Lead Substation Engineer
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, ensuring quality, safety, reliability, and compliance throughout the project lifecycle. The position leads physical and electrical design for AIS and GIS substations and related facilities, directs protection and control design, and manages engineering deliverables and coordination with utilities, vendors, engineering teams, commissioning teams, and construction personnel. It also supports procurement, factory acceptance testing, field engineering, commissioning, project turnover, risk management, standards development, and mentorship of engineers and designers.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from an accredited program.
- At least 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 substations rated 115 kV or higher.
- Experience coordinating EOR packages, design reviews, testing, and energization activities.
- Hands-on experience supporting or witnessing factory acceptance tests 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.
- Strong written and verbal communication.
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.
- Review designs for 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 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.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
