Principal Engineer - Substation Automation
$150,000–$200,000 year
On-siteVancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Job Summary
Act as the Automation Protection & Control Subject Matter Expert, providing technical governance across multiple projects and programs. Set and uphold automation, standards, and best practices for high-voltage substations, serving as the Principal Engineer or Technical Authority on complex, high-risk projects. Provide review and approval of protection planning, schematics, logic diagrams, and system configurations, while chairing senior-level design reviews and hazard assessments. Advise teams on construction sequencing, outage planning, and commissioning strategies, and support business development with technical strategy for proposals. Mentor senior and junior engineers to drive continuous improvement in engineering practices.
Required Qualifications
- 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 with EMS, DMS, SCADA Masters, RTUs, PLCs, HMIs, telemetry, and communications protocols
- Strong knowledge of DNP3, Modbus, IEC 61850, and related utility protocols
- Experience performing protection coordination studies and relay settings for high-voltage transmission systems
- Proven success in system architecture, field commissioning, troubleshooting, and stakeholder engagement
- 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
- Strong understanding of NERC compliance and its impact on design activities
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Demonstrated capability to mentor
Desired Qualifications
- Experience on EPC projects
- Familiarity with utility maintenance and operational practices
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