Illumination Engineer

SYSTRA Canada Inc.; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid workplace

Job summary

SYSTRA Canada is seeking an Intermediate Electrical & Illumination Engineer to design and validate outdoor lighting systems. You will apply photometric analysis and optical simulation to meet performance targets while ensuring electrical safety and efficiency.

Collaboration across mechanical, optical, and quality teams is essential for successful product development. You will work on LED driver integration, thermal management, and compliance with ANSI/IES RP-8, UL 1598, and related standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical/optical engineering or related field.
• 5–10 years in illumination engineering or luminaire product development.
• Strong photometric understanding: BUG, illuminance, and luminance.
• Experience with LED drivers, power electronics, and outdoor luminaire safety.
• Proficient in optical design tools and simulations.
• Familiar with IES photometric files and electrical schematics.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Knowledge of UL/IEC/CSA safety and EMC basics.

Responsibilities

• Design street and outdoor lighting systems for municipal and infrastructure use.
• Create optical solutions and optimize light distribution to meet targets.
• Perform photometric analysis and simulations for performance checks.
• Specify and validate LED drivers and power supplies for efficiency and safety.
• Collaborate with multiple teams to integrate electrical and lighting components.
• Support compliance with standards and complete documentation.

Skills

Photometric design

Roadway photometric analysis

Electrical integration

Optical simulation

Luminaire development

Standards and compliance

Engineering process

Smart lighting

Technical communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field

Tools

AGi32

DIALux

LightTools

LucidShape

Zemax

LightStanza

Radiance

ElumTools

IES VE

Job description

Skills

Photometric design

SYSTRA Canada is part of the SYSTRA group, an international consulting and engineering group, a world leader in the design of transport infrastructures. SYSTRA Canada is an engineering and consulting firm whose primary focus is to offer transportation solutions, whether for passengers or goods: feasibility studies of building a new railway line, increasing the capacity of the existing infrastructure, privatization of a railway.

Understand better who we are by visiting www.systracanada.com.

Context

We are seeking a skilled and motivated Intermediate Electrical & Illumination Engineer to support the design, development, analysis, and validation of street lighting systems. This role is central to delivering efficient, durable, and regulation-compliant outdoor lighting solutions that meet photometric performance, electrical safety, energy efficiency, and public safety requirements.

The ideal candidate brings hands-on experience in roadway lighting design, LED driver integration, optical simulation, and cross-functional collaboration within a product development environment. Familiarity with smart lighting technologies (NLC) and a commitment to sustainable, dark-sky-friendly design practices are strong assets in this role.

Missions/Main Duties

Optical design and photometric analysis

• Design and develop street lighting and outdoor area lighting systems for municipal, commercial, and infrastructure applications.
• Create and optimize optical solutions - LEDs, lenses, reflectors, diffusers, and light distribution systems - to meet roadway lighting performance targets.
• Perform photometric analysis and optical simulations to evaluate illuminance, luminance, uniformity, glare control, light trespass, and system efficiency.

Electrical system integration and luminaire development

• Specify, integrate, and validate LED drivers, power supplies, and surge protection devices to ensure electrical efficiency, reliability, and grid compatibility.
• Develop luminaire concepts that balance optical performance, electrical safety, thermal management, environmental durability, cost, and manufacturability.
• Collaborate with mechanical, optical, thermal, quality, and manufacturing teams to ensure successful integration of electrical and lighting components throughout the product lifecycle.

Compliance and standards support

• Support the design of luminaires for compliance with applicable street and roadway lighting standards, including ANSI/IES RP-8, IES TM-15 (BUG ratings), IDA/DarkSky International approval criteria, and relevant customer specifications.
• Ensure electrical safety and performance compliance with UL 1598, UL 8750 (LED Power Supplies), IEC 60598, and basic EMC/EMI requirements.

Validation and continuous improvement

• Conduct design verification activities including photometric testing, electrical safety testing (hi-pot, ground continuity, surge), optical validation, and field evaluations.
• Analyze lab and field test results and recommend design improvements. Investigate issues related to glare, LED driver failures, electrical noise, optical losses, and environmental impact on performance.

Engineering process and documentation

• Active participation in design reviews, DFMEA, tolerance analysis, root cause analysis, and product risk assessments.
• Prepare and maintain technical documentation including electrical schematics, design specifications, simulation reports, validation reports, compliance documentation, and engineering change records (ECRs).

Supplier and component evaluation

• Support supplier evaluations for LEDs, optical materials, LED drivers, control nodes, housings, and related street lighting components, contributing to product improvements that support dark-sky considerations, sustainability goals, and reduced maintenance requirements.

Profile/Skills

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, Optical Engineering, Electromechanical Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 5 - 10 years of experience in illumination engineering, electrical design for lighting, or luminaire product development.
• Strong understanding of photometric principles: illuminance, luminance, uniformity, BUG ratings (IES TM-15), glare, and light distribution patterns.
• Strong understanding of LED driver technologies, power electronics, and electrical safety principles for outdoor luminaires.
• Proficiency with optical design and simulation tools such as AGi32, DIALux, LightTools, LucidShape, Zemax, LightStanza, Radiance, ElumTools, or IES VE.
• Familiarity with LED-based luminaire design, optical component integration, and thermal management considerations.
• Knowledge of photometric testing methods and interpretation of IES photometric files (.ies/.ldt).
• Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics and perform basic circuit analysis.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and technical communication skills.
• Familiarity with electrical safety and EMC standards (UL, CSA, IEC, FCC).
• Knowledge of lighting control protocols (0-10V, DALI, PWM) and basic communication networks for smart lighting.

Preferred Qualifications

• LC (Lighting Certified) designation from the NCQLP (National Council on Qualifications for the Lighting Professions), or active pursuit of this certification.
• Experience designing products for municipal, roadway, highway, pedestrian, parking, or other outdoor public lighting applications.
• Solid knowledge of applicable standards: ANSI/IES RP-8, IES TM-15, CIE 115, IEC 60598, UL 1598, UL 8750, and local roadway or municipal lighting requirements.
• Understanding of dark-sky compliance, glare reduction, and light pollution mitigation strategies in accordance with IDA/DarkSky International approval criteria.
• Experience with smart lighting controls and networked systems, including familiarity with protocols such as DALI-2, Zhaga D4i, 0-10V, PWM, or similar networked lighting control (NLC) platforms.
• Knowledge of ingress protection (IP ratings), impact resistance (IK ratings), NEMA enclosure standards, and corrosion resistance for outdoor luminaires.
• Experience with CAD tools such as SolidWorks, Creo, or AutoCAD (AutoCAD Electrical).
• Experience designing or integrating LED drivers, surge protection, and power quality solutions for outdoor applications.
• Familiarity with EMC/EMI testing and mitigation strategies for LED power supplies.
• Understanding of thermal management and its impact on both LED performance and electrical component lifespan.
• Experience supporting products from concept development through electrical safety certification and production launch.

Key Skills

Domain

Skills

Photometric design

Roadway photometric analysis, IES/LDT file interpretation, illuminance/luminance calculations

Electrical integration

LED driver selection and integration, surge protection, electrical safety (UL 8750), basic EMC/EMI

Optical simulation

AGi32, DIALux, LightTools, LucidShape, Zemax, LightStanza, Radiance, ElumTools, or IES VE

Luminaire development

LED optics, light distribution, thermal management, outdoor durability (IP/IK/NEMA)

Standards and compliance

ANSI/IES RP-8, IES TM-15 (BUG), UL 1598/8750, IDA DarkSky, CIE 115, IEC 60598

Engineering process

DFMEA, root cause analysis, tolerance analysis, design reviews, ECRs

Smart lighting

DALI-2, Zhaga D4i, 0-10V, Networked Lighting Controls (NLC)

SYSTRA Canada is committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer that values applications from all and offers employment equity based on the merits and abilities of candidates and personnel.

Note: In this description, the masculine gender is used for easy reading purposes and includes the feminine.

We use AI-enabled tools in our recruitment platform (iCIMS) for tasks like resume parsing and candidate matching. These tools do not make hiring decisions; all applications are reviewed by a human recruiter, and final decisions are made by our hiring team.

For questions about our hiring process or AI tools, please contact [email protected].

Workplace Type

Hybrid