Pre-sales Technical Specialist (Protection Relay)

Hitachi Energy Malaysia Sdn Bhd; Petaling Jaya; On-site; MYR 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Hitachi Energy Malaysia Sdn Bhd is seeking a Pre-sales Technical Specialist (Protection Relay) to drive technical engagement with utilities and distribution operators across APAC. You will qualify opportunities, secure product approvals, and coordinate with country sales teams on protection relay and automation solutions.

Role requires strong knowledge of protection systems, experience with utility specs, and Mandarin-English fluency.

Qualifications

• Degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent.
• Experience in power systems, protection & control, substation automation, distribution automation, or grid automation environments.
• Strong knowledge of protection relays and protection systems.
• Experience working with utilities, transmission operators, distribution network operators, or electrical network customers.
• Understanding of IEC 61850, DNP3, IEC 60870-5, Modbus or related protocols is advantageous.
• Fluency in English and Mandarin (spoken and written) is required.
• Willingness to travel across the APAC region (approximately 25%).

Responsibilities

• Support technical qualification activities and utility approvals in APAC.
• Engage utilities, consultants, and end customers to understand requirements and secure product approvals.
• Lead discussions on protection relays, control systems, substation automation, and distribution automation.
• Support vendor registration, technical acceptance, and product qualification for protection relay solutions.
• Collaborate with country sales teams to evaluate opportunities and develop solution recommendations.
• Deliver technical presentations, product demonstrations, workshops, and customer training.
• Build relationships with utilities, consultants, channel partners, sales teams, and product teams.
• Support bid strategy discussions, technical reviews, and customer-facing engagements.
• Ensure compliance with health, safety, integrity, and regulatory requirements.

Skills

Pre-sales experience

Protection relay knowledge

Stakeholder management

Strong communication

Mandarin language

APAC travel readiness

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Job description

Pre-sales Technical Specialist (Protection Relay)

As a Technical Specialist – Distribution Automation, you will play a key role in the pre-sales process, working closely with utilities, country sales teams, consultants, and engineering stakeholders across APAC. You will support technical qualification activities, utility approvals, product acceptance, and customer engagement to ensure Hitachi Energy's protection relay and distribution automation solutions meet customer and utility requirements. A key focus of this role is driving technical engagement with utility companies and distribution network operators to secure product approvals, technical acceptance, pre-qualification, and inclusion within approved utility specifications and vendor frameworks. The role supports multiple countries across the APAC region, including Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines; therefore, flexibility to travel is required.

Key responsibilities

Support technical pre-qualification activities for Distribution Automation opportunities across APAC

Engage with utilities, consultants, and end customers to understand technical requirements and secure product approvals

Lead technical discussions related to protection relays, protection & control systems, substation automation, and distribution automation solutions

Support utility approval, technical acceptance, product qualification, and vendor registration activities for protection relay and automation solutions

Work closely with utility engineering teams to secure the acceptance and specification of Hitachi Energy products within customer technical standards and approved vendor lists

Collaborate with country sales teams to evaluate opportunities, identify technical gaps, and develop solution recommendations

Deliver technical presentations, product demonstrations, workshops, and customer training programs

Build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including utilities, engineering consultants, channel partners, sales teams, and global product teams

Support bid strategy discussions, technical reviews, and customer-facing technical engagements

Ensure compliance with applicable health, safety, integrity, and regulatory requirements

About you

Degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent

Experience in power systems, protection & control, substation automation, distribution automation, or grid automation environments

Strong knowledge of protection relays and protection systems

Experience working directly with utilities, transmission operators, distribution network operators, or electrical network customers

Demonstrated experience supporting technical approval, product qualification, vendor registration, technical acceptance, or specification of protection relay and automation solutions with utility companies

Understanding of SCADA, RTUs, IEC 61850, DNP3, IEC 60870-5, Modbus, or related communication protocols is advantageous

Pre-sales experience is beneficial but not essential; candidates from protection engineering, application engineering, commissioning, service engineering, or technical support backgrounds are encouraged to apply

Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to engage both technical and commercial audiences

Fluency in English and Mandarin (spoken and written) is required

Willingness to travel across the APAC region (approximately 25%)

About us

Our Grid Automation business unit delivers a comprehensive portfolio of solutions across substation automation, communication networks, protection and control, grid edge technologies, and enterprise software. We pride ourselves on offering a holistic range of competitive benefit programs to support your financial, physical and mental wellbeing and personal development.