Senior Substation Automation Engineer - Grid Modernization

Location: Chicago, IL, US; Irvine, CA, US; Burlington, MA; Walnut Creek, CA; Denver, CO; Bloomington, MN. Company: Black & Veatch Family of Companies (Black & Veatch Corporation) Why Black & Veatch Black & Veatch is a leading engineering, procurement, construction, and consulting firm with over 100 years of experience in sustainable infrastructure. Our hybrid work environment, competitive compensation, 401K match, and benefits start day one support a flexible, purposeful career. Employees are empowered to grow, explore new possibilities, and contribute to the world's biggest challenges. 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. Preferred locations: Boston (MA), Chicago (IL), Denver (CO), Minneapolis (MN), Irvine (CA), Walnut Creek (CA). Key Responsibilities 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. Design and document station‑bus and process‑bus network architectures using PRP/HSR, VLANs, QoS, multicast management, and traffic segmentation. Design deterministic real‑time networking paths for time‑sensitive protection and automation applications, incorporating latency budgeting, PTP timing performance, and IEC61850‑3 and IEEE1613 requirements. Diagnose and optimize real‑time network behavior through traffic‑capture analysis, timing‑accuracy evaluation, and system‑level tuning. Develop PTP‑based time‑synchronization architectures and incorporate timing considerations into the system design. Integrate multi‑vendor IEDs with protection settings and HMI systems. Apply IEC61850 data‑modeling concepts across mixed fleets. Incorporate cybersecurity principles into system architecture: authentication, role‑based access control, network segmentation, secure communications, device hardening. Develop virtualized protection, HMI, gateway/RTU, and related substation applications on VMware ESXi, vCenter, vSAN, NSX, Red Hat KVM or OpenShift Virtualization, and SEAPATH’s real‑time hypervisor. Contribute to IEEE and IEC standards and support participation in industry groups such as IEC, IEEE, CIGRE, ISA99, and vPAC Alliance. Produce engineering documentation: network specifications, SCL models, timing plans, interface definitions, and system diagrams. Collaborate with project managers, technical leads, clients, and vendors to align designs with project goals and industry best practices. Preferred Qualifications Familiarity with cybersecurity frameworks for OT environments. Interest or participation in IEEE and IEC standard development related to IEC61850, time synchronization, digital substations, and cybersecurity. Experience deploying or supporting virtualized protection, automation, and control applications on VMware ESXi, vCenter, vSAN, NSX, Red Hat KVM, OpenShift Virtualization, or SEAPATH hypervisor. Experience deploying virtualized substation workloads on industrial servers certified to IEC61850‑3 and IEEE1613. Familiarity with vPAC architectural principles and emerging practices for hosting protection, automation, and control systems on virtualized platforms. Interest or experience with virtualized protection, automation, and control concepts. Minimum Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or equivalent engineering experience. Minimum of 11 years related work experience. Complete pre‑employment onboarding requirements (background check, drug screen, motor vehicle records). Active engineering registration or licensure supporting engineer‑of‑record requirements for applicable projects. Certifications Active engineering registration or licensure supporting engineer‑of‑record requirements for applicable projects. Work Environment / Physical Demands Typical office environment with prolonged periods of sitting and computer use; ability to maintain focus and attention to detail. May require physical tasks during site visits: crouching, grasping, standing/walking for extended periods. Hybrid or flexible work options may be offered after first 90 days based on manager discretion. Salary Plan Registered Engineering. Job Grade 017 EEO Statement BVH, Inc., its subsidiaries and its affiliated companies comply with all Equal Employment Opportunity laws and regulations. Black & Veatch does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, religion, color, sex, national origin, marital status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, veteran status, pregnancy status, or other status protected by law. Benefits Overview Our comprehensive benefits include medical, dental, vision, disability, robust wellness program, paid vacation, holiday time, sick time, dependent sick time, 401(k) match, adoption reimbursement, vendor discounts, referral program, AD&D insurance, pre‑taxed accounts, voluntary legal plan, B&V Credit Union, and performance‑based bonus program. Notice to External Search Firms Black & Veatch does not accept unsolicited resumes and will not be obligated to pay a placement fee for unsolicited resumes. Black & Veatch Talent Acquisition engages with search firms directly for hiring needs. Compensation Range Annual compensation range for the job and location: $149,195.00 - $308,464.00. #J-18808-Ljbffr Black & Veatch Corporation