Sr Electrical Engineer

General Summary of Job Responsibilities

The Senior Electrical Engineer is responsible for the engineering and design efforts that support the sustainable operation of our distribution, generation, and storage systems. This role involves collaboration across internal teams and external stakeholders, leading complex technical projects, and potentially supervising junior engineers and technicians.

The Field Technical Services (FTS) Engineer conducts electrical testing and interprets results for substation and mobile substation equipment. This position requires effective communication with operations teams, engineering groups, utility representatives, and strategic industrial customers. The FTS Engineer ensures optimal equipment maintenance decisions by integrating system and equipment knowledge with budgetary considerations. Additionally, the engineer collaborates with vendors, company leadership, and industry experts to stay informed on best practices and apply them to equipment management. Responsibilities include researching and testing methods and materials, designing electrical testing procedures, and evaluating system capabilities. This role supports the Alma Electric Equipment Repair Center (EERC), Substation Maintenance, and Operations crews at the EERC and various substation locations.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Perform a wide range of engineering tasks using computer-aided design and engineering software and equipment.
• Ensure compliance with specifications, codes, and customer requirements by coordinating installation, manufacturing, construction, maintenance, documentation, support, and testing activities.
• Prepare specifications for electrical equipment and materials purchases; estimate material, labor, and construction costs for budget planning.
• Ensure installations and operations meet standards and customer requirements by preparing electrical system specifications, technical drawings, and topographical maps; investigate and resolve project issues promptly.
• Design, control, and implement electrical systems and products; serve as the primary client contact for all electrical engineering project matters.
• Develop, maintain, and improve electrical instruments, facilities, components, equipment, and systems for industrial, commercial, or residential use.
• Collaborate with customers, colleagues, and stakeholders to discuss current or potential engineering projects; monitor project progress and budgets, and prepare reports for senior management.
• Write reports and compile data on existing and potential electrical engineering projects and studies; provide technical support to other departments as needed.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Additional Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Conduct acceptance/commissioning, internal inspections, diagnostics, and preventive electrical testing on substation equipment to ensure reliability.
• Provide field engineering and on-site support at the EERC and substations for equipment commissioning, maintenance, and operational issues.
• Identify, analyze, and recommend corrective actions for technical field issues.
• Oversee SF6 gas and mineral oil handling, processing, and disposal to maintain equipment reliability and integrity.
• Provide technical input on equipment specifications, drawing reviews, ancillary equipment, and factory quality inspections for major substation and mobile equipment.
• Support transformer re-energization during outages by evaluating fault data, relay information, and field reports to determine damage and recommend testing or corrective actions.
• Evaluate equipment issues and provide recommendations based on feedback from internal engineers or OEMs to determine necessary repairs or testing.
• Manage Alma substation parts inventory, including urgent/emergency orders, bushing stock, and dispatching parts to maintenance crews.
• Participate in on-call rotation to support substation outage events and maintenance crew needs.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• Proficiency in design and calculation software.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Knowledge of electric utility distribution planning, construction, operation, and maintenance.
• Working knowledge of electric utility operations, including generation, transmission, and distribution of three-phase AC power.
• Familiarity with distribution planning principles.
• Understanding of applicable codes related to electrical engineering.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.

Additional Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• In-depth knowledge of substation and mobile substation equipment functions, operations, and maintenance best practices.
• Expertise in equipment testing and application of test equipment for substation assets, including:
  • Insulation Power Factor
  • Exciting Current
  • Leakage Reactance
  • DC Winding Resistance
  • Sweep Frequency Response Analysis
  • Insulation Resistance
  • Transformer Turns Ratio
  • CT Ratio & Saturation
  • SF6 Gas Quality
  • Oil Power Factor and Dielectric Breakdown
  • Breaker Time & Travel Testing
• Understanding of power system engineering concepts such as power flow, voltage regulation, power factor, technical losses, and device coordination.
• Ability to write and review job aids for Substation Operations and Maintenance crews.
• Familiarity with Cascade Database for Substation Asset Management.
• Ability to collaborate with and provide technical guidance to union employees and first-line supervisors.

Education/Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering from an ABET accredited program with four (4) or more years of experience in an advanced electrical engineering capacity
  • [OR] Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering from a non-ABET accredited program plus a Professional Engineering license with four (4) or more years of experience in an advanced electrical engineering capacity