Substation Project Technical Lead

Stantec•North Charleston, SC

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

Stantec is seeking a senior technical leader for its Substation Engineering team. The role provides overall technical leadership for complex substation projects and pursuits, from project development and design through construction, testing, energization, and commissioning. It is a senior seller-doer position for an experienced physical and electrical substation engineer who leads multidisciplinary teams, works directly with clients, resolves complex technical challenges, and develops project approaches. The role leads physical design for AIS and GIS substations, including new installations, expansions, and brownfield modifications, and coordinates the work of substation physical, protection and control, civil, structural, geotechnical, SCADA/telecommunications, and other disciplines. In partnership with Project Managers, the Technical Lead aligns project execution with scope, schedule, budget, quality, risk, safety, and client expectations. The position also supports business development by leading technical proposal development, defining scopes and deliverables, developing labor estimates, schedules, staffing plans, and budgets, and contributing to client presentations and interviews. The Technical Lead supports the transition from pursuit to project delivery, builds client relationships, and mentors engineers and designers. The position primarily involves office or hybrid work with geographically distributed project teams. Periodic travel is required for client meetings, pursuits, site investigations, design reviews, construction, and commissioning; field assignments may include substations, construction sites, and other utility facilities.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related engineering discipline.
Professional Engineer (PE) registration is required or must be obtainable as appropriate for the position.
At least 15 years of progressively responsible substation engineering experience, including experience leading complex projects and design teams.
Demonstrated experience leading complex substation engineering and design projects.
Strong high-voltage substation engineering expertise, including significant substation physical design experience with general arrangements, plans, elevations, sections, equipment layouts, bus arrangements, electrical clearances, grounding systems, lightning protection and shielding, cable trench layouts, AC/DC auxiliary systems, control building physical/electrical interfaces, and equipment foundation interfaces.
Ability to lead and coordinate multidisciplinary engineering teams.
Experience developing engineering scopes of work, deliverable plans, labor estimates, schedules, staffing plans, and project budgets.
Experience leading or making significant contributions to RFQ, RFP, and other competitive project pursuits.
Strong understanding of substation constructability, brownfield interfaces, outage constraints, construction sequencing, and commissioning considerations.
Knowledge of applicable substation codes, standards, and utility design requirements.
Ability to identify technical and project risks, make sound engineering decisions, and communicate decisions effectively.
Strong client-facing, leadership, presentation, and written communication skills.
Demonstrated commitment to mentoring and developing engineers and designers.
Ability to travel as needed to support clients, projects, site investigations, construction, and commissioning.

Nice To Haves

Experience with new substations, expansions, retrofits, or brownfield modifications.

Responsibilities

Serve as the overall technical leader for assigned substation projects and pursuits.
Lead physical design for AIS and GIS substations, including greenfield installations, expansions, and brownfield modifications.
Lead substation designs across applicable voltage classes, from distribution and sub-transmission through 230 kV, 345 kV, 500 kV, and 765 kV.
Lead multidisciplinary design teams across substation physical, protection and control, civil, structural, geotechnical, SCADA/telecommunications, and other disciplines.
Establish the technical approach, design basis, discipline interfaces, deliverable strategy, and project execution plan.
Lead design coordination meetings, technical workshops, interdisciplinary and constructability reviews, and resolution of complex technical issues.
Ensure designs are coordinated, constructible, technically sound, and compliant with client requirements, codes, and industry standards.
Provide technical leadership through planning, detailed design, procurement support, construction, testing, energization, and commissioning.
Partner with Project Managers to align technical execution with scope, schedule, budget, quality, risk, and client expectations.
Lead technical development of proposals and pursuits for new and existing clients.
Translate client requirements into scopes of work, deliverable lists, work plans, schedules, and staffing strategies.
Develop and validate engineering labor estimates and project budgets, including assumptions, exclusions, dependencies, and technical risks.
Coordinate proposal inputs across disciplines to align scope, execution approach, schedule, staffing, and fee.
Identify scope gaps and pursuit risks, and develop appropriate assumptions and qualifications.
Collaborate with Project Managers, account leaders, and technical teams on proposal strategy, client presentations, and interviews.
Support the transition from pursuit to project execution so delivery teams understand commitments, assumptions, budgets, and client expectations.
Represent the technical team in client meetings, design workshops, proposal interviews, and project reviews.
Build trusted client relationships through sound technical judgment, responsiveness, and understanding of client needs.
Mentor and develop engineers and designers, including emerging discipline and technical leaders.
Support resource planning, recruiting, knowledge sharing, and development of the broader substation team.
Promote a collaborative culture focused on safety, accountability, technical excellence, and client service.