Director, Substation & Grid Engineering

Nscale; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 270,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

Flexible paid time off

Parental leave

Retirement plan

Job summary

NScale is seeking a Director of Substation & Grid Engineering to lead the design and standards for substations, transformers, switchgear, and protection schemes across our data center portfolio. You will own interconnection studies and act as the technical lead with utilities and ISOs/RTOs, guiding a team of Staff Engineers.

You will collaborate with Utility Development and Power Procurement teams, set topology and protection philosophy, and ensure high-density AI/GPU deployments are supported

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field.
• 8-12+ years of experience in substation design, protection and controls, or grid engineering.
• Strong ability to interpret and produce electrical one-lines, protection schemes, and system studies.
• Demonstrated success leading or mentoring engineering teams.
• Direct experience preparing and managing load and/or generator interconnection applications with utilities, ISOs/RTOs, or transmission owners.

Responsibilities

• Define technical requirements and design standards for substations, transformers, switchgear, protection, and metering.
• Collaborate with internal and external design teams on one-line diagrams, protection schemes, and redundancy strategies.
• Oversee fault and reliability studies supporting substation and grid design.
• Coordinate interconnection studies (feasibility, system impact, facilities) and study timelines.
• Lead and develop a team of Staff Engineers supporting substation and grid engineering.

Skills

Substation design

Protection & controls

Team leadership

Interconnection processes

One-line diagrams

Grid studies

Technical communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Master's degree in Electrical Engineering or Power Systems

Professional Engineer (PE) license

Job description

NScale is the GPU cloud engineered for AI. We provide cost-effective, high-performance infrastructure for AI start-ups and large enterprise customers. NScale enables AI-focused companies to achieve superior results by reducing the complexity of AI development. Our GPU cloud bolsters technical capabilities and directly supports strategic business outcomes, including cost management, rapid innovation, and environmental responsibility.

At NScale, our Design and Construction team plays a critical role in delivering data center facilities that are optimized for AI deployments.

We thrive on a culture of relentless innovation, ownership, and accountability, where every team member takes pride in their work and drives it with excellence and urgency. As an NScaler, you'll build trust through openness and transparency, where everyone is inspired to do their best work. If you join our team, you'll be contributing to building the technology that powers the future

About the Role

• We are looking for a Director of Substation & Grid Engineering to lead substation and grid engineering design for NScale's data center portfolio.
• This leader will own technical standards for substations, transformers, switchgear, and protection schemes supporting high-density AI/GPU workloads.
• You will own load and generator interconnection applications and studies, serving as the technical lead on interconnection requests to utilities, ISOs/RTOs, and transmission owners.
• You will provide technical support to the Utility Development and Power Procurement organizations on interconnection, grid, and substation topics.
• You will lead a team of Staff Engineers delivering substation and grid engineering design.

What You'll be Doing (Responsibilities)

• Define technical requirements and design standards for substations, transformers, switchgear, protection, and metering.
• Collaborate with internal and external design teams on one-line diagrams, protection schemes, and redundancy strategies (N, N+1, 2N).
• Oversee fault and reliability studies supporting substation and grid design.
• Define electrical topology and one-line requirements for on-site generation integration, including paralleling, synchronization, islanding, and black-start concepts.
• Establish protection and controls philosophy for generation integration (relaying, coordination, fault duty, grounding, synchronization, load sharing).
• Guide equipment specification for generator sets, switchgear, transformers, e-houses, and balance-of-plant, accounting for long-lead risk.

Load & Generator Interconnection

• Own the preparation, submission, and technical management of load and generator interconnection applications to utilities, ISOs/RTOs, and transmission owners across the portfolio.
• Lead interconnection studies (feasibility, system impact, facilities studies) for both load interconnection and on-site/behind-the-meter generation, tracking queue positions and study timelines.
• Serve as the primary technical point of contact with utility and ISO/RTO interconnection engineering teams, resolving technical issues raised during study review.
• Coordinate interconnection agreement technical exhibits (one-lines, protection requirements, metering, telemetry) in partnership with Legal and Energy Procurement.
• Track interconnection queue risk and grid upgrade requirements, escalating schedule or cost impacts to the VP of Power Infrastructure Design and affected project teams.
• Lead and develop a team of Staff Engineers supporting substation and grid engineering.
• Review technical designs and ensure quality and consistency across projects.
• Support career development and technical growth of engineering staff.

Project Support

• Serve as the substation and grid engineering owner for data center projects from design through energization.
• Visit sites as needed to support commissioning, troubleshooting, and design clarifications.
• Identify and mitigate technical risks related to substation and grid design.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Utility Development and AI Load Power Strategy teams to align substation design with utility and load requirements.
• Provide technical support to the Utility Development organization on interconnection processes, grid capacity assessments, and site diligence for new and existing markets.
• Provide technical support to the Power Procurement organization on interconnection timelines, technical risk, and grid constraints that affect power supply agreements and market strategy.
• Communicate technical design trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders.

About You (Skills / Qualifications)

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field.
• 8-12+ years of experience in substation design, protection and controls, or grid engineering.
• Strong ability to interpret and produce electrical one-lines, protection schemes, and system studies.
• Demonstrated success leading or mentoring engineering teams.
• Direct experience preparing and managing load and/or generator interconnection applications with utilities, ISOs/RTOs, or transmission owners.
• Ability to serve as a technical resource to commercial and development teams (e.g., Utility Development, Power Procurement) on interconnection and grid topics.

Preferred

• Master's degree in Electrical Engineering or Power Systems.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license.
• Experience with high-density AI/GPU or HPC data center substation design.
• Experience with generator OEMs, EPCs, and commissioning providers for large-scale standby/prime power plants.
• Experience navigating interconnection queues and study processes in multiple ISO/RTO markets.

At NScale, we are committed to fostering an inclusive, diverse, and equitable workplace. We believe that a variety of perspectives enriches our work environment, and we encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, experiences, and abilities. We strongly encourage applications from people of colour, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, neurodivergent people, parents, carers, and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

If there's anything we can do to accommodate your specific situation, please let us know.

The responsibilities outlined in this job description are not exhaustive and are intended to provide a general overview of the position. The employee may be required to perform additional duties, tasks, and responsibilities as assigned by management, consistent with the skills and qualifications required for the role.

The range below reflects the base salary for the position. Actual compensation may vary based on job-related factors such as skill set, experience, education, and location. In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible for bonus, equity, and/or commission programs. Nscale may offer a competitive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, flexible paid time off, parental leave, and retirement plan participation.

Salary Range

$180,000 - $270,000 USD

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