Senior Electrical Engineer (Power)

Confidential; Walnut Creek (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Mentorship program

Leadership opportunities

Employee ownership opportunities

Job summary

Confidential in California seeks a Technical Leader for Substations & Power Systems to direct design and deliver power projects from concept through commissioning. You will oversee studies, prepare specs, and ensure NEC/IEEE compliance while mentoring engineers and CAD staff.

You will lead cross-functional teams, coordinate with utilities and clients, and contribute to group strategy including growth paths and potential ownership opportunities.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of electrical power engineering experience focused on utility or industrial substations and distribution systems.
• Significant experience in substation and protection & control for MV systems (15 kV–69 kV).
• Ability to lead projects independently with scope/schedule/budget awareness and cross-disciplinary coordination.
• Experience interfacing with utilities, agencies, developers, EPCs, or large industrial clients.

Responsibilities

• Lead substation, renewable (solar PV/BESS), and industrial power projects from scope to construction support.
• Develop scopes, estimates, schedules, and QA/QC of drawings and calculations.
• Coordinate with internal teams, CAD resources, contractors, vendors, and clients; provide field support and as-built review.
• Provide day-to-day technical direction for engineers and designers; mentor staff.

Skills

Power engineering

Substations design

Project leadership

Mentoring

Client engagement

Communication

Education

B.S. in Electrical Engineering

PE license (CA)

Tools

SKM

ETAP

EasyPower

Job description

• Project portfolio includes utility substations, solar PV and BESS interconnections, industrial plants, and oil & gas facilities.
• Direct impact on power projects (15 kV–69 kV, occasionally higher) from concept through commissioning.
• Access to seasoned senior engineers plus the opportunity to mentor and develop mid- and junior-level staff and CAD designers.
• Growth path toward group leadership, key client ownership, and participation in strategic decisions and firm-building.
• You want to be a part of a small, growing team environment with clear opportunities for leadership, practice building, and potential employee ownership/partnership.

Technical Leadership – Substations & Power Systems

• Oversee or perform power system studies: short-circuit, load flow, arc flash, and protection coordination using industry-standard tools (e.g., SKM, ETAP, EasyPower).
• Lead design for medium-voltage substations (15 kV–69 kV): one-lines/three-lines, protection & control, AC/DC systems, panel wiring/layouts, grounding, lightning protection, and physical arrangement.
• Prepare and review specifications for transformers, breakers, switchgear, relays (SEL and similar), controls, metering, and supporting equipment; support technical bid evaluations as needed.
• Ensure designs comply with NEC, NESC, IEEE/ANSI, utility standards, and relevant interconnection/utility requirements (e.g., Rule 21 or similar where applicable).

Project Delivery & Execution

• Serve as technical lead on substation, renewable (solar PV/BESS), and industrial power projects from scope definition through construction support.
• Develop scopes, estimates, schedules, and work plans; manage technical quality (QA/QC) of drawing packages and calculations.
• Coordinate effectively with multidisciplinary internal teams, CAD resources, contractors, vendors, and client stakeholders; provide field engineering, site walk support, and as-built review.
• Team leadership & mentoring
• Provide day-to-day technical direction for engineers and designers; review work and coach on power system design, analysis, and protection & controls.
• Guide CAD teams on drawing standards, deliverable structure, and efficient production; minimal direct drafting expected.
• Contribute to internal standards, templates, and best practices; help build and scale the power engineering group.

Client engagement & business support

• Act as a key technical contact for assigned clients; participate in project definition meetings, technical workshops, and design reviews.
• Support proposals, level-of-effort estimates, and scopes of work; identify add-on work and help grow strategic accounts.
• Help shape group strategy and, ideally, bring or develop client relationships and a growing book of business over time.

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of electrical power engineering experience, with significant focus on utility or industrial substations and distribution systems.
• Demonstrated experience in substation and protection & control for MV systems (15 kV–69 kV; higher voltage experience is a plus).
• Proven ability to lead projects independently, including scope/schedule/budget awareness and coordination across disciplines and stakeholders.
• Experience interfacing with utilities, public agencies, developers, EPCs, or large industrial/transportation/water clients.
• BS in Electrical Engineering (power emphasis preferred)
• Active PE license in California strongly preferred.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including ability to mentor and lead diverse technical teams.

Preferred experience

Substation & grid projects

• Single-line and three-line development, control building layouts, DC system design, and AC/DC panel schedules.
• Grounding studies and grid design (IEEE step and touch analysis), lightning protection, and MV/HV cable routing and duct bank concepts.
• Familiarity with ring bus, breaker-and-a-half, and similar substation arrangements; greenfield and brownfield upgrade projects.

Control, SCADA & communications

• Experience with substation SCADA systems, RTUs, and common protocols (DNP3, Modbus, IEC 61850); understanding of utility and plant networks supporting SCADA.
• Ability to review PLC/RTU wiring diagrams and coordinate with integrators, protection technicians, and utility operations teams.

Cross-sector background (nice to have)

• Electrical design on solar PV, BESS, water/wastewater, transportation (e.g., traction power), or industrial facilities.
• Experience with large emergency power systems, generators, and complex facility distribution (e.g., hospitals, data centers, campuses).
• Prior supervisory or group-lead experience (e.g., leading a team of design engineers, project engineers, or drafters) is strongly valued.