Commissioning and Substation Services Engineer - State College Service Center

FirstEnergy; State College (Centre County); On-site; USD 75,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

FirstEnergy is seeking an engineer for field services in State College, PA. This role involves providing technical support for maintenance, construction, testing, and commissioning of substation equipment up to 500kV.

Qualified candidates should possess a Bachelor of Science in Electrical, Civil, or Mechanical Engineering, and have relevant experience in engineering roles. Candidates will engage actively in substation site work and support technical needs across various teams.

Qualifications

• BSEE, BSCE, or BSME from an ABET accredited institution required.
• Minimum 2 years of engineering experience for Engineer II; 5 years for Engineer IV; 8 years for Engineer V.
• Preferred: Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Certificate.

Responsibilities

• Maintain safety workplace practices.
• Commission new substation equipment.
• Develop check-out guides and tests.
• Provide onsite technical support during maintenance activities.
• Assist in development of maintenance practices and emergency plan.

Skills

Engineering design and problem solving

Technical support and field engineering

Knowledge of substation equipment

Communication skills

Regulatory compliance knowledge

Education

Bachelor of Science in Electrical, Civil, or Mechanical Engineering

Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Certificate

Job description

About the Opportunity

This is an open position with FirstEnergy Service Company, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp.
The position can be located in State College, PA or Altoona, PA.

The role provides field engineering services and technical support for the maintenance, construction, testing and commissioning of substation equipment up to and including 500kV, including power transformers, circuit breakers, CCVTs, Cap Banks, SVCs, associated relay protection and control equipment, and SCADA systems. Maintenance and commissioning activities can be for new or modified substations, and the role includes a significant amount of time (90% or more) working outside an office environment at various substation facilities and service centers. The role may also involve occasional technical support for regional substation activities.

Responsibilities

• Maintaining a safe workplace for coworkers and the community based upon developing knowledge of potential hazards, industry regulations/requirements and company practices.
• Commissioning new substation equipment prior to it being released to system operations.
• Developing check‑out guides, reviewing and approving test results and isolation plans, and developing energization plans to minimize system risk.
• Providing limited field design services to correct minor design problems encountered during the implementation of substation capital projects.
• Providing onsite technical support to regional substation services employees during preventive and corrective maintenance activities.
• Applying engineering skills and operational knowledge in the identification and resolution of technical problems while in the field during the installation phase, testing phase, and during the design life of the substation equipment, including challenging and validating design approaches when necessary.
• Assisting in the development of new or modified maintenance practices to address changing technology, new equipment types, improved test and diagnostic methods, regulatory changes, etc.
• Auditing preventive and corrective maintenance paperwork and test results to verify technical adequacy and regulatory completeness.
• Providing emergency technical support following substation equipment failures to support customer restoration and system reinforcement, including developing field modifications and commissioning the installation of mobile substations.
• Supporting the emergency plan through participation in assigned storm duties including hazard responding.
• Ability to work both independently and in unison with others, including regional and plant personnel as well as other departments and outside vendors.
• Communicating across multi‑disciplined teams to include electrical contractors, customers, FirstEnergy regional switchmen/technicians, transmission operations, design engineering, planning/protection and project management to ensure successful and timely project completion.
• Assisting in performing Apparent Cause and Root Cause analyses, including formally documenting findings through the preparation of technical reports and presentations.
• Assisting in the education of others on technical subject matters and in the improvement of technical programs and process effectiveness.
• Supporting the development of corporate programs and policies; assisting others tasked with leading organizational change.
• Assisting senior technical staff in developing solutions to complex technical assignments.
• Supporting FE Utilities Operations and Maintenance staff in reaching goals and meeting deadlines.
• Producing results that have a direct, positive impact on the Company.
• Consistently anticipating customer needs and delivering high quality results.
• Willingness to travel throughout the FirstEnergy system, including occasional overnight stays when necessary.

Employees hired at the IV level will perform responsibilities with higher proficiency and independence, and may receive additional responsibilities related to those outlined above.

Qualifications

Engineer II Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical, Civil or Mechanical Engineering (BSEE, BSCE, BSME) from an ABET accredited institution is required; acceptable alternatives: (1) a Professional Engineer’s (PE) License, (2) a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Technology from an ABET accredited institution, or (3) a non‑ABET Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Civil or Mechanical Engineering or technical field plus an advanced degree from an ABET‑accredited university.
• A Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Certificate is preferred.
• Minimum of 2 (two) years of engineering experience is required.

Engineer III Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical, Civil or Mechanical Engineering (BSEE, BSCE, BSME) from an ABET accredited institution is required; acceptable alternatives: (1) a Professional Engineer’s (PE) License, (2) a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Technology from an ABET accredited institution, or (3) a non‑ABET Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Civil or Mechanical Engineering or technical field plus an advanced degree from an ABET‑accredited university.
• A Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Certificate is preferred.Minimum of 2 (two) years of engineering experience is required.

Engineer IV Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical, Civil or Mechanical Engineering (BSEE, BSCE, BSME) from an ABET accredited institution is required; acceptable alternatives: (1) a Professional Engineer’s (PE) License, (2) a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Technology from an ABET accredited institution, or (3) a non‑ABET Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Civil or Mechanical Engineering or technical field plus an advanced degree from an ABET‑accredited university.
• A Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Certificate is preferred.
• Minimum of 5 (five) years of engineering experience is required with a BS in Engineering, or minimum of 7 (seven) years of engineering experience is required with a BS in Engineering Technology.

Engineer V Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical, Civil or Mechanical Engineering (BSEE, BSCE, BSME) from an ABET accredited institution is required; acceptable alternatives: (1) a Professional Engineer’s (PE) License, (2) a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Technology from an ABET accredited institution, or (3) a non‑ABET Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Civil or Mechanical Engineering or technical field plus an advanced degree from an ABET‑accredited university.
• A Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Certificate is preferred.
• Minimum of 8 (eight) years of engineering experience is required with a BS in Engineering, or minimum of 10 (ten) years of engineering experience is required with a BS in Engineering Technology.