Senior Substation Automation Engineer - Grid Modernization

Overview Date: May 19, 2026 Location: Chicago, IL, US; Irvine, CA, US; Burlington, MA, US; Walnut Creek, CA, US; Denver, CO, US; Bloomington, MN, US Company: Black & Veatch Family of Companies Together, we own our company, our future, and our shared success. As an employee-owned company, our people are Black & Veatch. We put them at the center of everything we do and empower them to grow, explore new possibilities and use their diverse talents and perspectives to solve humanity\'s biggest challenges in an ever-evolving world. With over 100 years of innovation in sustainable infrastructure and our expertise in engineering, procurement, consulting and construction, together we are building a world of difference. Req Id : 114567 • Opportunity Type : Staff • Relocation eligible : Yes • Full time/Part time : Full-Time • Project Only Hire : No • Visa Sponsorship Available: No Why Black & Veatch Black & Veatch allows you to lend your talent and perspective to humanity’s biggest challenges in a flexible environment where you are empowered to grow and explore new possibilities. We offer competitive compensation; 401K match and benefits that start day one. Our hybrid environment allows you to balance your work and personal life. At Black & Veatch, you own your career with purpose and meaning. You are empowered to grow and explore new possibilities at every step of your career journey. Bring your big ideas knowing you are safe to be who you are and speak up with concerns or questions and put your diverse talents and perspectives to use. The Opportunity In this role, you may have the opportunity to: Lead the transition of IEC61850‑based digital and virtual substations from pilot to production, shaping real-world grid modernization outcomes. Design and standardize secure, vendor‑agnostic substation automation architectures that improve resilience, flexibility, and scalability. Serve as a technical leader and subject‑matter expert, influencing system architecture, best practices, and emerging standards. Collaborate with utilities, technology partners, and industry groups (including vPAC Alliance) to help define the future of protection, automation, and control. Candidates located near any Black & Veatch U.S. Regional Office may be considered, with preference for Boston (MA), Chicago (IL), Denver (CO), Minneapolis (MN), Irvine (CA), or Walnut Creek (CA). The Team Black & Veatch is expanding its Power SCADA team to support a strategic grid modernization initiative focused on IEC 61850‑based substation automation and virtual substation technologies. As a founding member of the Virtual Protection, Automation, and Control (vPAC) Alliance, Black & Veatch is collaborating with industry leaders to advance open, secure, and vendor‑agnostic digital substation solutions that replace traditional, hardware‑intensive architectures with virtualized, software‑defined platforms. This role is being created to bring in experienced SCADA professionals who can help design, implement, standardize, and support production‑ready Power SCADA solutions that enable resilient, flexible, and future‑ready grid infrastructure. Key Responsibilities IEC61850 Engineering & Modeling Develop SCL engineering artifacts including ICD, CID, and SCD files, datasets, logical node mappings, reporting and control blocks, and GOOSE publications and subscriptions. Configure and validate MMS, GOOSE, and SV messaging for protection, automation, monitoring, and SCADA applications. Substation Networking & Time Synchronization Design and document station-bus and process-bus network architectures using PRP/HSR, VLANs, QoS, multicast management, and traffic segmentation practices. Design deterministic real-time networking paths for time-sensitive protection and automation applications, incorporating latency budgeting, PTP timing performance, and IEC61850‑3/IEEE1613 environmental and EMC requirements. Diagnose and optimize real-time network behavior through traffic-capture analysis, timing-accuracy evaluation, and system-level tuning techniques for time-critical digital-substation workloads. Develop PTP-based time-synchronization architectures including grandmaster, boundary, and transparent clock configurations and incorporate timing considerations into the system design. Protection, Automation & SCADA Integration Integrate multi-vendor IEDs with protection settings and logic, coordinating measurements, controls, alarms, and event data with SCADA and HMI systems. Apply IEC61850 data-modeling concepts to confirm interoperability across mixed fleets of protection and control devices. Cybersecurity & System Hardening Incorporate cybersecurity principles into system architecture, including authentication, role-based access control, network segmentation, secure communications, and device hardening. Apply cyber-informed engineering principles by identifying high-consequence functions and integrating protective measures directly into system architecture. Virtualization Of Substation Functions Develop and configure virtualized protection, HMI, gateway/RTU, and related substation applications on platforms including VMware ESXi with vCenter, vSAN, and NSX; Red Hat KVM or OpenShift Virtualization; and SEAPATH’s real-time hypervisor platform for deterministic performance and PTP-synchronized operation. Industry Engagement & Technical Leadership Contribute to IEEE and IEC standards and collaborative initiatives related to IEC61850, digital substations, time synchronization, and cybersecurity. Support participation in technical bodies and industry groups such as IEC, IEEE, CIGRE, ISA99, and vPAC Alliance workstreams. Support advancement of virtualized protection, automation, and control concepts in alignment with the vPAC Alliance. Project Delivery & Collaboration Produce engineering documentation including network specifications, SCL models, timing plans, interface definitions, and system diagrams used across design, validation, and field implementation. Collaborate with project managers, technical leads, clients, and vendors to align designs with project goals and industry best practices. Minimum Qualifications Bachelor's Degree in Engineering or equivalent experience. Minimum of 11 years related work experience. All applicants must be able to complete pre-employment onboarding requirements as permitted by law. Holds an active engineering registration or licensure to support engineer of record requirements for BV projects in applicable countries. Preferred Qualifications Familiarity with cybersecurity frameworks for operational technology environments. Interest or participation in IEEE and IEC standards development related to IEC61850, time synchronization, digital substations, and cybersecurity. Experience deploying virtualized protection, automation, and control applications on listed platforms. Experience deploying virtualized substation workloads on industrial servers meeting IEC61850-3 and IEEE1613 requirements. Familiarity with vPAC architectural principles. Certifications Active engineering registration or licensure to support engineer of record requirements for BV projects in applicable countries. Work Environment / Physical Demands Office environment, with potential site visits requiring physical tasks. Hybrid or flexible work options may be offered after the first 90 days depending on manager discretion and work assignments. Salary Plan: REG: Registered Engineering • Job Grade: 017 We are committed to equal employment opportunity and include a comprehensive benefits portfolio. See our EEO policy statement for details. This job posting will remain open until a suitable candidate is identified. #J-18808-Ljbffr