Director - Utility Substations

atwellgroup; Atwell (NY); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Atwell, LLC in the Denver area is seeking a Director of Utility Substations to lead engineering teams delivering substation Physical and Protection & Control services for utility clients. The role emphasizes strategic leadership, execution quality, and client alignment.

This full-time position is available on-site in Lakewood, CO or fully remote, with a salary range of $150,000 to $200,000 per year and opportunities to shape a growing practice.

Qualifications

• Strong leadership and people management skills.
• Experience guiding multi-disciplinary engineering teams.
• Proven ability to deliver complex substations projects on time.

Responsibilities

• Strategic planning for a multi-year group plan.
• Develop client relationships and pursue new opportunities.
• Lead hiring and mentorship of engineers and team leads.
• Forecast staffing needs and manage workloads across projects.
• Ensure quality and timely delivery of project work and reports.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Technical oversight

Project management

Client relationship management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

IEEE involvement

Industry standards knowledge

Job description

Who We Are

Atwell, LLC is a bold leader in the consulting, engineering, and construction services industry, delivering a broad range of creative solutions to clients in the real estate & land development, and energy markets. We have a strong national presence and a diverse, award-winning project portfolio. Atwell is a privately owned company, with 2,000+ passionate team members across 75+ locations and growing!

Atwell, LLC is a proud recipient of the following 2025 awards:

• Ten consecutive years in a row as a "Best Place to Work" by Zweig Group (#11)
• Recognized as #70 in the ENR Top 500 Design Firms, ranked in every region
• Recognized in Crain's "Fast 50" as one of the fastest-growing companies (#14)
• Recognized as the 2025 ENR Design Firm of the year for the southeastern US

Director - Utility Substations

About the Position

As the Director of Utility Substations, you will provide strategic leadership and technical oversight for teams delivering substation Physical, and Protection & Control (P&C) engineering services to utility clients. This role is responsible for driving consistent, high-quality execution across the portfolio while aligning team performance with organizational objectives and client expectations.

Salary Range: $150,000 - 200,000 / year

The salary range above is based upon the Denver, Colorado labor market.

This opportunity is available to both local / in-office (Lakewood, Colorado) and full-time remote candidates.

Essential Responsibilities

Strategic Planning and Forecasting

• Collaborates with VP to develop and implement a multi-year group plan to achieve department and company goals for growth, efficiency, and profitability
• Collaborates with VP, Business Development and Sales to identify potential clients that could benefit from NEI's expertise
• Strengthens existing client relationships and encourages repeat business by ensuring exceptional project delivery and proactive communication. Encourages and monitors client feedback to address concerns and continuously improve service quality. Assists with client contacts and communication

Industry Involvement

• Ensuring the team has representation on the right IEEE or other industry committees and sub boards
• Producing a plan for the department to produce at least 1 white paper or conference presentation a year.

Leadership and Collaboration

• Builds and maintains a high-performing substation group, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement
• Collaborates with other departments and leaders to ensure alignment of goals, objectives, and expectations across the organization
• Performs other duties as assigned

Resource Allocation and Management

• Develops appropriate team structure and mix of staff
• Leads hiring efforts for lead engineers and team leaders
• Assists in interviewing and onboarding new team members across substation design teams
• Forecasts future staffing needs
• Monitors and manages group workload and team utilization, forecasting workloads based around project sizes and scope

Management of Execution and Performance

• Manages quality and deliverables across multiple teams ensuring client satisfaction and timely completion of project deliverables
• Reviews the work of teams for general quality and ensures accuracy as required
• Monitors group progress and performance, identifies and addresses obstacles and adjusts as needed to ensure successful project completion
• Reviews and manages documentation around financial statements, including, but not limited to, revenue, write-offs, COGS, overhead expenses, and net income
• Serves as a mentor to Team Leads and Engineers across teams
• Participates and engages with the Business Development team to provide technical guidance, pricing details, and scope to ensure cross-functional alignment
• Facilitates a seller-doer model to maintain existing client relationships and build new ones.
• Prepares a variety of documents and reports associated with projects