Protection & Automation Application Engineer

Apara Solutions; Amsterdam; On-site; EUR 58,000 - 84,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday allowance

Pension scheme

Office at Energy Transition Campus, AM

Job summary

APARA Solutions, based at the Energy Transition Campus Amsterdam, seeks an experienced engineer to commission and service electrical, instrumentation, and automation systems across BENELUX. You will test relays, configure protection and substation networks, and integrate SCADA with grid operators.

Ideal candidates bring 3–7 years in substations, strong hands-on SEL experience, IEC 61850 expertise, and practical OT networking knowledge.

Qualifications

• BSc or MSc in Electrical Engineering (power/automation).
• 3–7 years with protection relays, substation automation or RTU/SCADA.
• Site commissioning experience in substations/plants, incl. Omicron testing.
• Hands-on SEL experience; SEL University courses a plus; other vendors welcome.
• IEC 61850 engineering and at least one SCADA protocol.
• OT networking knowledge (IP plans, managed switches, VLANs) and IEC 62443 familiarity.
• BESS, PV or other renewables experience is a plus.
• Fluent English; Dutch is a strong plus; willing to travel; driving licence B.

Responsibilities

• Commission on-site: relay and scheme testing with Omicron, I/O and comm checks.
• Select and configure protection relays, automation controllers, meters and substation networks.
• Configure relays in vendor tools: SEL QuickSet, Siemens DIGSI, ABB PCM600, GE EnerVista.
• Engineer automation with SEL RTAC and Axion or similar: IEC 61850, DNP3, Modbus, IEC 60870-5-104, SCADA integration.
• Baseline OT systems: inventory, firmware, IP plan, I/O list, comm matrix, backups.
• Design remote access and apply IEC 62443: zones, conduits, hardening.
• Support clients under service agreements: troubleshooting, firmware, MOC, spare parts, incident response.
• Provide pre-sales support and training with manufacturers.

Skills

Protection relays

Substation automation

RTU/SCADA

Omicron testing

SEL QuickSet

SEL RTAC

IEC 61850

OT networking

IEC 62443

English fluency

Dutch language

Travel willingness

Driver's license B

Education

BSc or MSc in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Siemens DIGSI

ABB PCM600

GE EnerVista

SEL QuickSet

SEL RTAC

Omicron tooling

Job description

APARA Solutions is a Dutch E&I&A EPC contractor at the Energy Transition Campus Amsterdam. We engineer, build and commission electrical, instrumentation and automation systems for the process industry, grid and renewables. ISO 9001 and VCA* certified.

What you will do

• Commission on site, hands‑on: relay and scheme testing with Omicron, I/O and communication checks, end‑to‑end tests with SCADA and the grid operator, energization and fault‑finding, in the Netherlands and abroad (Mostly BENELUX)
• Select and configure protection relays, automation controllers, revenue meters and substation networks
• Configure relays in the vendor tools: SEL QuickSet, Siemens DIGSI, ABB PCM600, GE EnerVista
• Engineer automation with SEL RTAC and Axion or similar: RTU and power plant controller logic, IEC 61850 (GOOSE, MMS), DNP3, Modbus, IEC 60870‑5‑104, SCADA integration including Zenon
• Baseline existing OT systems: device inventory, firmware, network drawing and IP plan, I/O list, communication matrix, configuration backups and restore tests
• Design remote access and apply IEC 62443: zones, conduits, hardening
• Support clients under service agreements: troubleshooting, firmware, Management of Change, spare parts and incident response
• Give technical pre‑sales support and client training together with the manufacturer

What you bring

• BSc or MSc in Electrical Engineering, power or automation
• 3 to 7 years with protection relays, substation automation or RTU/SCADA
• Site commissioning experience in substations or plants, including Omicron testing
• Hands‑on SEL experience (QuickSet, RTAC); SEL University courses are a strong plus; other vendors a plus
• IEC 61850 engineering and at least one SCADA protocol
• OT networking (IP plans, managed switches, VLANs) and working knowledge of IEC 62443
• BESS, PV or other renewable plant controls are a plus
• Fluent English; Dutch is a strong plus; willing to travel; driving licence B

What we offer

• A specialist role with direct contact with clients and manufacturers
• Vendor training and certification paid by us
• Salary TBD gross per month, plus 8% holiday allowance and pension
• Office at the Energy Transition Campus Amsterdam, with site work across BENELUX