Lead Substation Engineer 1 - Grid

Sargent & Lundy; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 130,193 - 179,016; Full time

Job summary

Sargent & Lundy in Toronto, Canada is seeking a Lead Substation Engineer with deep expertise in protection, control, and telecommunications for HV and EHV substations. You will lead an engineering and design team, prepare relaying philosophies, and coordinate with clients and vendors to deliver robust, compliant designs.

The role offers a hybrid work schedule with in‑office 3 days per week and potential relocation support.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science Engineering degree.
• 10+ years of experience focusing on protection, control, and telecommunications for high‑voltage substations.
• PE or P.Eng license.
• Experience serving as firm/client liaison in a lead engineering role.
• Experience in relay calculations documentation.
• Experience with design tools and producing technical plans, drawings, and models.
• Proficiency with SKM, ETAP, ASPEN, CDEGS, or vendor software.
• Familiarity with NEC, NESC, NEMA, IEEE, ANSI.
• Experience with SEL, ABB, GE, Areva, Basler relays.

Responsibilities

• Lead an engineering and design team on substation modifications and upgrades.
• Prepare relaying philosophies and SCADA/telecommunications concepts.
• Guide junior and senior engineers in protection and controls design.
• Coordinate with clients, project managers, and suppliers for timely designs.
• Review existing facilities to propose upgrades and improvements.
• Develop engineering studies and perform independent design reviews.
• Travel to client/vendor sites for reviews and field verification.

Skills

Protection & control

Relaying calculations

Team leadership

Client liaison

MS Office

SCADA/telecom concepts

Technical documentation

Education

Bachelor of Science Engineering

PE or P.Eng license

Tools

SKM

ETAP

ASPEN

CDEGS

AutoCAD or MicroStation

Job description

Description

This position will offer you the ability to directly apply your knowledge of protective relaying and controls systems for HV and EHV substations. As a Lead Substation Engineer, you will:

• Lead an engineering and design team and work on a wide range of substation modifications and upgrades to support client requirements and reviews, creating calculations, document designs, and specifications.
• Prepare relaying philosophies, including selecting relay, control, and communications equipment, developing SCADA and telecommunication concepts and configurations, and overseeing the preparation of I/O assignments and connection diagrams.
• Guide junior and senior‑level engineers and designers in protection and controls engineering design efforts, providing guidance for the coordination of detailed design phases for all aspects of the engineering work.
• Support assignments that include investigating, troubleshooting, and solving a wide variety of engineering issues.
• Perform analysis and design of single line diagrams, substation relaying & metering diagrams (i.e. A.C. schematic diagrams), and D.C. schematic diagrams.
• Prepare engineering studies for client and peer review.
• Perform independent reviews of work performed by others including calculations and drawing preparation.
• Coordinate and provide guidance to other engineers, project managers, client personnel, and suppliers to ensure a complete and timely design.
• Perform reviews of existing facilities to propose upgrades and replacements, and present findings and recommendations to clients and peers.
• Develop your career via peer‑learning through sharing of knowledge with other experienced engineers by way of Sargent & Lundy’s systems of process and associated “Communities of Practice.”
• Provide guidance as a mentor in the development of less experienced engineers.
• Potential for travel to client and vendor offices for design reviews and plant site locations for construction coordination and field verification of designs.

Hybrid Work Schedule

This position is based on a hybrid work schedule and will require in‑office work 3 days per week, giving you the flexibility to work remotely for two days. Depending on your location, this opportunity offers a generous relocation package.

Qualifications

We do not sponsor employees for work authorization in Canada for this position.

This position may require access to U.S. export‑controlled information. As such, candidates must be a citizen of a country listed in Appendix A to Part 810 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Please click here to determine your eligibility.

Essential Skills And Experience

• Requires a Bachelor of Science Engineering degree.
• 10 or more years of experience with a focus on protection, control, and telecommunications for high‑voltage substations, including design, installation, and coordination.
• PE or P.Eng license.
• Experience serving as firm/client liaison in a support or lead engineering role.
• Experience in writing and providing support documentation for relay calculations.
• Experience with the design techniques, tools, and principles involved in producing technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Proficiency with any of the following programs: SKM, ETAP, ASPEN, CDEGS, or vendor software.
• Familiarity with design codes and standards such as NEC, NESC, NEMA, IEEE, and ANSI.
• Experience with various vendor protective relay equipment typically used in substation protection, including SEL, ABB, GE, Areva, and Basler.
• Proficiency with MS Office applications.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Valued But Not Required Skills And Experience

• A Bachelor of Science Electrical Engineering degree is preferable.
• A degree from a Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board‑accredited undergraduate program or a US‑based ABET‑accredited program.
• Prior experience in inline, bus and equipment protection, breaker, transformer and similar equipment control, RTU and data concentrator‑based SCADA systems, telemetering and communications (fiber optics, microwave, power line carrier, etc.).
• AutoCAD or MicroStation experience.
• Construction and startup experience.
• Testing or commissioning experience.

AI & Automation at Sargent & Lundy

• You are expected to lead others in taking engineering problems from issue to solution by setting expectations for using data and modern tools such as automation and AI to improve workflows, reduce rework, and deliver cost‑effective designs.
• Leaders in these roles often direct automation and process‑improvement work, for example, how teams automate calculations, summarize technical documents, or generate design documentation and guide when and how AI or agentic AI tools are used while ensuring results are checked.
• Overseeing engineers who program or script (e.g., Python, MATLAB, advanced Excel) to automate engineering tasks, with review of automated outputs, is valued but not required.
• We also value additional learning, such as a minor, certificate, or other experience in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Software Engineering, or related fields that enables effective oversight of automation and agentic AI‑enabled engineering workflows.

Award‑Winning Benefits

At Sargent & Lundy, we care about the health and well‑being of our employees. Our commitment extends beyond the workplace, offering comprehensive healthcare plans and generous paid time off to support our team members in every aspect of their lives. We understand the importance of work‑life balance, which is why we are proud to provide competitive, award‑winning benefits. Our dedication to employee satisfaction has earned us the prestigious Top Workplaces Culture Excellence Award for compensation and benefits in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Compensation Range

$130,193 – $179,016

Transparency Statement

This posting is to fill an existing vacancy. Sargent & Lundy discloses compensation ranges that comply with all provincial and federal legislation. The total compensation package for eligible positions will include a base salary or an hourly rate and a comprehensive benefits package, reflecting our commitment to rewarding performance and supporting the overall well‑being of our employees. Individuals may also be eligible to participate in our yearly discretionary bonus.

Equal Opportunity

Sargent & Lundy is fully committed to abiding by all equal‑opportunity employment standards. Our employment policies strictly prohibit all forms of discrimination on any of the grounds in relevant laws. All our employment practices are solely based on individual merit and our organization’s needs at the time. We welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

We embrace the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the candidate experience and streamline our recruitment process. AI‑enabled tools may support certain stages of recruitment, but human judgment remains central to the candidate experience, and all hiring decisions are made by human reviewers.