Lead Relay Settings Engineer

LVI Associates; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

LVI Associates seeks an experienced Lead Relay Settings Engineer to support protection and control activities for utility, renewable energy, transmission, and industrial power system projects. This role demands strong leadership in relay settings development and mentoring junior engineers.

You will lead protection studies, conduct coordination and arc flash analyses, and develop engineering documentation for multiple platforms.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering.
• 7+ years of experience in power system protection and relay settings engineering.
• Strong knowledge of transmission and distribution protection principles.
• Experience performing protection studies using software such as: ASPEN OneLiner, CAPE, ETAP, SKM, EasyPower.
• Proficiency with SEL protective relays and relay setting development.
• Strong understanding of NERC, IEEE, NEC, and utility protection standards.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and review of relay settings for transmission, distribution, generation, and industrial power systems.
• Perform protection system studies including short circuit analysis, time-current coordination studies, arc flash studies, and load flow analysis.
• Create, validate, and implement relay settings for various protection relay platforms.
• Develop relay setting calculations, reports, and engineering documentation in line with standards.
• Support relay commissioning activities, testing, troubleshooting, and field energization.
• Review relay event reports, oscillography, and disturbance records to identify issues and propose corrective actions.
• Provide technical leadership on multiple projects while ensuring quality, schedule, and budget objectives.
• Interface with utility clients, project managers, field personnel, and stakeholders.
• Mentor and guide junior and mid-level relay settings engineers.
• Support business development through technical proposals and client engagement.

Skills

Relay settings

Power system protection

Protection studies

Transmission & distribution protection

Project leadership

Client communication

Mentorship

Education

Bachelors in Electrical Engineering

Tools

ASPEN OneLiner

ETAP

SKM

EasyPower

SEL protective relays

Job description

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Lead Relay Settings Engineer to support and lead protection and control engineering activities for utility, renewable energy, transmission, and industrial power system projects. This individual will serve as a technical lead responsible for relay settings development, protection system studies, coordination analyses, project execution, and mentoring junior engineers. The ideal candidate will have strong expertise in transmission and distribution protection schemes, relay settings calculations, and utility standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development and review of relay settings for transmission, distribution, generation, and industrial power systems.
• Perform protection system studies including:Short circuit analysisTime-current coordination studiesArc flash studiesLoad flow analysisProtection coordination assessments.
• Create, validate, and implement relay settings for SEL, GE, Siemens, ABB/Hitachi Energy, and other protection relay platforms.
• Develop relay setting calculations, reports, and engineering documentation in accordance with client and industry standards.
• Support relay commissioning activities, testing, troubleshooting, and field energization efforts.
• Review relay event reports, oscillography, and disturbance records to identify system issues and recommend corrective actions.
• Provide technical leadership on multiple projects while ensuring quality, schedule, and budget objectives are achieved.
• Interface directly with utility clients, project managers, field personnel, and stakeholders.
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior and mid-level relay settings engineers.
• Support business development efforts through technical proposal preparation and client engagement when needed.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from an accredited institution.
• 7+ years of experience in power system protection and relay settings engineering.
• Strong knowledge of transmission and distribution protection principles and applications.
• Experience performing protection studies using software such as:ASPEN OneLinerCAPEETAPSKMEasyPowerProficiency with SEL protective relays and relay setting development.
• Experience reviewing relay coordination and protection philosophies.
• Strong understanding of NERC, IEEE, NEC, and utility protection standards.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional Engineer (PE) license.
• Experience leading engineering teams or technical workstreams.
• Utility, consulting engineering, or power delivery industry experience.
• Experience supporting renewable interconnections, substations, or transmission system projects.
• Familiarity with IEC 61850 communications and modern digital substation technologies.

Desired Skills

• Technical leadership and mentorship.
• Strong analytical and troubleshooting abilities.
• Client-facing communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and projects simultaneously.
• Commitment to engineering excellence, safety, and quality.