Lead Substation Engineer

Consigli Construction•Washington, DC

About The Position

The Lead Substation Engineer provides technical leadership and oversight for high-voltage substation projects supporting utility-scale solar and battery energy storage developments. The role coordinates substation design, procurement, testing, construction support, and energization activities while ensuring quality, safety, reliability, and compliance throughout the project lifecycle. The position leads substation and protection and control design, manages engineering deliverables and design reviews, and coordinates with utilities, transmission owners, OEMs, engineering and commissioning teams, and construction personnel. It also supports equipment procurement, factory acceptance testing, field engineering, commissioning, energization, and project turnover. The role develops engineering standards and best practices, mitigates technical and schedule risks, and mentors engineers and designers.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from an accredited program.
8+ years of high-voltage substation engineering experience in an EPC, utility, owner, OEM, or consulting environment.
Experience serving as a discipline lead or technical lead.
Experience with 115 kV or higher substations.
Experience coordinating EOR packages, design reviews, testing, and energization activities.
Hands-on experience supporting or witnessing FATs for substation equipment.
Knowledge of IEEE, NESC, NEC, NFPA 70E, ANSI/NETA, IEC, and utility standards.
Proficiency with AutoCAD, MicroStation, Bluebeam, or similar platforms.
Familiarity with grounding software and relay-setting/testing tools.
Ability to travel to project sites, OEM facilities, utility meetings, and engineering offices as needed.
High-voltage substation design and engineering skills.
Knowledge of AIS and GIS substation systems, protection and control systems, relay schemes and coordination, and SCADA, RTU, telecom, and metering systems.
Design review and quality control skills.
Utility and stakeholder coordination skills.
Equipment specification and procurement support skills.
Factory acceptance testing and commissioning skills.
Technical leadership, mentoring, risk management, problem-solving, and strong written and verbal communication skills.

Nice To Haves

GIS substation experience is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead physical and electrical design for AIS and GIS substations, switching stations, gen-ties, and interconnection facilities.
Direct protection and control design, including relay schemes, AC/DC systems, SCADA, RTU, metering, telecom, and related interfaces.
Manage EOR deliverables, design reviews, comment resolution, and utility coordination.
Coordinate with utilities, transmission owners, OEMs, engineers, commissioning teams, and construction personnel.
Perform design reviews to ensure technical accuracy, constructability, quality, and compliance.
Review grounding, lightning protection, relay coordination, short-circuit, arc-flash, and load-flow studies.
Develop and review equipment specifications and support procurement activities.
Plan and witness factory acceptance testing (FAT) for major substation equipment.
Provide field engineering support, site inspections, QA/QC reviews, and issue resolution during construction.
Support testing, commissioning, energization, and project turnover activities.
Identify and mitigate technical risks, design conflicts, and schedule impacts.
Develop standards, specifications, templates, and best practices.
Mentor engineers and designers and provide technical leadership across projects.
Ensure engineering deliverables satisfy EPC contracts, utility standards, and interconnection requirements.