Manager Transmission Development

Puget Sound Energy•Bellevue, WA

1d•$106,600 - $253,200

About The Position

Puget Sound Energy is seeking a Manager, Transmission Development to lead its new transmission development team. The position will direct development opportunities and project business cases, and oversee the end-to-end development process from concept through commercial close and transition to delivery. The team’s portfolio includes the approximately 130-mile, dual-circuit 500 kV Cross Cascades transmission line, which will connect Western and Eastern Washington across the Cascade Mountain range. The project is intended to strengthen transmission infrastructure, support reliability and economic growth, connect communities with renewable resources, and help PSE meet Washington’s Clean Energy Transformation Act requirements. The role establishes development priorities and a regional opportunity roadmap, coordinates cross-functional teams, and oversees project routing, siting, permitting, environmental review, right-of-way, stakeholder engagement, commercial agreements, financial feasibility, and budgets. The ideal candidate has experience developing large, long-distance transmission projects across multiple jurisdictions. PSE employees are expected to uphold safety and regulatory compliance standards and conduct business honestly and ethically.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, finance, economics, construction management, business administration, or a closely related field.
Ten years of increasingly responsible experience in the electric transmission industry, emphasizing large transmission project development or other large infrastructure development.
Experience leading complex infrastructure development through structured governance, executive decision-making, risk management, and stage-gate approval processes.
Experience supporting or leading stakeholder engagement for complex infrastructure projects involving communities, landowners, agencies, Tribal governments, or local jurisdictions.
Strong knowledge of FERC, NERC, and compliance obligations and processes, including Open Access Transmission Tariff concepts such as interconnection and transmission service.
Knowledge of Western transmission markets, regional planning processes, balancing authority coordination, transmission service frameworks, and emerging market structures.
Strong organizational and analytical skills to manage complex projects and business challenges.
Excellent interpersonal skills to develop and maintain working relationships with contractual counterparties, regulators, and other industry participants.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to contemporaneously document evaluation, due diligence, and negotiation initiatives for later prudence purposes.
Ability to understand complex financial pro formas and provide direction.
Proficiency with MS Office word processing, presentation, and spreadsheet applications.
Valid driver’s license.

Nice To Haves

MBA, related post-graduate degree, and/or Professional Engineer license.
Proficiency with presentation software and experienced presentation skills.
Established network of local, regional, and West-wide electric system planning and operating professional contacts and subject matter experts.
Familiarity with grid-enhancing technologies, advanced conductors, dynamic line ratings, storage-as-transmission, non-wires alternatives, or other emerging approaches that can expand system capability.

Responsibilities

Lead and develop the transmission development team, including coaching, performance management, training, staffing, accountability, and promotion of a culture of total safety.
Direct a department responsible for identifying and evaluating transmission development opportunities and developing project business cases and commercial strategies.
Oversee the end-to-end transmission development execution model, including stage-gate governance, risk tracking, milestone accountability, decision escalation, and executive visibility from concept through commercial close and transition to delivery.
Establish cross-functional coordination with transmission planning, engineering, operations, regulatory, legal, finance, customer, government affairs, and supply chain teams.
Establish portfolio prioritization criteria that balance strategic value, execution risk, capital requirements, timing, ownership structure, reliability, affordability, customer value, and long-term system optionality.
Develop and maintain a regional transmission opportunity roadmap aligned with PSE load growth, generation access, reliability needs, clean energy requirements, and regional market developments.
Oversee routing, siting, permitting, environmental review, and right-of-way acquisition for transmission projects.
Partner with External Affairs to develop early engagement strategies for stakeholders, Tribal governments, landowners, communities, and jurisdictions.
Negotiate and oversee commercial agreements related to transmission and corporate growth, including transmission capacity, construction, acquisitions and development, purchase and sale, joint ownership and development, O&M, real estate, interconnection, service agreements, and regional partnerships.
Work with transmission planning, generation development, resource planning, and commercial teams to evaluate interconnection queues, transmission service availability, deliverability constraints, and system congestion risks.
Prepare and manage departmental and programmatic budgets.
Oversee financial feasibility analyses, engineering and operational plans, environmental strategies, and legal and real estate reviews supporting project development.
Ensure employees comply with legal, operational, regulatory, and safety requirements.