Principal Engineer - Substation Protection & Control

Qualus•Calgary, SK

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

Power your future with Qualus as a Principal Protection and Control Engineer, to join our well-established Protection & Control team of engineers and designers in Canada, in our Transmission & Distribution Canada business. This role offers long-term workload stability, exposure to a diverse portfolio of projects, and the opportunity to provide technical leadership across utility and renewable energy clients. You will work on projects ranging from 12 kV to 500 kV, supporting designs from early concept through construction and commissioning. This opportunity is ideal for a principal engineer who enjoys technical ownership, mentoring others, and solving complex system-level challenges.

Requirements

20+ years of utility-focused protection, control, and metering engineering experience, with demonstrated system-level responsibility
Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from a recognized university
Registration as a Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) in Canada, or eligibility to obtain (U.S. PE considered an asset)
Recognized expertise in substation protection philosophy, including transmission line, transformer, bus, and feeder protection
Extensive experience reviewing and approving detailed P&C design drawings and technical deliverables
Experience performing protection coordination studies and relay settings for high-voltage transmission systems
Hands-on knowledge of protection software and platforms such as ASPEN, CAPE, EasyPower, SKM, and SEL / GE relay families
Practical experience with substation construction, commissioning, outage planning, and operational interfaces
Proven ability to provide technical judgment on non standard, complex, or first of kind applications
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Demonstrated capability to mentor

Nice To Haves

Experience on EPC projects, and familiarity with utility maintenance and operational practices, are considered strong assets

Responsibilities

Act as the Qualus’ Protection & Control Subject Matter Expert (SME), providing technical governance across multiple projects and programs
Set and uphold protection, control, and metering philosophy, standards, and best practices for high voltage substations
Serve as Principal Engineer or Technical Authority on complex, high risk, or non standard projects, providing final technical approval and direction
Provide review and approval of: -Protection planning, philosophy, and application documents-One-lines, schematics, logic diagrams, panel layouts, and wiring diagrams
Oversee protection coordination studies and relay settings for utility transmission systems, including review and validation of work performed by others
Chair or participate in senior-level design reviews, hazard and risk assessments, and near miss investigations
Support Factory Acceptance Tests (FATs), Site Acceptance Tests (SATs), and critical field inspections for complex installations
Advise project teams on construction sequencing, outage planning, and commissioning strategy
Participate in client technical, Safety by Design, and constructability review meetings
Provide technical oversight for project scopes, feasibility studies, cost estimates, and definition-phase deliverables, including review of assumptions and risks
Support Business Development by contributing technical strategy, execution approaches, and risk assessments for proposals and pursuits
Act as a primary technical escalation point for clients, internal teams, and external partners
Mentor senior and junior engineers, and play a key role in the continuous improvement of P&C standards, tools, and engineering practices