Senior Electrical Engineer, Hydro

TransAlta; Town of Cochrane; On-site; CAD 100,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading power generation company is looking for a Senior Electrical Engineer for an 18-month term in Cochrane, Alberta. The role involves advanced engineering support, risk evaluation, and project development across hydro facilities. Candidates should have 15+ years’ experience, a relevant undergraduate degree or P.Eng status, and the ability to lead complex projects. The position offers a competitive salary, annual incentives, and a strong commitment to employee well-being and development.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Annual incentive program

Pension plan with company-matching options

Flexible benefits for you and your family

Vacation and personal days

Employee Rewards & Recognition Programs

Annual Wellness Payment

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in the relevant field.
• Ability to lead projects with notable risk and complexity.
• Capability to articulate complex technical issues.

Responsibilities

• Provide engineering support to operations and maintenance.
• Develop and mentor staff to achieve goals.
• Identify and implement innovative solutions for equipment performance.

Skills

Technical expertise in electrical engineering

Collaboration

Problem-solving

Education

Undergraduate degree or diploma in Engineering or Technology

Professional Engineering (P.Eng) status

Job description

Senior Electrical Engineer, Hydro (18-Month Term)

WHO WE ARE

Our Power, Your Possibilities

At TransAlta, we don’t just generate electricity—we generate opportunity. As one of Canada’s largest publicly traded power generators, we’ve powered communities for over 100 years across Canada, the U.S., and Australia. Our diverse energy portfolio and passionate team are driving the transition to a cleaner, more sustainable future.

We believe in the power of purpose, the strength of collaboration, and the value of continuous learning. If you’re ready to make a real impact in a dynamic industry, you bring the energy and we’ll provide the platform.

For more information about TransAlta, visit our website at, www.transalta.com.

ABOUT THE ROLE

TransAlta is seeking a Senior Electrical Engineer with strong technical expertise and a commitment to supporting reliable hydro operations. This 18-month, temporary role provides advanced engineering support across our facilities, offering specialist guidance, contributing to Technical Standards, and supporting key processes such as risk evaluation, quality assurance, condition assessment, technical planning, and project development.

This temporary, full ‑ time, safety sensitive position can be based at our Ghost Plant near Cochrane, Alberta or our Seebe Plant in the Bow Valley region of Alberta – areas known for their exceptional natural scenery, vibrant nearby communities, and easy access to amenities, offering a highly desirable setting for both work and everyday life.

A DAY IN THE LIFE

• Accountable to provide the day-to-day engineering support to operations, maintenance and forced outages to ensure the facility can operate safely and in compliance within technical policies, procedures and standards.
• Develop and mentor staff to allow completion of goals.
• Provide engineering and technical support for the operating facilities including high-voltage transformers, breakers, cabling, electrical protection, and generators to resolve non-routine technical issues
• Develop scope and detailed engineering for plant upgrades
• Identify, document, update and communicate equipment risk and mitigations.
• Provide detailed technical risk mitigations into the capital process for both planned outages and non-turnaround work. This includes conceptual engineering work scopes and risk assessments that are well balanced to meet overall asset goals.
• Accountable for providing input into condition assessment and risk assessment work as required by business needs.
• Establish a collaborative work environment with team, peers, stakeholders and support groups to ensure issues may be resolved in a professional and productive manner.
• Development and maintain industry relationships to bring innovations and best practices to the Plant Teams
• Completing technical due diligence for M&A projects in line with standards
• Timely escalation to the Engineering Coordinator of technical issues and risks that affect overall accountability. Also to recommend any immediate actions, inspections or testing that may be required as a part of the risk escalation.
• Identify and implement innovative solutions to improve current processes and improve equipment performance/reliability.
• Bring industry best practices, innovations/new technology to be evaluated by the business
• Ability to provide emergency support for forced outages.
• Demonstrate vision and technical guidance for Large Hydro digitization over the next 5-10 years.

ABOUT YOU

• Undergraduate degree or diploma in Engineering or Technology
• Professional Engineering (P.Eng) status in jurisdiction of practicing
• 15+ years of experience
• Specialized training and certifications in multiple areas related to their discipline.
• Provide specialized training to internal staff related to their discipline.
• Creates policies, procedures, standards, regulatory and legal requirements that apply to the power generation business in the jurisdictions that we operate
• Demonstrated capability to impact the business directly and on a widespread scale by solving the most unique and complex problems through the application of innovative services or products.
• Capability to understand and articulate complex technical issues to both a technical and non-technical audience
• Capability to lead projects with notable risk and complexity; develops the strategy for project execution

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

• Ability to travel up to 30% of the time to facilities across Alberta, BC and Ontario

THE PERKS

• Competitive salary
• Annual incentive program
• Pension plan with company-matching options
• Flexible benefits for you and your family
• Vacation and personal days
• Employee Rewards & Recognition Programs
• Annual Wellness Payment

Explore our Employee Experience Booklet on our Careers site to see how we support your growth and wellbeing www.transalta.com/careers.

OUR CULTURE

At TransAlta, we’re driven by a Culture of Results, Learning, and Purpose. We prioritize psychological safety, wellbeing, inclusion, and belonging - creating a space where everyone can thrive. We believe that diverse perspectives drive innovation and progress, and we’re committed to building a workplace where you can be your authentic self.

Ready to Power Up With Us? Excited about this role but don’t meet every single requirement? We still encourage you to apply. Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for a job unless they meet every single qualification. You might just be the candidate we are looking for.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The successful candidate may be required to complete background checks appropriate to the role and may include criminal record, education and employment verification or credit checks. Safety sensitive positions will be required to complete pre-employment testing.

Due to the high volume of applications we receive, only those progressing will be contacted.