Senior Substation Engineer

Capstone Recruitment; Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth; On-site; AUD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Capstone Recruitment seeks an experienced Substation Engineer to lead technical design across national energy projects in Australia. You will mentor junior engineers and shape design quality from concept through construction.

You will guide complex substation designs, select equipment, and optimise layouts with safety and constructability at the forefront, while supporting renewable integration and large customer connections.

Qualifications

• 12 to 15 years’ experience as a substation engineer, incl. 5+ years as technical authority.
• Tertiary qualification in electrical or power engineering; chartered status and RPEQ registration are preferred.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, and a working knowledge of MS Office

Responsibilities

• Delivering complex designs, reports, proposals and client presentations for transmission and distribution substations
• Working across GIS, AIS and hybrid switchyard configurations on greenfield and brownfield sites
• Selecting and specifying transformers, switchgear, reactors, capacitor banks, surge arresters and instrument transformers
• Optimising substation layouts with safety in design and constructability in mind
• Leading earthing system design and optimisation including EPR studies
• Carrying out lightning protection and shielding studies
• Undertaking cable system design and rating studies including thermal modelling and ampacity assessments
• Providing technical support to construction teams during project delivery
• Managing specialised components of projects and advising on team structure
• Collaborating with other design disciplines to protect the integrity of the overall design
• Advising clients and stakeholders on technical decisions and alternatives when parameters change
• Keeping the Project Manager and client informed of developments
• Leading, coaching and developing early-career engineers

Skills

Substation design

Technical leadership

Electrical engineering

Client communication

MS Office

Education

Electrical or Power Engineering degree

Tools

ETAP

CDEGS

ATP/PSCAD/EMTP

Job description

Location: Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth

The opportunity

A leading global engineering and consultancy firm is looking for an experienced substation engineer to join its national Energy team. Working alongside the national renewables and substations lead, you will help deliver significant projects across the country, guiding technical teams and shaping the quality of the work from concept through to construction.

This is a genuine leadership opportunity. You will be the go-to technical authority for your team, mentoring junior engineers and helping to grow the practice from within, with ongoing training and support to keep your own career moving.

What you will be doing

• Delivering complex designs, reports, proposals and client presentations across concept, FEED, detailed design and owner’s engineer services for transmission and distribution substations
• Working across GIS, AIS and hybrid switchyard configurations, on both greenfield and brownfield sites, including extensions, refurbishments, replacement programs and life extension projects
• Selecting and specifying key equipment, including transformers, switchgear, reactors, capacitor banks, surge arresters, instrument transformers and auxiliary systems
• Optimising substation layouts, with a strong focus on safety in design and constructability
• Supporting the integration of renewable generation, battery energy storage systems and large customer connections
• Leading earthing system design and optimisation, including touch, step and transferred voltage assessments and Earth Potential Rise (EPR) studies
• Carrying out lightning protection and shielding studies
• Undertaking cable system design and rating studies, including thermal modelling and ampacity assessments
• Providing technical support to construction teams and responding to queries during project delivery
• Managing specialised components of projects and advising on the best team structure to deliver them
• Collaborating with other design disciplines to protect the integrity of the overall design
• Advising clients and stakeholders through technical decisions, and offering practical alternatives when project parameters change
• Keeping the Project Manager and client informed of developments as the project progresses
• Leading, coaching and developing early-career engineers

About you

• 12 to 15 years’ experience as a substation engineer, including at least 5 years’ recent experience as a recognised technical authority
• A tertiary qualification in electrical or power engineering; chartered status and RPEQ registration are preferred
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, and a working knowledge of MS Office

Highly regarded

• Previous experience in a design consultancy environment
• A proven track record of leading design teams and delivering substation design packages
• Experience building earthing and induction models in CDEGS
• HV substation design, protection system design and power system studies
• Power system modelling in ETAP or similar software
• Transient studies using ATP, PSCAD or EMTP
• Developing EMC management plans and managing EMC procedures
• Developing maintenance strategies and procedures, commissioning plans and supporting documentation

You will join a collaborative, skills-focused business that values what each person brings and backs you to shape your own career path. If you want to lead on nationally significant energy projects while developing the next generation of engineers, we would love to hear from you.