Substation Engineering Manager

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Substation Engineering Manager to lead the engineering and design of high-voltage substation projects while managing and developing a team of engineers and designers.

This individual will provide technical leadership across substation physical design, protection & control, and multidisciplinary project execution, while overseeing project quality, schedules, staffing, budgets, and client relationships. The ideal candidate will combine a strong technical background in high-voltage substation engineering with proven experience leading engineering teams and delivering utility or power delivery projects.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a team of substation engineers, designers, and technical professionals.
• Provide technical leadership for greenfield substations, brownfield expansions, rebuilds, upgrades, and modernization projects.
• Oversee engineering activities across areas including:
  • Substation physical design
  • Protection & control design
  • Equipment specifications
  • Grounding and lightning protection
  • Bus design and electrical clearances
  • General arrangements, plans, and elevations
  • AC/DC systems
  • Control house design
  • Relay and protection system coordination
• Manage projects from conceptual engineering and detailed design through IFC packages, construction support, commissioning, and energization.
• Review and approve engineering calculations, drawings, specifications, and technical deliverables.
• Ensure designs comply with applicable IEEE, ANSI, NESC, NERC, client, and utility standards.
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior and mid-level engineers.
• Manage engineering workloads, project assignments, staffing requirements, and resource planning.
• Monitor project scope, schedule, budget, quality, and technical performance.
• Coordinate closely with P&C, civil/structural, transmission line, system protection, commissioning, and project management teams.
• Serve as a technical point of contact for utility clients and maintain strong client relationships throughout project execution.
• Participate in project planning, scope development, proposal preparation, estimating, and business development activities.
• Support hiring, onboarding, training, mentoring, and professional development of engineering staff.
• Identify potential technical and project risks and implement appropriate mitigation strategies.
• Support construction teams by resolving RFIs, field issues, design changes, and constructability concerns.
• Maintain and improve engineering standards, procedures, quality-control processes, and design practices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related engineering discipline.
• Significant experience in substation engineering, power delivery, or electric utility infrastructure.
• Strong technical understanding of high-voltage substation design and major substation equipment.
• Previous experience leading engineers, designers, multidisciplinary project teams, or technical groups.
• Experience delivering transmission and/or distribution substation projects.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple engineering projects, priorities, and resources simultaneously.
• Strong understanding of engineering quality control and design review processes.
• Ability to communicate effectively with clients, utilities, contractors, vendors, and internal engineering teams.
• Strong leadership, mentoring, organizational, and problem-solving skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional Engineer (PE) license.
• Experience with 69kV through 500kV+ transmission substation projects.
• Experience with both greenfield and brownfield substation projects.
• Background in substation physical design and/or protection & control engineering.
• Familiarity with AutoCAD, MicroStation, Bentley design platforms, CDEGS, ASPEN OneLiner, ETAP, SEL AcSELerator, or related power engineering tools.
• Experience managing engineering teams within a consulting, EPC, or electric utility environment.
• Previous responsibility for project budgets, forecasting, resource planning, utilization, and staffing.
• Experience supporting proposals, client presentations, scope negotiations, and business development.
• Experience developing engineering standards and implementing QA/QC procedures.

Ideal Background

The strongest candidate will have progressed from a hands-on Substation Engineer, Lead Engineer, or Senior Substation Engineer into a leadership position while maintaining a strong technical understanding of substation engineering.

The ideal individual should be capable of leading people and projects while still providing technical oversight. They should understand how substation physical design, P&C, civil/structural engineering, system protection, and field commissioning come together to deliver a successful project.

For a consulting environment, particularly strong candidates will also have experience with client relationships, proposals, project financials, resource planning, and business development, rather than functioning solely as a technical supervisor.