Principal Engineer - Substation Commissioning

Job Summary

The Principal Engineering Group within the Substation Commissioning Team serves as the technical bridge between engineering design and field execution. This group provides advanced engineering support to commissioning teams, ensuring that substation designs are constructible, testable, and capable of safe energization. Principal Engineers focus on resolving technical issues, developing commissioning standards, supporting field execution, and coordinating across disciplines. 

The Team

• Supports commissioning teams by resolving defined technical issues with guidance from senior engineers.
• Reviews protection, control, and SCADA designs for basic constructability and testability.
• Assists with development of commissioning test plans and procedures for standard applications with support/review from senior engineers.
• Supports field teams with relay logic and test result interpretation, and troubleshooting.
• Participates as a technical contributor in engineering and commissioning project meetings and information requests.
• Applies established commissioning standards, tools, and checklists; checks project results for alignment with standards.
• Provides peer reviews of testing results of Apparatus and Relay testing for compliance with industry and manufacturer’s tolerances, with guidance from senior engineers.

Key Responsibilities

Field Engineering Support

• Troubleshoot and resolve design, logic, and protection issues encountered during commissioning, including protection, interlocks, and control schemes.  
• Serve as the technical liaison between field commissioning teams, relay settings engineers, SCADA engineers, design engineering management, construction teams, and external EPCs or utilities.
• Review and respond to client requests for information related to protection philosophy, commissioning approach, and testing limitations.
• Review commissioning test results, relay event reports, and as ‑ found conditions to identify root causes and recommend corrective actions.
• Provide on ‑ call or scheduled engineering support to field teams during critical testing and energization activities.

Standards, Tools, and Process Development

• Develop and maintain commissioning standards, technical guidance documents, templates, and checklists.
• Support development of Engineering tools and process improvements that support both Engineering teams and Commissioning teams.
• Provide commissioning ‑ focused input into engineering standards, specifications, and compliance documentation.
• Identify recurring field issues and drive standardization efforts to reduce execution risk and rework. 

Commissioning Test Planning and Validation

• Develop commissioning test plans for ongoing projects, standardized around typical protection applications to have baseline test plan templates.
• Develop testing solutions for non ‑ standard protection and automation schemes such as GOOSE/Sampled Values/Centralized and Virtual Protection.
• Define staged testing approaches, including bench simulation, lab testing, and end ‑ to ‑ end validation.

Design Review and Constructability

• Review protection, control, and SCADA designs for constructability, testability, and commissioning feasibility.
• Identify design assumptions that may impact field testing or operational performance.  
• Provide direct feedback to engineering teams to resolve constructability issues prior to field execution.
• Assist with Interdisciplinary and External Coordination
• Coordinate across protection, SCADA, relay settings, construction, and commissioning disciplines.
• Participate in coordination meetings with project management, engineering, EPC partners, and owners to resolve technical execution issues.
• Provide commissioning ‑ focused recommendations during client and utility discussions.

Continuous Improvement and Mentorship

• Identify process inefficiencies and recommend improvements to commissioning workflows.  
• Mentor junior engineers and field staff on protection concepts, commissioning logic, and troubleshooting methods.
• Promote a culture of technical rigor, quality, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement.

Management Responsibilities

Individual Contributor

Preferred Qualifications

• Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, SharePoint). 

• Engineering/Design Software (Bluebeam, Autocad, Microstation). 

• Network Simulation Software (ASPEN/CAPE/ETAP). 

• Relay Settings & SCADA Software (SEL/GE/EATON/BECKWITH/SIEMENS). 

• Testing & Commissioning Software (Doble/Omicron/Megger). 

Minimum Qualifications

All applicants must be able to complete pre-employment onboarding requirements (if selected) which may include any/all of the following: criminal/civil background check, drug screen, and motor vehicle records search, in compliance with any applicable laws and regulations.

Certifications

OSHA 10 Hour Training

Work Environment/Physical Demands

Physical Demands:
• Lift and carry heavy items weighing up to 50 pounds. 
• Stand, Kneel, Bend, Stoop, Move, and Walk long distances in and around confined, cluttered places, and uneven areas.
• See and hear naturally or with correction.   
• Full range of motion and flexibility consistent with requirements of the job duties. 
• Requires using hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls according to a set procedure. 
• Requires repetitive movement. 
• May require work above 5 feet in height.
• Climb and maintain balance on steel framework, stairs, ladders and scaffolds. 
• Work up to a 12 hour shift doing hard physical labor in varying temperature extremes and other outside conditions. 

Work Environment:
• Typical construction site environment:  
• Requires working in cramped work spaces and getting into awkward positions. 
• Requires working in very hot (above 90 F degrees) or very cold (below 32F degrees) temperatures and exposure to inclement weather such as dust, wind, snow, rain, etc. 
• Requires working in extremely bright or low lighting conditions 
• Includes exposure to sounds and noise levels that are distracting or uncomfortable. 
• Work around hazardous equipment.
• Typical office environment.
• This position is considered a safety sensitive position.