Lead Substation Engineer 1 - Grid
$134,546–$205,557 year
HybridChicago, Illinois, United States
Job Summary
Lead substation modifications and upgrades by creating calculations, document designs, and specifications for HV and EHV substations. Prepare relaying philosophies, select relay and communications equipment, and oversee I/O assignments and connection diagrams. Guide engineers in protection and controls design efforts, including detailed design coordination and independent reviews of calculations and drawings. Investigate and solve engineering issues, perform analysis of single line and schematic diagrams, and prepare engineering studies for client and peer review. Coordinate with project managers, clients, and suppliers to ensure timely design completion. Mentor less experienced engineers and share knowledge through internal systems and communities of practice. Travel to client and vendor offices for design reviews, construction coordination, and field verification. Work three days in-office with a hybrid arrangement and receive a relocation package based on location.
Required Qualifications
- We do not sponsor employees for work authorization in the U.S. for this position.
- This position requires a Bachelor of Science Engineering degree.
- 12 or more years experience designing substations at 138kV and above.
- PE license.
- Experience with serving as firm/client liaison in a support or lead engineering role.
- Experience in writing and providing support documentation for relay calculations.
- Experience with the design techniques, tools, and principles involved in the production of technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Proficiency with any of the following programs: SKM, ETAP, ASPEN, CDEGS, or vendor software.
- Familiarity with design codes and standards, such as NEC, NESC, NEMA, IEEE and ANSI.
- Experience with various vendor protective relay equipment typically used in substation protection, including SEL, ABB, GE, Areva, and Basler.
- Proficiency with MS Office applications.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- There is the potential for you to travel to client and vendor offices for design reviews and to plant site locations for construction coordination and field verification of designs.
- This role offers a hybrid work arrangement, with the expectation of spending three days a week in the office, giving you the flexibility to work remotely for two days.
Desired Qualifications
- A BSEE degree is preferable.
- Prior experience is desirable to include in-line, bus and equipment protection, breaker, transformer and similar equipment control, RTU and data concentrator based SCADA systems, telemetering and communications (fiber optics, microwave, power line carrier, etc.).
- AutoCAD or MicroStation experience.
- Construction and start-up experience.
- Testing or commissioning experience.
- Overseeing engineers who program or script (e.g., Python, MATLAB, advanced Excel) to automate engineering tasks, with review of automated outputs, is valued but not required.
- We also value additional learning, such as a minor, certificate, or other experience in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Software Engineering, or related fields that enables effective oversight of automation and agentic AI-enabled engineering workflows.
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