Director - Power Utility Operations

Parsons; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Parsons Corporation is seeking a Director of Power Utility Operations in Riyadh to lead senior-level power infrastructure across city-scale projects. The role oversees HV/EHV/MV networks, substations, and grid operations while coordinating with regulators, government stakeholders, and partners to ensure reliability and strategic capital planning.

The ideal candidate brings 20+ years in power utilities and 8+ years in executive leadership, with a strong background in SCADA, AMI, and modern grid

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering; Master's preferred in Electrical Engineering, Engineering Management, or MBA.
• 20+ years of progressive experience in power utilities, large-scale infrastructure, smart cities, or mega developments.
• 8+ years of senior executive, director-level, or equivalent leadership experience.
• Proven experience managing large multidisciplinary engineering and utility operations teams.
• Strong track record overseeing major OPEX and CAPEX budgets.

Responsibilities

• Direct strategic operation and maintenance of HV, EHV, and MV electrical infrastructure.
• Oversee substations, transmission systems, distribution networks, switchgear, transformers, protection systems and related assets.
• Establish city-wide power reliability standards and operational performance requirements.
• Develop redundancy strategies to reduce outages across critical districts.
• Define disaster recovery and emergency power strategies for high-priority loads.
• Lead negotiations on bulk electricity supply, load allocations, tariff structures, and long-term utility agreements.
• Provide executive oversight of grid stability, system capacity, protection coordination, and network performance.
• Ensure electrical assets meet Saudi and international requirements.

Skills

Power Utility Operations

Electrical Utility Management

Power System Engineering

High Voltage Systems

Extra High Voltage Systems

Medium Voltage Systems

Electrical Substations

Transmission Networks

Grid Stability

Protection Engineering

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Master's degree in Electrical Engineering / Engineering Management / MBA

Tools

SCADA

Energy Management Systems

IIoT

AMI

SAP EAMS

Job description

Director - Power Utility Operations Job Snapshot Role: Director - Power Utility Operations Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Industry: Utilities Function: Energy-Nuclear Engineering Experience: Minimum 20 years of progressive power utility and infrastructure leadership experience, including at least 8 years in a senior executive or director-level role Job Type: Full-time

Job Details Country: Saudi Arabia City: Riyadh Industry: Utilities Function: Energy-Nuclear Engineering Salary: 70000-95000 Estimated salary range based on similar jobs in the job city; please confirm the final offer with the employer. Gender: Any Candidate Nationality: Any Job Type: Full-time

Role Context The Director - Power Utility Operations will act as the senior technical, operational, and commercial authority for electrical energy infrastructure across a major city-scale giga-project. The position will safeguard continuity of power supply while guiding the transition of substations, transmission assets, distribution networks, smart metering systems, and supporting technologies from construction into reliable long-term operations. The role will also connect grid engineering, asset management, finance, lifecycle planning, SCADA, regulatory governance, and utility commercial strategy to protect critical infrastructure and reduce long-term operational and capital risk.

Key Responsibilities

• Direct strategic operation and maintenance of high-voltage, extra-high-voltage, and medium-voltage electrical infrastructure.


• Oversee substations, transmission systems, distribution networks, switchgear, transformers, protection systems, and associated utility assets.


• Establish city-wide power reliability standards and operational performance requirements.


• Develop redundancy strategies designed to reduce the risk of outages across critical entertainment, residential, commercial, and industrial districts.


• Define disaster recovery and emergency power strategies for high-priority loads.


• Establish backup generation requirements and contingency operating procedures.


• Act as the principal executive interface with national electricity providers, ministries, regulators, water and power authorities, and government stakeholders.


• Lead negotiations covering bulk electricity supply, load allocations, tariff structures, operational interfaces, and long-term utility agreements.


• Provide executive oversight of grid stability, system capacity, protection coordination, and network performance.


• Ensure electrical assets are operated in accordance with relevant Saudi and international requirements.


• Develop strategic engineering plans for long-term power infrastructure performance.


• Apply Total Cost of Ownership principles to major utility asset classes.


• Coordinate with Asset Lifecycle Planning teams on multi-decade replacement and refurbishment strategies.


• Develop lifecycle requirements for transformers, switchgear, substations, protection systems, metering infrastructure, and related assets.


• Support preparation of Capital Asset Replacement Plans for high-value electrical infrastructure.


• Evaluate asset condition, failure risk, replacement timing, and refurbishment priorities.


• Coordinate long-term OPEX and CAPEX requirements with Finance and Asset Management teams.


• Direct the implementation and governance of SCADA systems supporting electrical network monitoring and control.


• Oversee integration of Industrial Internet of Things technologies and smart grid sensors.


• Support deployment of Advanced Metering Infrastructure for accurate, real-time energy usage data.


• Ensure electrical operational technologies integrate effectively with enterprise asset management and city systems.


• Coordinate Energy Management Systems and digital power monitoring platforms.


• Establish data governance requirements for operational, asset, metering, and reliability information.


• Ensure utility data supports maintenance planning, financial reporting, and operational decision-making.


• Oversee integration of energy usage data with corporate finance and utility recovery systems.


• Support automated allocation and recovery of electricity consumption costs.


• Provide audited energy-consumption models for commercial charging and service cost allocation.


• Coordinate with the Service Charge function on utility cross-charging for operators, tenants, and sub-developments.


• Ensure long-term asset depreciation and replacement forecasts are reflected in sinking fund requirements.


• Help prevent future capital funding deficits by aligning reserve planning with realistic replacement timelines.


• Serve as senior technical authority during infrastructure handover and vesting activities.


• Participate in Stage-Gate Handover Committee reviews for major utility assets.


• Approve technical readiness criteria before assets transition into live operations.


• Establish rigorous Testing and Commissioning requirements for major electrical systems.


• Review protection settings, insulation testing, load-bank testing, energization procedures, and performance verification.


• Confirm that electrical infrastructure meets acceptance criteria before operational adoption.


• Coordinate with construction, commissioning, design, and operations teams during utility transfer.


• Review and challenge technical deviations that may affect long-term reliability or maintainability.


• Establish formal operational acceptance requirements for substations, distribution systems, and smart grid components.


• Monitor utility performance through reliability, capacity, energy quality, and asset-health indicators.


• Establish engineering KPIs covering outage risk, system availability, maintenance effectiveness, and operational resilience.


• Direct continuous improvement initiatives aimed at improving grid reliability and reducing lifecycle cost.


• Support development of long-term sustainability strategies for power infrastructure.


• Align grid modernization initiatives with national energy and sustainability objectives.


• Evaluate emerging technologies that may improve resilience, efficiency, automation, or energy management.


• Manage major multidisciplinary technical teams and external operating partners.


• Provide executive leadership over operating budgets and capital investment priorities.


• Review major power-related procurement, consultancy, and service contracts from an operational perspective.


• Support strategic commercial negotiations with suppliers, utilities, and system partners.


• Present power infrastructure risks, performance, investment requirements, and strategic recommendations to executive leadership.


• Maintain transparent governance over power-system decisions, asset risks, and investment priorities.

Ideal Profile

• Bachelor 's degree in Electrical Engineering, Power Engineering, or a closely related engineering discipline.


• Master 's degree in Electrical Engineering, Engineering Management, or an MBA is highly preferred.


• Minimum 20 years of progressive experience within power utilities, large-scale infrastructure, smart cities, or mega developments.


• At least 8 years of senior executive, director-level, or equivalent leadership experience.


• Proven experience managing large multidisciplinary engineering and utility operations teams.


• Strong track record overseeing major OPEX and CAPEX utility budgets.


• Extensive experience with HV, EHV, and MV transmission and distribution networks.


• Demonstrated experience with substations, transformers, switchgear, protection systems, and utility operations.


• Proven capability leading operational handover of major infrastructure into live utility environments.


• Experience integrating power generation or electrical grid assets into existing networks.


• Strong understanding of power system analysis and grid stability.


• Deep knowledge of protection engineering, redundancy, resilience, and emergency power strategies.


• Significant experience with SCADA, Energy Management Systems, and smart grid technologies.


• Working knowledge of SAP Enterprise Asset Management or equivalent EAMS platforms.


• Experience with Advanced Metering Infrastructure and smart utility data.


• Strong background negotiating commercial agreements with national utilities, authorities, and regulators.


• Demonstrated ability to manage regulatory approval and compliance processes.


• Chartered Engineer, Professional Engineer, or equivalent senior professional registration is strongly preferred.


• IAM Diploma, CAMA, or another advanced asset management qualification is advantageous.


• Strong understanding of asset lifecycle planning and Total Cost of Ownership.


• Excellent executive communication and stakeholder management capability.


• Ability to engage credibly with government officials, public utility boards, corporate leadership, and international operating partners.


• Strong commercial judgment when balancing reliability, cost, investment, and long-term operational risk.


• Proven ability to make high-impact decisions within complex and high-value infrastructure environments.

Skills Set

• Power Utility Operations


• Electrical Utility Management


• Power System Engineering


• High Voltage Systems


• Extra High Voltage Systems


• Medium Voltage Systems


• Electrical Substations


• Transmission Networks


• Distribution Networks


• Grid Stability


• Power System Analysis


• Protection Engineering


• Protection Coordination


• Grid Resilience


• Network Redundancy


• Disaster Recovery


• Emergency Power Systems


• Backup Generation


• Utility Asset Management


• Asset Lifecycle Planning


• Capital Asset Replacement Planning


• Total Cost of Ownership


• OPEX Management


• CAPEX Management


• Reliability Engineering


• Asset Criticality


• Asset Condition Management


• SCADA


• Energy Management Systems


• Industrial Internet of Things


• IIoT


• Advanced Metering Infrastructure


• AMI


• Smart Grid Architecture


• Smart Metering


• SAP EAMS


• Enterprise Asset Management


• Utility Data Integration


• Energy Consumption Analytics


• Utility Billing Integration


• Service Charge Coordination


• Sinking Fund Planning


• Asset Depreciation


• Testing and Commissioning


• Protection Setting Verification


• Insulation Testing


• Load-Bank Testing


• Stage-Gate Handover


• Asset Vesting


• Operational Readiness


• Regulatory Coordination


• Utility Agreements


• Tariff Negotiation


• Bulk Power Procurement


• Load Allocation


• Utility Governance


• Technical Due Diligence


• Executive Reporting


• Sustainability Alignment


• Energy Infrastructure Strategy


• Smart City Utilities


• Electrical Asset Integrity


• Utility Performance KPIs


• Infrastructure Risk Management

Why Join Us

This position offers the opportunity to shape the long-term performance of power infrastructure serving one of Saudi Arabia 's most ambitious city-scale developments. The role combines executive utility leadership, smart grid strategy, infrastructure handover, asset lifecycle planning, commercial governance, and operational resilience at a scale rarely encountered in conventional power roles. For a senior power professional, it provides direct influence over how critical electrical systems are commissioned, operated, funded, modernized, and protected across multiple decades of city growth.

About the Company

Parsons Corporation delivers engineering, infrastructure, program management, technology, and operational solutions for major developments worldwide. In Saudi Arabia, Parsons supports giga-projects, smart cities, transportation, utilities, and large-scale infrastructure programs through multidisciplinary engineering, systems integration, asset management, project delivery, and long-term operational planning.