Protection and Control Engineer

EWI Recruitment; Portugal; On-site; EUR 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

EWI Recruitment is seeking a Protection Engineer to design HV/MV protection schemes for data center and industrial projects across Scandinavia, with a focus on relay configuration and settings calculation.

You will coordinate with Power Systems Studies and Secondary Design Engineers, perform protection studies, testing support, and documentation, while ensuring compliance with grid codes and client requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's in Electrical Engineering.
• Minimum 5 years of protection engineering experience.
• HV/MV substation protection design experience.
• Experience with numerical relay configuration and settings calculations.
• Experience with protection coordination studies.
• Experience supporting testing and commissioning of protection systems.
• Experience in data centre or industrial projects is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Design HV/MV protection schemes and develop protection philosophies.
• Configure relay settings for ABB, Siemens and Schneider Electric relays.
• Perform protection coordination studies and analyze protection performance.
• Support testing, FATs and site commissioning of protection systems.
• Coordinate with secondary design engineers and SCADA/SAS teams on integration.

Skills

English proficiency

Analytical thinking

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

PCM600

Digsi 5

MiCOM S1

ETAP

DIgSILENT PowerFactory

EPLAN

AutoCAD

Omicron

Doble

Job description

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

The Protection Engineeris responsible forthe design, engineering, and configuration of protection systems for medium-voltage and high-voltage substations serving datacenterand industrial clients in the Scandinavian market.

The role focuses on protection scheme design, relay configuration andsettingscalculation, protection coordination studies, and support for testing and commissioning of protection systems. The position works closely with the Power Systems Studies Engineer for study inputs and with the Secondary Design Engineer for integration into panel designs and schematics.

The Protection Engineer is a specialist role requiring deep knowledge of numerical protection relays from major vendors (ABB, Siemens, Schneider Electric) and the ability to translate system study results into practical relay settings and protection philosophies.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Protection Scheme Design

• Design protection schemes for HV and MV substations, including main and backup protection.
• Develop protection philosophies and functional specifications.
• Ensure protection designs meet grid code, TSO/DSO, and client requirements.
• Coordinate protection scheme design with data center redundancy and concurrent maintainability requirements.
• Prepare protection philosophy documentation.

Relay Configuration & Settings

• Configure and implement protection relay settings for ABB, Siemens, and Schneider Electric relays.
• Calculate protection settings based on power system study results.
• Perform protection coordination at relay level.
• Programme numerical relays using vendor tools (PCM600, Digsi 5, MiCOM S1).
• Prepare relay setting documentation and configuration files.

Protection Studies & Analysis

• Perform or support protection coordination studies using ETAP and/or DIgSILENT PowerFactory.
• Support arc flash analysis and short circuit contribution assessment.
• Specify CT and VT requirements based on protection and metering needs.
• Analyse protection system performance and identify potential issues.

Testing & Commissioning Support

• Support testing and commissioning of protection systems.
• Prepare protection test plans and procedures.
• Support Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) of protection panels.
• Provide technical support during site commissioning activities.
• Ensure protection systems are validated before energisation.

Engineering Integration & Documentation

• Coordinate with Secondary Design Engineers on protection panel designs and schematics.
• Collaborate with Power Systems Studies Engineers to ensure consistency between studies and settings.
• Support SCADA/SAS Engineers with protection relay communication requirements.
• Prepare and review protection-related engineering documentation.
• Participate in engineering design reviews.

Required Qualifications & Competencies

Education:

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering.

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years of experience in protection engineering.
• Experience in HV or MV substation protection design.
• Experience with numerical protection relay configuration and settings calculation.
• Experience with protection coordination studies.
• Experience supporting testing and commissioning of protection systems.
• Experience in data centre or industrial projects is a plus.

Technical Skills:

• Proficiency with protection relay vendor tools: PCM600 (ABB), Digsi 5 (Siemens), MiCOM S1 (Schneider Electric).
• Working knowledge of ETAP and/or DIgSILENT PowerFactory for protection coordination studies.
• Knowledge of protection relay configuration and settings for HV/MV applications.
• Understanding of CT/VT specification and selection.
• Proficiency with EPLAN and AutoCAD for protection schematics review.
• Familiarity with relay test equipment (Omicron, Doble).
• Knowledge of IEC and IEEE protection standards.
• Familiarity with Nordic TSO standards is considered an advantage.

Interpersonal & Communication Skills:

• Excellent verbal and written communication in English (Portuguese is considered a plus).
• EU citizenship preferred to facilitate site visits across Scandinavia.
• Based in Lisbon or Porto, Portugal.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Strong organisational and multitasking capabilities.
• Ability to work collaboratively within engineering teams.

ewi is committed to equality in the workplace and is an equal opportunity employer. ewi is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.