Design Engineer II, High Voltage (Remote)

SOLV Energy, Inc.; Orangeburg (SC); Remote; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision insurance

401(k) plan with company match

Paid vacation and holidays

Job summary

SOLV Energy is seeking a Design Engineer II, Substation to own the preliminary substation design and engineering lifecycle for utility-scale solar, BESS, and related interconnections. This fully remote role guides design basis, scopes, risks, and assumptions from kickoff through 10% design delivery.

You will coordinate inputs from engineering consultants, procurement, estimating, and scheduling, ensuring alignment with project timelines and client requirements while mentoring junior staff.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from an accredited institution.
• Minimum 3+ years of experience in electrical substation engineering.
• Proficiency in AutoCAD, ETAP, or similar software.
• Strong understanding of substation design principles and industry standards (IEEE, NEC, NESC).

Responsibilities

• Own the first-pass preliminary substation design for 10% design deliverables.
• Coordinate inputs from engineering consultants, procurement, estimating, scheduling, and other specialists.
• Lead handoff to Preconstruction Engineering and BD teams.
• Ensure alignment of design, quantities, scope narrative, schedule, and commercial assumptions.
• Mentor junior team members and review design outputs.

Skills

Electrical substation

AutoCAD

ETAP

IEEE/NEC/NESC

Project coordination

Travel up to 10%

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering

Tools

AutoCAD

ETAP

Job description

SOLV Energy is a leading provider of infrastructure services to the power industry, designing, building and maintaining utility scale solar, battery storage and high voltage substation projects nationwide. The Design Engineer II, Substation owns the preliminary substation design and engineering lifecycle for assigned utility-scale solar, BESS, and related interconnection projects. This role serves as the primary technical owner from BD kickoff through Design-to-Preconstruction handoff, aligning preliminary design, scope, schedule, risk, and technical assumptions before execution begins.

This role is fully remote. This job description reflects management's assignment of essential functions; Preliminary Substation Design and Technical Ownership

• ~ Own the first-pass preliminary substation design approach for assigned pursuits and projects by reviewing all applicable requirements and project-specific inputs to define the design basis, key assumptions, equipment requirements, layouts, quantities, risks, and open items needed to support the 10% design deliverable.
• Review client provided documents, technical exhibits, PPAs, interconnection agreements, utility and ISO handbooks, owner standards, and related project information to identify requirements, assumptions, risks, opportunities, and scope outside of SOLV standards.
• Serve as the primary substation design subject matter expert for assigned projects and coordinate technical inputs from engineering consultants, procurement, estimating, scheduling, NERC support, revenue metering, security, and other specialty subcontractors.
• Lead development of the 10% substation design, including single-line diagrams, general arrangement drawings, equipment sizing, and related refinements, to support estimating with pricing.
• Coordinate with estimating and scheduling to ensure the preliminary design, quantities, scope narrative, schedule, and commercial assumptions are aligned.
• Review estimates for technical completeness and identify gaps, exclusions, owner-furnished equipment, allowances, contingencies, and scope items that require clarification or escalation.
• Deliver the owner reviewed preliminary substation design to estimating and BD in accordance with the project stage-gate schedule.

Client and Project Engagement

• Participate in routine client meetings to review technical exhibits, explain preliminary design assumptions, identify risks, and clarify requirements outside of SOLV standards.
• Support contractual exhibit reviews, markups, and technical responses needed to facilitate LNTP, while escalating material commitments, non-standard requirements, and significant risk.
• Communicate design decisions, open items, risks, and required owner or utility inputs clearly to internal and external stakeholders.

Prepare and issue proposal requests to EORs and engineering subcontractors, including, NERC support, revenue metering, and other specialty disciplines as required.

• Review received proposals for technical scope, deliverables, exclusions, assumptions, and commercial alignment.
• Align EOR and subcontractor proposals with the project scope, estimate, schedule, and LNTP requirements, and submit the final proposal information to BD, scheduling, estimating, engineering controls, and other required stakeholders.

Prepare the engineering scope, proposal information, schedule inputs, EOR or consultant coordination details, assumptions, risks, and open items needed for handoff to the Preconstruction Engineering team.

• Support the handoff process by clearly transferring RFIs, client comments, design risks, procurement constraints, required decisions, and unresolved technical items to the HV engineering team.

Quality Assurance, Value Engineering, and Documentation

• Review and approve preliminary substation design deliverables for assigned projects and verify alignment with PPA, IA, utility, ISO, owner, SOLV, AHJ, and vendor requirements.
• Propose cost-effective, reliable, and constructible alternatives and resolve design challenges in collaboration with internal teams, EORs, consultants, vendors, and clients.
• Maintain accurate documentation of design iterations, technical decisions, client comments, proposal revisions, assumptions, and handoff materials.
• Assign and coordinate work for substation designers, engineers, interns, and technical support staff on assigned projects; review work for quality, completeness, and schedule compliance.
• Mentor junior team members and identify training or development needs related to substation design, protection and controls, metering, utility requirements, RFP review, estimating support, and project handoff.

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from an accredited institution.

• ~ Minimum of 3+ years of experience in electrical substation engineering.
• ~ Demonstrated proficiency in electrical design software (AutoCAD, ETAP, or similar).
• ~ Strong understanding of substation design principles, protection schemes, and industry standards (IEEE, NEC, NESC, etc).
• ~ Thorough understanding of local, state, and federal regulations related to electrical engineering and solar development.
• ~ Familiarity with utility interconnection requirements and contract language.
• ~ In-depth knowledge of applicable building codes, engineering principles, and industry best practices.
• ~ Ability to adapt to changing priorities, manage multiple projects simultaneously, and deliver results under tight deadlines.
• ~ Ability to travel up to 10%

• Employees (and their families) are eligible for medical, dental, vision, basic life and disability insurance.
• Employees can enroll in our company’s 401(k) plan and are provided vacation, sick and holiday pay.

We are committed to building diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces that improve our communities. SOLV Energy prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind against an employee or applicant based on race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, or ethnicity, mental or physical disability, veteran status, parental status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Any unsolicited candidate introductions, referrals or resumes sent by third-party recruiters to SOLV Energy or directly to any of our employees, or received through our website or career portal, will be considered property of SOLV Energy and will not be eligible for a placement fee. In the event a third-party recruiter submits a resume or refers a candidate without a previously signed vendor agreement, SOLV Energy explicitly reserves the right to pursue and hire the candidate(s) without financial liability to such third-party recruiter.