Staff Engineer

Wunderlich-Malec Careers•Saco, ME

About The Position

Wunderlich-Malec’s Electrical Testing group is hiring a Staff Engineer in Saco, Maine. The position provides electrical engineering design, relay settings, system studies, testing, commissioning, and technical consulting for utility, generation, industrial, institutional, and federal electrical power systems. The Staff Engineer serves as a technical lead on assigned projects, works independently, and collaborates with engineers, designers, field technicians, commissioning personnel, project management, and department leadership. The role supports the development, review, and implementation of Protection & Control systems, relay settings, communications integration solutions, SCADA interfaces, logic diagrams, and related engineering documentation. Work may span the full project lifecycle, from conceptual design and detailed engineering through relay settings development, factory acceptance testing, field commissioning, startup support, and troubleshooting. The position also requires proactively communicating project risks, schedule concerns, technical challenges, and resource needs. The work environment includes standard office, work-from-home, and field settings. Field work may involve varied temperatures, moisture, slippery or uneven surfaces, confined spaces, heights, noise, vibration, chemicals, and potential exposure to hazardous materials and electrical voltages. Travel of at least 25% is required. Irregular or extended hours, on-call availability, and travel for project completion may be required. The expected salary range is $75,000–$125,000 per year, depending on qualifications, plus a discretionary bonus and employee stock program. Full-time employees may be eligible for a comprehensive employee-owner benefits package.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering (electrical, mechanical, or engineering technology) from an accredited institution is preferred.
A minimum of 2–8+ years of engineering and/or testing and commissioning experience.
In-depth understanding of three-phase power systems and Protection & Control schemes and implementation.
Experience leading project execution activities and client-facing technical efforts.
Experience creating and reviewing Protection & Control engineering design packages for utility, generation, industrial, institutional, and/or federal facility projects.
Experience with AutoCAD, MicroStation, or similar engineering design software.
Experience with PDF editing software such as Bluebeam Revu or similar applications.
Experience calculating relay settings and performing coordination studies for utility, distribution, generation, and industrial systems.
Experience using relay test sets with relay vendors including SEL, GE, Beckwith, ABB, and Basler, as well as electromechanical relays.
Experience testing equipment such as circuit breakers, transformers, circuit switchers, MOABs, CTs, PTs, batteries and chargers, transfer switches, line tuners, wave traps, and carrier relays.
Experience testing and commissioning new and modified substations, including equipment isolation and restoration and complex circuit cutovers while mitigating inadvertent operations.
Experience with rotating machinery, including generators and excitation systems.
Experience testing previously programmed RTUs locally and remotely to system operators.
Experience with SCADA, RTU, and DFR systems.
Working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications, including Word and Excel.
Ability to travel a minimum of 25%.
Must possess and maintain a valid, unrestricted driver’s license.
Strong communication, interpersonal, problem-solving, decision-making, organizational, multitasking, and time-management skills.
Ability to motivate, mentor, and optimize in a collaborative, team-oriented environment; work independently; and guide less experienced engineers and technicians.
Goal-oriented, proactive, energetic, and enthusiastic approach.
Experience managing and/or supporting technical projects of various sizes and managing project budgets.
Knowledge of designing, programming, and calculating settings for electromechanical, solid-state, and microprocessor protection devices.
Ability to write code for macros or scripts that assist with studies or relay settings calculations.
Knowledge of power-system study software, which may include CAPE, CYME, ASPEN, ETAP, SKM, or Synergy.
Knowledge and experience in fault analysis, postmortem analysis, and/or misoperation mitigation efforts.
Ability to meet the physical demands of the role, including seeing, color perception, hearing, listening, clear speech, hand dexterity, driving, lifting, climbing, mounting and dismounting equipment, pushing, and pulling.

Nice To Haves

A bachelor’s degree in electrical, mechanical, or engineering technology is preferred.
Experience with protection-device platforms including GE, SEL, ALSTOM, SCHNEIDER, SIEMENS, Beckwith, Basler, Eaton, and ABB.
Experience with power-system study software such as CAPE, CYME, ASPEN, ETAP, SKM, or Synergy.

Responsibilities

Provide electrical engineering design, testing, commissioning, and technical consulting for utility, generation, industrial, institutional, and federal power systems.
Develop Protection & Control design packages, including one-line, three-line, elementary, wiring, and logic diagrams; communications architecture diagrams; panel layouts; cable schedules; SCADA integration drawings; and relay settings documentation.
Perform relay coordination, short-circuit, load flow, and arc flash studies; power quality evaluations; protection system analysis; and relay settings calculations.
Review specifications, engineering drawings, operating philosophies, and client standards to understand power-system functionality and purpose.
Provide redline markups of Protection & Control design packages, relay settings files, logic configurations, and communications integration designs.
Ensure designs, settings, studies, and commissioning activities comply with client standards, NERC requirements, IEEE standards, utility requirements, and industry best practices.
Analyze relay event reports, oscillography, sequence-of-events records, fault data, and power quality information; prepare technical reports and corrective action recommendations.
Assist with planning engineering resources, project execution strategies, commissioning activities, and technical deliverables.
Assist with engineering proposals, estimates, schedules, technical scopes of work, and project budgets.
Support or perform testing and commissioning of protective relays, circuit breakers, transformers, RTUs, SCADA equipment, communications systems, batteries, chargers, metering systems, and other substation equipment.
Support or perform system energization, field walkdowns, commissioning and startup activities, and troubleshooting during construction and operation.
Directly witness or perform DC functional trip testing, relay functional verification, end-to-end testing, SCADA point-to-point verification, communications testing, and post-installation validation testing.
Demonstrate safety consciousness when handling equipment and following electrical and electronic procedures at diverse work sites.
Communicate project risks, schedule concerns, technical challenges, and resource requirements to project management and department leadership.
Guide less experienced engineers and technicians and contribute to a collaborative, team-oriented environment.