Senior HV CAD Designer - Substations & Renewables

AES Corporation; Louisville (KY); On-site; USD 87,000 - 105,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision

Life insurance

401(k)

Paid time off

Job summary

AES Corporation is seeking a dynamic Senior HV CAD Designer to support high voltage substation and transmission design, and to supplement PV and BESS land development. The role is primarily aligned with the HV group (about 75%), with ~25% supporting PV and BESS land development efforts.

The ideal candidate will be proficient in drafting, enjoy fast-paced collaboration with multiple stakeholders, and have experience with AutoCAD, Bluebeam, and related tools.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of proven drafting/design experience, including high voltage substation and/or transmission CAD design.
• Proficiency in AutoCAD, Bluebeam, Microsoft Office applications, and related drafting tools.
• General knowledge of electrical systems, drawings, diagrams, terminology, and code considerations for high voltage substations.
• Familiarity with HV equipment such as main power transformers, circuit breakers, relay panels, and related substation components.
• Ability to support PV and BESS land development design tasks, including site plans, layouts, single line diagrams, and coordination of civil and electrical design inputs.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to lead and support design discussions among internal stakeholders.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to prioritize multiple projects and tasks in a fast-paced environment.
• Detail-oriented approach with strong problem-solving, critical thinking, verbal communication, and written communication skills.
• Experience creating and maintaining CAD tools, templates, blocks, symbol databases, or design standardization resources.

Responsibilities

• Develop up to 30% substation packages in AutoCAD and/or Bluebeam for 35kV–500kV facilities, including single line diagrams, layouts, and related exhibits.
• Provide drafting support for transmission line engineering by developing exhibits representing pole designs, ROWs, and line crossings for RFP documents.
• Develop approximately 25% of work for PV and BESS land development, including site plans, layouts, and design details.
• Collaborate with HV Project Engineers, Substation Leads, Transmission Leads, Development Engineers, and other teams to support renewable project development.
• Integrate and analyze survey data, shapefiles, site constraints, and SME input for HV, PV, and BESS layouts.
• Develop and maintain CAD standards, templates, tools, blocks, and symbol databases to improve consistency and efficiency.
• Develop databases of major equipment and support BOM development from design packages.
• Coordinate with land and permitting teams to evaluate substation pads, PV/BESS layouts, and site access constraints.
• Coordinate with HV Project Engineers and equipment manufacturers to confirm radii, access routes, and site access for delivery.
• Generate drawings that align with company standards, templates, and quality control procedures.
• Review external consultant substation designs focusing on minimum clearances and alignment with AES standards.
• Maintain documentation control processes for project drafting and engineering records in AES data rooms.
• Work independently and with teams to meet deadlines and support design discussions among stakeholders.

Skills

AutoCAD

Bluebeam

Drafting

Electrical systems

Substation CAD

MS Office

HV design

Education

Associate degree

AAS in CAD

Tools

AutoCAD Civil 3D

PLS-CADD

Shapefiles

GIS data

Job description

AES Corporation is seeking a dynamic Senior HV CAD Designer to support high voltage substation and transmission design, and to supplement PV and BESS land development. The role is primarily aligned with the HV group (about 75%), with ~25% supporting PV and BESS land development efforts.

The ideal candidate will be proficient in drafting, enjoy fast-paced collaboration with multiple stakeholders, and have experience with AutoCAD, Bluebeam, and related tools.