Substation Project Engineer (United States)

We are seeking an experienced Substation Project Engineer to lead and coordinate high-voltage substation projects from early-stage development and conceptual engineering through detailed design, construction, commissioning, and turnover to operations.

This position is ideal for someone who combines strong project ownership, exceptional communication, and solid technical knowledge of high-voltage substations. The successful candidate does not necessarily need to be a hands-on substation design engineer but must understand the engineering well enough to challenge assumptions, evaluate technical solutions, manage Engineers of Record (EORs) and vendors, identify risks, and help drive sound engineering decisions.

The strongest candidates will be comfortable owning complex projects, coordinating numerous internal and external stakeholders, and driving engineering and execution activities forward with limited oversight.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and coordinate assigned high-voltage substation projects from early development and conceptual engineering through design, construction, commissioning, and turnover.
• Partner with project development and project management teams to establish engineering requirements, project scope, technical assumptions, execution strategies, schedules, and priorities.
• Manage and provide technical oversight of external Engineers of Record (EORs), engineering consultants, contractors, OEMs, and other technical vendors.
• Review engineering designs and technical recommendations, challenge assumptions when appropriate, and ensure solutions meet project requirements, interconnection obligations, and applicable industry standards.
• Develop and manage engineering scopes of work and support solicitation, proposal evaluation, contractor/vendor selection, and award recommendations.
• Coordinate substation site selection, surveys, geotechnical investigations, permitting requirements, engineering data, and other activities required to advance projects into detailed design and construction.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary engineering activities and establish clear responsibilities, deliverables, priorities, and interfaces between engineering teams.
• Support review of interconnection studies and agreements, including system impact, facilities, reactive power, and harmonic studies.
• Coordinate with transmission owners, system operators, utilities, and other external stakeholders to ensure engineering designs and project deliverables satisfy applicable requirements.
• Manage engineering deliverables and long-lead equipment requirements to minimize schedule delays, supply-chain risks, and cost impacts.
• Support procurement and contracting activities for engineering services, major equipment, materials, and construction services.
• Work with estimating and project controls teams to develop project scopes, technical assumptions, cost estimates, schedules, and execution plans.
• Monitor project progress and proactively identify technical, schedule, cost, constructability, procurement, and execution risks, driving stakeholders toward timely resolution.
• Communicate project status, technical issues, risks, decisions, and mitigation strategies clearly to project teams and leadership.
• Support construction and commissioning activities, resolve technical issues that arise during execution, and coordinate successful turnover to operations.
• Support regulatory and project documentation activities as required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering preferred.
• 5+ years of experience in substation engineering, project engineering, project management, or a related role supporting high-voltage electrical infrastructure.
• Strong understanding of high-voltage substations, electrical engineering requirements, and the overall project lifecycle.
• Demonstrated ability to own and drive projects involving multiple engineering disciplines, contractors, vendors, and stakeholders.
• Experience managing or coordinating EORs, engineering consultants, OEMs, contractors, and suppliers.
• Strong enough technical foundation to review engineering recommendations, ask the right questions, identify concerns, and challenge or guide technical decisions when necessary.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with the ability to communicate effectively with engineers, contractors, vendors, utilities, project teams, and leadership.
• Experience with scope development, procurement, estimating, scheduling, contracting, construction, and/or commissioning is highly desirable.
• Familiarity with applicable substation standards and requirements, including IEEE, NESC, and related industry standards.
• Strong organizational, problem-solving, and decision-making skills with a high degree of accountability and follow-through.
• PMP certification and/or Professional Engineer (P.E.) license is a plus.
• Ability to travel within North America as project needs require.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is a project-focused engineer who can take ownership rather than coordinate tasks. You should be comfortable managing EORs and vendors, driving schedules and deliverables, communicating across technical and nontechnical teams, and understanding substation engineering well enough to recognize problems and guide the team toward solutions.