Senior Grid System Protection Engineer - Hybrid

Sargent & Lundy; Elkridge (MD); Hybrid; USD 135,000 - 206,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Plans

Life & Accident Insurance

Disability Coverage

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Back-Up Daycare

401(k)

Paid Vacation

Paid Holidays

Paid Parental Leave

Flexible Work Arrangements

Job summary

Sargent & Lundy in the United States is seeking a Lead System Protection Engineer to join our Grid Services team. This role focuses on relay settings, protection philosophies, and power system studies for transmission and substation projects, with a supporting role in P&C design.

You will lead protection studies, coordinate with engineers and clients, configure relays with SEL AcSELerator and EnerVista, and ensure compliance with IEEE/ANSI/NERC standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from an ABET‑accredited program (or equivalent).
• 10+ years of system protection engineering experience for transmission and/or substation projects.
• Strong background in protection approaches including line, transformer, bus, breaker, and capacitor/reactor protection philosophies.
• Proven experience performing fault studies and relay coordination using CAPE and/or ASPEN (or equivalent protection analysis tools).
• Proficiency with relay configuration tools: SEL AcSELerator, EnerVista, and other OEM software.
• Experience with Powerbase or similar relay/asset databases for managing settings and protection data.
• Ability to check and interpret P&C drawings: one‑lines, three‑lines, schematics, wiring diagrams, and panel layouts.
• Familiarity with IEEE, ANSI, and NERC/PRC standards related to protection and control.
• Strong written and verbal communication with utility clients, equipment manufacturers, and construction/commissioning teams.
• Proven experience leading portions of projects and coordinating across multidisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and application of protection philosophies and settings for transmission lines, transformers, buses, and banks.
• Perform system protection studies including short‑circuit analysis and relay coordination.
• Configure, set, and troubleshoot microprocessor relays using vendor software.
• Use Powerbase or similar databases to manage relay records and ensure documentation aligns with standards.
• Support event analysis and misoperation investigations and recommend settings changes.
• Develop and review P&C design documents with substation teams (one‑lines, three‑lines, schematics, wiring, logic diagrams).
• Provide system protection requirements and markups for P&C design (CT/VT ratios, trip/interlock logic, channel requirements).
• Support commissioning and field energization by reviewing test plans and assisting with field questions.

Skills

Relay settings

Protection philosophies

System protection engineering

Short-circuit analysis

Relay coordination

CAPE

ASPEN

P&C design

Vendor software (SEL AcSELerator)

Communication with clients

Education

ABET‑accredited Electrical Engineering

Tools

SEL AcSELerator

EnerVista

Other OEM relay software

Powerbase

Job description

Sargent & Lundy in the United States is seeking a Lead System Protection Engineer to join our Grid Services team. This role focuses on relay settings, protection philosophies, and power system studies for transmission and substation projects, with a supporting role in P&C design.

You will lead protection studies, coordinate with engineers and clients, configure relays with SEL AcSELerator and EnerVista, and ensure compliance with IEEE/ANSI/NERC standards.