Electrical Power Systems Advisor (Data Centers)

Apetan Consulting LLC; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Apetan Consulting LLC seeks an experienced electrical engineer to lead MV/HV power architecture for mission-critical data centers. You will design utility-to-rack power paths, establish scalable reference designs, and drive reliability-focused decisions.

Focus areas include protection & controls (IEC 61850), SoO development, and grid interconnection strategies, collaborating with utilities, OEMs, and EPCs to ensure uptime.

Qualifications

• 15+ years in electrical power systems for data centers or critical facilities.
• Expertise in MV distribution, switchgear, substation design.
• Strong protection & controls background, relay coordination.
• Experience developing and validating SoO and commissioning strategies.
• Familiarity with ANSI/UL, IEC multi-region deployment.
• Travel up to ~50%.

Responsibilities

• Architect MV/HV electrical distribution for data centers, utility-to-rack power path.
• Define and standardize reference designs for scalable facilities.
• Develop operation-focused designs emphasizing availability and safety.
• Lead protection philosophy, relay settings coordination, and system selectivity.
• Drive IEC 61850 digital substation architectures and best practices.
• Set SoO and control narratives for normal, failover, and maintenance modes.
• Lead live-site testing, commissioning, and retrofit support.
• Mentor engineers across design, controls, and operations.

Skills

Electrical Architecture

MV/HV power distribution

Protection & controls

SoO development

IEC 61850 digital substations

Data center power systems

Reliability engineering

Education

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering

Job description

What You will Do:

• Electrical Architecture (MV/HV) for Mission-Critical Facilities
  
  
  
  • Architect MV/HV electrical distribution for data centers (utility-to-rack power path), including substation topology, MV switchgear, transformers, secondary distribution, and critical power interfaces.
  
  
  • Define and standardize repeatable reference designs for power-dense facilities that scale across regions and vendors.
  
  
  • Develop design decisions grounded in availability, reliability, maintainability, safety, and operational response during abnormal events.
  
  
  
  


• Protection, Controls & Digital Power Systems
  
  
  
  • Own protection philosophy, relay settings coordination strategy, and system selectivity for MV/HV systems in mission-critical environments.
  
  
  • Lead adoption and deployment of IEC 61850 digital substation/switchgear architectures, including GOOSE/MMS and engineering best practices for repeatability and quality.
  
  
  • Develop and validate Sequences of Operation (SoO) and control narratives for normal operation, failover, maintenance modes, and recovery.
  
  
  
  


• Utility Interconnection & Grid Interface
  
  
  
  • Serve as technical lead for utility engagement: interconnection requirements, protection & metering, power quality, and operational coordination for large-load facilities.
  
  
  • Drive designs that support flexible grid connections and advanced resiliency strategies (e.g., self-generation, BESS integration, islanding concepts where applicable).
  
  
  
  


• Commissioning, Testing, and Live-Site Execution
  
  
  
  • Partner with construction and commissioning teams to plan and execute acceptance testing, energization, integrated systems testing, and operational readiness.
  
  
  • Lead troubleshooting and root-cause analysis for complex system behaviors across switchgear, relays, controls networks, and power monitoring systems.
  
  
  • Support retrofits and upgrades in live data centers where continuity of service is non-negotiable.
  
  
  • Set technical direction and mentor engineers across design, controls, commissioning, and operations.
  
  
  • Influence and negotiate technical outcomes with OEMs, EPCs, utilities, AHJs, and global vendors.
  
  
  • Establish and maintain electrical and controls standards (e.g., vendor-agnostic SoO, digital switchgear templates, quality/defect reduction practices).
  
  
  
  

Work Experience:

Required Qualifications

• 15+ years in electrical power systems for data centers, critical facilities, utility power, or comparable high-reliability infrastructure.


• Demonstrated expertise in MV distribution, switchgear, substation design considerations, and mission-critical power architecture.


• Strong background in protection & controls, including relay schemes, coordination/selectivity, and control system integration.


• Experience developing and validating Sequences of Operation (SoO) and commissioning/test strategies.


• Familiarity with relevant standards and environments: ANSI/UL, IEC, and multi-region deployment realities.


• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, Systems Engineering, or related discipline.


• Travel time will vary, but it could be as high as ~50%.


• Candidates with higher level qualifications/experience will be considered accordingly.

Preferred Qualifications

• Practical experience with IEC 61850 digital substations/switchgear (GOOSE/MMS) and implementation lessons learned.


• Hyperscale data center experience including design, construction support, commissioning, or operations/start-up roles.


• Background in power monitoring systems (PMS) integration and operational event response training (or similar reliability programs).


• Experience with grid-independent or hybrid architectures including on-site generation and BESS integration.