Electrical Engineer

Coalesce Management Consulting; New York (NY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Coalesce Management Consulting is seeking a Protection & Control Engineer to support design, analysis, and implementation of protection systems for transmission and distribution substations. You will work on relay coordination, integration with SCADA/RTU, and protection studies to enhance grid reliability.

Responsibilities include developing relay settings, coordinating with field teams, and ensuring compliance with utility standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field.
• Experience in protection & control engineering within utility or industrial power systems.
• Strong understanding of power system protection principles and relay coordination.
• Hands-on experience with relay platforms such as SEL, GE Multilin, or Siemens.
• Knowledge of AC/DC control circuits and substation automation systems.
• Experience with power system study tools (ETAP, ASPEN, CAPE, or equivalent).
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Design protection schemes for transmission and distribution substations (12kV–345kV).
• Develop and implement relay settings for transformer protection and breaker failure protection.
• Perform relay coordination studies to ensure proper operation between upstream and downstream devices.
• Apply protection philosophies aligned with utility standards and grid reliability requirements.
• Design breaker control, interlocking, and alarm logic; integrate protection systems with SCADA/RTU and substation automation systems.
• Support communication protocols such as DNP3 and IEC 61850; perform short circuit, coordination, and arc flash studies using ETAP, ASPEN, or CAPE.

Skills

Relay coordination

Power system protection

SCADA/RTU integration

DNP3

IEC 61850

ETAP

CAPE

ASPEN

Protection principles

Relay testing

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

SEL

GE Multilin

Siemens

Job description

Overview

We are seeking a skilled Protection & Control Engineer to support the design, analysis, and implementation of protection systems for transmission and distribution substations. This role is critical to ensuring the reliability, safety, and performance of the electrical grid through proper relay coordination, control system design, and system analysis.

Key Responsibilities

• Design protection schemes for transmission and distribution substations (12kV–345kV)
• Develop and implement relay settings for:
• Transformer protection
• Breaker failure protection
• Perform relay coordination studies to ensure proper operation between upstream and downstream devices
• Apply protection philosophies aligned with utility standards and grid reliability requirements

Control System Design

• Design breaker control, interlocking, and alarm logic
• Integrate protection systems with SCADA/RTU and substation automation systems
• Support communication protocols such as DNP3 and IEC 61850
• Perform short circuit, coordination, and arc flash studies using tools such as ETAP, ASPEN, or CAPE
• Analyze system disturbances, fault events, and relay misoperations
• Support root cause analysis and corrective action development
• Provide engineering support during relay testing and substation commissioning
• Review and validate:
• Secondary injection test results
• End-to-end relay testing
• Support energization of new and upgraded substations
• Coordinate with field technicians and commissioning teams

Standards & Compliance

• Ensure designs meet utility standards and industry best practices
• Support compliance with applicable NERC reliability standards
• Maintain accurate documentation for relay settings, logic diagrams, and system changes

Capital Project Support

• Support engineering design and execution of substation capital projects
• Coordinate with physical substation engineers, project managers, and construction teams
• Review vendor/contractor drawings and as-built documentation

Operational Support

• Provide engineering support during system faults and outage restoration
• Assist system operations teams with real-time troubleshooting
• Participate in post-event analysis and reporting

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field
• Experience in protection & control engineering within utility or industrial power systems
• Strong understanding of power system protection principles and relay coordination
• Hands-on experience with relay platforms such as SEL, GE Multilin, or Siemens
• Knowledge of AC/DC control circuits and substation automation systems
• Experience with power system study tools (ETAP, ASPEN, CAPE, or equivalent)
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with high-voltage substations (69kV–345kV)
• Familiarity with SCADA/RTU integration and communication protocols (DNP3, IEC 61850)
• Experience supporting transmission or substation capital projects
• Exposure to utility operations in complex or urban environments
• Professional Engineer (PE) license or ability to obtain

Core Competencies

• Power system analysis and fault evaluation
• Relay protection coordination and settings developmentAttention to detail in safety-critical environments
• Strong communication with field, operations, and engineering teams
• Ability to perform under outage and time-sensitive conditions
• Technical documentation and reporting
• Office-based engineering with regular field visits to substations
• Occasional night/weekend work during outages, testing, or commissioning activities
• Collaborative environment with engineering, operations, and construction teams