Senior Physical Substation Engineer

ISG; Rogers (AR); On-site; USD 105,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision

Paid time off

Paid holidays and volunteer time

Paid parental leave

Bi-annual profit sharing

ESOP

401K retirement plan

Life insurance

HSA and FSA options

Parkin g reimbursement

Job summary

ISG seeks a Senior Physical Substation Engineer to lead high-voltage substation physical design, including layouts, bus work, grounding, conduit, and equipment placement in Rogers, AR. You will ensure designs meet utility, client, and regulatory standards, while optimizing safety, reliability, and constructability.

You will mentor junior staff, review deliverables, and serve as a primary client contact for technical issues on projects with FirstEnergy and other partners within ISG's Power Group.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (focus in power systems or related discipline required).
• 5+ years of experience in substation physical design, with proven leadership on medium to large projects.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license, required.
• Proficiency with marking up drawings digitally and understanding of CAD operations.
• Experience with grounding analysis software (WinIGS, CYME, CDEGS, or equivalent).
• Experience with photometric analysis software (Visual Lighting, AGi32, DIALux, Revit, or equivalent).
• Experience with lighting analysis software (WinIGS, CDEGS, PSCAD, or equivalent).
• Experience with Substation Design Suite (SDS) and Inventor preferred but not required.
• Strong understanding of substation equipment, procurement, and configurations (AIS, transformer banks, ring bus, breaker-and-a-half, etc.).
• Knowledge of industry codes and standards: IEEE, ANSI, NESC, NEC, NFPA, OSHA.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with ability to interface directly with clients.
• Valid driver’s license and ability to travel for site visits, design reviews, and client meetings.

Responsibilities

• Develop and review complete physical design packages for high-voltage substations, including one-line and three-line diagrams, general arrangement (GA) drawings and section views, bus work layouts and equipment plans, grounding layouts and calculations per IEEE Std 80, conduit, trench, and cable routing plans, engineering documents, and bill of materials.
• Ensure compliance with utility, client, and regulatory standards (IEEE, ANSI, NEC, NESC, NFPA).
• Apply advanced engineering judgment to optimize substation layouts for safety, reliability, constructability, and cost efficiency.
• Oversee integration of civil/structural and protection & control (P&C) requirements into the physical design.
• Perform and review calculations including grounding, voltage drop, conduit fill, lightning protection, illumination, cable sag/tension, and other related analyses.
• Review and approve design packages, including drawings, technical reports, and construction notes for accuracy and completeness.
• Lead design coordination meetings with clients, utilities, vendors, and internal teams to resolve design issues.
• Serve as the technical point of contact for clients, providing solutions to complex design challenges.
• Mentor and guide junior engineers and designers, reviewing their work and providing structured feedback.
• Support project schedules and budgets by accurately forecasting design hours and meeting deliverable milestones.
• Recommend and implement improvements in design processes, tools, and templates to increase efficiency and quality.
• Stay current with emerging technologies, equipment, and industry standards impacting substation design.

Skills

leadership

mentoring

client liaison

design optimization

communication

Education

Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering

Professional Engineer (PE) license

Tools

CAD operations

SDS (Substation Design Suite)

Inventor

WinIGS

CYME

CDEGS

Visual Lighting

AGi32

DIALux

Revit

PSCAD

Job description

Compensation: $105,000 - $150,000 / year

Department: Power

Location: Rogers, AR

Founded in 1973, ISG is a multi-disciplinary, employee-owned firm providing architecture, engineering, environmental, and planning services to communities across the nation. Guided by our mission: simplify solutions and passionately design the future; we partner with clients to turn complex challenges into meaningful, lasting impact.

We are seeking a Senior Physical Substation Engineer who will lead the design of high-voltage transmission and distribution substation physical packages, including layouts, bus work, grounding, conduit, and equipment placement. This role ensures designs meet client(s), utility, and regulatory standards while optimizing for safety, reliability, and constructability. The Senior Engineer mentors junior staff, reviews and approves deliverables, and serves as a primary client contact for resolving technical issues.

This position will work on projects directly associated with FirstEnergy, one of ISG’s trusted and longstanding client partners.

ISG employee owners are motivated by a shared goal to stretch the limits of great design and positively influence each other, our clients, and the communities we serve. Within our Energy Business Unit, ISG’s Power Group plays a vital role in delivering resilient infrastructure solutions, supporting projects and clients nationwide.

Regardless of where this position is posted, we encourage all qualified candidates from any ISG geography to apply. We operate as a one-profit-center firm and we work as one team across all offices, sharing resources, expertise, and opportunities to best serve our clients and support our employee owners.

Examples of similar projects and initiatives you may contribute to as part of this role:

• Substation Upgrades
• Electrical Substation Misoperated Line Terminal Improvements
• FAC-008 Facility Rating Projects

Essential Duties

• Develop and review complete physical design packages for high-voltage substations, including one-line and three-line diagrams, general arrangement (GA) drawings and section views, bus work layouts and equipment plans, grounding layouts and calculations per IEEE Std 80, conduit, trench, and cable routing plans, engineering documents, and bill of materials.
• Ensure compliance with utility, client, and regulatory standards (IEEE, ANSI, NEC, NESC, NFPA).
• Apply advanced engineering judgment to optimize substation layouts for safety, reliability, constructability, and cost efficiency.
• Oversee integration of civil/structural and protection & control (P&C) requirements into the physical design.
• Perform and review calculations including grounding, voltage drop, conduit fill, lightning protection, illumination, cable sag/tension, and other related analyses.
• Review and approve design packages, including drawings, technical reports, and construction notes for accuracy and completeness.
• Lead design coordination meetings with clients, utilities, vendors, and internal teams to resolve design issues.
• Serve as the technical point of contact for clients, providing solutions to complex design challenges.
• Mentor and guide junior engineers and designers, reviewing their work and providing structured feedback.
• Support project schedules and budgets by accurately forecasting design hours and meeting deliverable milestones.
• Recommend and implement improvements in design processes, tools, and templates to increase efficiency and quality.
• Stay current with emerging technologies, equipment, and industry standards impacting substation design.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (focus in power systems or related discipline required).
• 5+ years of experience in substation physical design, with proven leadership on medium to large projects.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license, required.
• Proficiency with marking up drawings digitally and understanding of CAD operations.
• Experience with grounding analysis software (WinIGS, CYME, CDEGS, or equivalent).
• Experience with photometric analysis software (Visual Lighting, AGi32, DIALux, Revit, or equivalent).
• Experience with lighting analysis software (WinIGS, CDEGS, PSCAD, or equivalent).
• Experience with Substation Design Suite (SDS) and Inventor preferred but not required.
• Strong understanding of substation equipment, procurement, and configurations (AIS, transformer banks, ring bus, breaker-and-a-half, etc.).
• Knowledge of industry codes and standards: IEEE, ANSI, NESC, NEC, NFPA, OSHA.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with ability to interface directly with clients.
• Valid driver’s license and ability to travel for site visits, design reviews, and client meetings.

ISG Employee Owner Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision
• Paid time off, pro-rated amount available on your start date
• Paid holidays and paid volunteer time
• Paid parental leave
• Bi-annual profit sharing
• Employee Ownership Stock Plan (ESOP)
• 401K retirement plan
• Life insurance
• HSA and FSA options
• Bereavement leave
• Supplemental voluntary benefits
• Short term and long-term disability
• Parking reimbursement, varies on office location