Principal Engineer – Network & Communications

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.; United States; On-site; USD 209,000 - 270,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay

Superior benefits

Employee-owned company (ESOP)

Job summary

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. seeks a seasoned leader for Network & Communications who can align customer needs with market opportunities and technical innovation to advance strategic opportunities and differentiated products.

You will collaborate across Marketing, Product Management, Sales, Engineering Services, and R&D to transform ideas into sustainable customer value and drive long-term growth in critical infrastructure technologies.

Qualifications

• BS degree in Electrical Engineering or an applicable discipline.
• 15+ years working knowledge and experience of electric power systems or equivalent.
• Recognized as a leader, advocate and expert within SEL and industry practices.
• Demonstrated expertise in the primary focus area (Network and Communications).
• Demonstrable enthusiasm for developing and mentoring engineers.
• Excellent technical training, speaking, writing, and customer service skills.
• Willingness to travel per business need.
• Background check results satisfactory to SEL; negative drug test results.

Responsibilities

• Lead the discovery, development, evaluation, and advancement of innovative ideas and growth initiatives.
• Drive market analysis, benchmarking, competitive intelligence, and customer feedback collection.
• Establish and manage a continuous pipeline of strategic opportunities.
• Translate market opportunities into product requirements with cross-functional teams.
• Provide deep expertise to ensure products address validated needs and deliver value.
• Influence product strategy, roadmaps, and value propositions.
• Drive customer adoption, market expansion, and long-term commercial success.
• Serve as the primary bridge between customers and internal teams, including leadership in forums and advisory groups.
• Monitor product performance, revenue growth, and market penetration.

Skills

Leadership

Customer engagement

Strategic thinking

Technical writing

Mentoring

Public speaking

Education

BS in Electrical Engineering

Master’s/PhD in Engineering

Job description

Role Overview

Lead the union of customer needs, market opportunities, and technical innovation by identifying, developing, and advancing opportunities that invent the future of networking and communications in critical infrastructure. Serve as the strategic bridge between customers, Marketing, Product Management, Sales & Customer Service, Engineering Services, and R&D, transforming ideas, insights, and emerging technologies into differentiated products and solutions that create sustainable customer value, drive business growth, and strengthen SEL's industry leadership.

Typical Responsibilities

1. Lead the discovery, development, evaluation, and advancement of innovative ideas, technologies, applications, market opportunities, and growth initiatives that invent the future and support long-term business objectives.
2. Drive market analysis, technology benchmarking, competitive intelligence, customer engagement, customer feedback collection, application discovery, and trend analysis to identify unmet needs, emerging opportunities, and differentiated value propositions.
3. Establish and manage a continuous pipeline of strategic opportunities derived from the union of customer needs, market dynamics, industry developments, technology advancements, and SEL innovation initiatives.
4. Translate market opportunities into product requirements and development initiatives by collaborating with Product Management, Sales & Customer Service, Engineering Services, R&D, Subject Matter Experts, Application Leaders, and other stakeholders.
5. Provide deep expertise in technologies, systems, applications, and customer challenges to ensure products and solutions address validated market needs and deliver differentiated value.
6. Influence product strategy, portfolio planning, technology roadmaps, business cases, value propositions, positioning strategies, and technical narratives that support business growth and customer success.
7. Drive customer adoption, market expansion, application growth, revenue realization, and long-term commercial success through continuous engagement, feedback integration, market learning, and value realization initiatives.
8. Serve as the primary bridge between customers, Marketing, Product Management, Sales & Customer Service, Engineering Services, and R&D while providing leadership through industry forums, standards organizations, technical committees, and customer advisory groups.
9. Monitor product performance, customer adoption, revenue growth, market penetration, and customer value realization to identify barriers, guide decision‑making, and improve business outcomes.
10. Educate internal and external audiences regarding customer needs, market opportunities, SEL capabilities, and emerging technologies through mentoring, technical content, presentations, training, intellectual property development, and knowledge sharing.
11. Model, teach, and apply SEL Values, Principles of Operations, and World Class Manufacturing Principles; create, protect and advance intellectual property; and contribute to organizational success through innovation, creativity, and the principles of Understand, Create, and Simplify.

Qualifications

• BS degree in Electrical Engineering or an applicable discipline.
• 15+ years working knowledge and experience of electric power systems or other equivalent transferable knowledge and industry experience.
• Recognized as a leader, advocate and expert within SEL and industry practices.
• Demonstrated expertise in the primary focus area (Network and Communications), with strong working knowledge of adjacent technologies, applications, products, and market segments necessary to support cross‑functional innovation, product strategy, and customer engagement.
• Demonstrable enthusiasm for developing and mentoring engineers.
• Excellent technical training, speaking, writing, and customer service skills.
• Willingness to travel per business need.
• Strong writing, documentation, and speaking skills.
• Ability to learn new skills and assume new responsibilities.
• Ability to work cooperatively in a team environment.
• Background check results satisfactory to SEL.
• Negative drug test result(s).

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s and/or PhD in Engineering discipline.
• Accomplished author and presenter of technical papers.
• Holder and major inventor of US patents related to SEL’s mission.
• Registered Professional Engineer.

Focus Area

Network & Communications: Subject matter expert in the design, architecture, implementation, and management of mission‑critical communications and telecommunications networks supporting power systems, industrial operations, and critical infrastructure, including Ethernet, routing, switching, fiber‑optic systems, wireless technologies, network cybersecurity, and time synchronization systems.

Location

Location: Boise, ID or Pullman, WA

Benefits

• Competitive pay.
• Superior benefits.
• Inspiring work.
• People are at the core of our company and we hire employee‑owners.
• We welcome you to learn more about how we support employees.
• We’re 100% employee owned.
• Retirement benefits include an employer funded stock ownership plan (ESOP) and personal 401(k) options.
• We offer top tier medical, prescription, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance.
• We recognize the importance of a healthy life balance and offer: 10 paid holidays, annual vacation accrual starting at 12 days, 9 paid sick days, and paid family and medical leave that covers 90% of your pay.
• We foster growth and development of our employees through avenues such as STEM courses, apprenticeships, tuition assistance, and engineering development programs.
• Ask our team about other benefits including wellness, fertility, adoption, and flexible spending benefits.

Pay

Pay Range Data - $209,000 - $270,000 annually

We set starting pay based on job-related factors such as your experience, training, knowledge, and skills. We anticipate filling this position at the Principal Engineer level, and we welcome applicants with a range of experience. Depending on your background, we may consider you for a different level, with compensation aligned accordingly.

Communication with Applicants

We communicate with all applicants. If you do not receive a response about your application, please check your SPAM filter or reach out to us at [e-mail].

Equal Opportunity Employer

SEL is an Equal Opportunity Employer: Vets/Disabled.

Company Overview

SEL invents, designs, and builds digital products and systems that protect power grids around the world. This technology prevents blackouts and enables customers to improve power system reliability and safety at a reduced cost. A 100 percent employee‑owned company headquartered in Pullman, Washington, SEL has manufactured products in the United States since 1984 and now serves customers worldwide. Our mission is simple: to make electric power safer, more reliable, and more economical.