Lead Power System Engineer (Protection & Control)

IF1874 GE Energy Power Conversion UK Limited; Rugby; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company pension contribution

income protection

private health insurance

life assurance

healthy lifestyle account

Flexible benefits you can personalise

34 days’ vacation including national-h

Job summary

GE Vernova seeks a Power System Engineer with deep experience in electrical protection, control panels, and excitation systems for substations and energy projects. You will guide tendering, design, and delivery, ensuring safety and compliance across IEC standards and industry best practices.

The role requires strong collaboration with multi-disciplinary teams during design, testing, and commissioning of protection schemes for grid, marine, and industrial applications.

Qualifications

• Able to work with protection and control system design, testing, and commissioning for substations and generation equipment.
• Experience with protection coordination studies, CT/VT sizing, and numerical relay configuration.
• Hands-on with relay testing kits and panel design tools.
• Knowledge of IEC 61850, IEC 60870-5-103, Modbus RTU/TCP standards.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical ownership across tendering, design, and delivery of AIS & GIS substation projects up to 400 kV.
• Lead design reviews, tender support, and risk management across multi-region projects.
• Support FAT, SAT, and site commissioning activities for protection and excitation panels.
• Mentor graduate and junior engineers in protection design, testing, and commissioning.

Skills

Electrical Protection & Control

Protection relay configuration

Relay testing (OMICRON CMC)

Protection design & review (SLDs)

Site commissioning support

Team leadership / mentoring

eTAP protection studies

EPLAN AutoCAD

Education

Bachelor's degree in Power Systems or related technical subject

CEng accreditation (desired)

Tools

EPLAN Electric P8

AutoCAD

OMICRON CMC

Job description

Job Description Summary

The Power System Engineer will have prior knowledge and expertise in Electrical Protection & Control, Systems for grid-based substations and power generation and distribution equipment, or islanded grids including commercial &/or marine, naval power and propulsion systems, with deep domain expertise in protection relay configuration, development, test and commissioning. You will provide technical guidance & leadership across tendering, design, and delivery of AIS & GIS substation projects (up to 400 kV), as well as asset level protection for (15 kV range), generation protection, and LV protection and will contribute to the overall protection & control strategy with a safety critical mindset. This is a technical role involving close collaboration with multi-disciplinary teams (design & simulation, HV & MV Plant, Civil, Cable, CAD, FAT, and Commissioning) to specify, design, and validate Control & Relay Panels for MVAC / LVAC / LVDC systems, and Excitation & Synchronization systems for Energy, Marine, Defence and Industrial applications.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Have prior expertise in electrical protection, control panel engineering, and excitation systems for substations and power generation and distribution equipment.
• Provide guidance & technical ownership of projects, producing detailed specifications, site visit reports, FDSs, circuit diagrams, relay configurations, setting reports, equipment schedules, I/O lists, cabling, and MVAC/LVAC/LVDC load calculations, fault level & arc flash.
• Undertake relay setting calculations, CT/VT sizing, and configuration/testing of numerical relays (e.g., GE MiCOM, Siemens Siprotec, ABB Rex) Design and review Protection SLDs, Key Line Diagrams, General Arrangements, and Control & Protection schematics for transformers, overheads lines, ground cables, busbars, bus sections, bus couplers, and feeder bays
• Provide project technical leadership for design reviews, tender support, man-hour estimation, and risk management across multi-region projects.
• Support FAT, SAT, and site commissioning activities for control, relay, and excitation panels, including synchronization of synchronous generators with national grids.
• Ensure designs comply with relevant health & safety, national/international standards (as example IEC 61850, IEC 60870-5-103, Modbus RTU, Modbus TCP/IP), and contract specifications.
• Support on-time delivery, cost, and quality targets, coordinating with HV Plant, Civil, Cable, CAD, FAT, and Commissioning teams.
• Provide technical support to Project Managers Application and Lead Engineers in managing project deliverables and variations.
• Mentor and develop graduate and junior engineers through structured technical guidance in protection design, relay configuration, testing, and commissioning.

Required Qualifications

• Able to achieve UK security clearance, and willing to travel for short term working.
• Minimum of a bachelor’s degree in Power Systems or related technical subject.
• Experience with eTAP or similar to perform protection co-ordination studies, AC/DC load flow, fault level, arc flash etc.
• Hands‑on experience with relay testing kits (e.g., OMICRON CMC) and panel design tools (EPLAN Electric P8 and/or AutoCAD).

Desired Characteristics

• Working to or achieved CEng accreditation.
• Knowledge of protection and control system design, testing, and commissioning for synchronous machines.
• Experience with communication protocol to ensure design comply with IEC 61850, IEC 60870-5-103, Modbus RTU/TCP.
• Strong commercial and contractual awareness: scope definition, tender support, budgeting, on-site/remote support for Field Service Engineers and contract close-out.
• Demonstrated leadership, and the ability to multi-task across a variety of projects, adapting to changing circumstances and ambiguity.
• Well organised, good time management and excellent communication and report-writing skills, tailored to technical and commercial audiences.

You can expect from us

Flexible working arrangements and an attractive overall compensation package.

• Company pension contribution
• income protection
• private health insurance
• life assurance
• healthy lifestyle account
• Flexible benefits you can personalise
• 34 days’ vacation including national holidays

Additional Information

Relocation Assistance Provided: Yes

Addressing the climate crisis is an urgent global priority and we take our responsibility seriously. That is our singular mission at GE Vernova: continuing to electrify the world while simultaneously working to help decarbonize it. If we want our energy future to be different…we must be different. Our mission is embedded in our name. We retain our treasured legacy, “GE,” in our name as an enduring and hard-earned badge of quality and ingenuity. “Ver” / “verde” signal Earth’s verdant and lush ecosystems. “Nova,” from the Latin “novus,” nods to a new, innovative era of lower carbon energy that GE Vernova will help deliver. Together, we have The Energy to Change the World. www.gevernova.com