ramps as the practice wins work; expect to be building the team rather than managing a full one in year one.

Benefits

• Annual 10% performance bonus
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k) with company match 100% contribution up to 4% salary
• Paid time off and holidays
• Professional development support: exam and credential fees, continuing education units, and dues for ACG, BCxA, ASHRAE, and 7x24 Exchange.
• Per diem and travel expense coverage on assignment

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior