Senior Protection and Control Engineer

AES Corporation; Louisville (KY); On-site; USD 113,000 - 142,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental and vision

401(k) with company match

Paid time off

Job summary

AES Corporation is seeking a Senior Protection and Control Engineer to lead HV substation protection and control activities across renewable energy projects. The role requires strong coordination with EPCs, utilities, and internal teams to ensure design, testing, and commissioning meet industry standards.

Ideal candidates will have 5+ years of protection experience, proficiency with SEL protection, and familiarity with IEC 61850, DNP3, and Modbus protocols.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering with emphasis on power systems.
• Minimum 5 years of protection and control engineering experience for HV substations or renewables.
• Experience with SEL protection and automation products required.
• Strong understanding of protection principles, relay coordination, and substation control schemes.
• Familiarity with IEC 61850, DNP3, Modbus and related substation automation applications.

Responsibilities

• Lead protection and control engineering for AES Clean Energy HV substations (35 kV–500 kV).
• Review protection drawings, philosophies, relay settings, short-circuit and coordination studies.
• Coordinate with EPCs, utilities, and internal stakeholders on design and testing.
• Support NERC PRC compliance across projects.
• Mentor associate engineers and travel ~25% to project sites.

Skills

Protection & control

Power systems

Relay coordination

SEL protection

IEC 61850

DNP3

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering (Power Systems)

Tools

SEL software

ETAP

PowerFactory

Job description

Are you ready to be part of a company that's not just talking about the future, but actively shaping it? Join The AES Corporation, the largest US-based global power company with a team of 8,300 employees across 12 countries. AES has been ranked #1 by BloombergNEF in renewable energy sales to corporations in the US and Americas for five consecutive years, providing electricity for millions of people worldwide. We are proud to foster a strong workplace culture, earning prominent positions in Great Place to Work™ rankings across the markets where we operate. AES was also named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for the 13th consecutive year in 2026, highlighting our dedication to integrity, transparency, and responsible business practices. Our spirit of innovation continues to earn industry recognition. AES is the only seven-time winner of the Edison Electric Institute’s Edison Awards in the twenty-first century, a distinction honoring global leadership in advancing the electric power industry.

If you're ready to be part of a company that's not just adapting to change, but driving it, AES is the place for you.

The High Voltage Engineering team provides pre-construction, construction, and commissioning engineering support for high-voltage facilities associated with renewable energy power plants, including solar, wind, and battery energy storage projects. These facilities range from 35 kV through 500 kV.

We are seeking a dynamic, collaborative, and technically strong Senior Protection and Control Engineer to support high-voltage substation projects.

This role is an excellent opportunity for an engineer with strong protection and control expertise who also values collaboration with EPC partners, power utilities, and internal project teams.

The selected engineer will lead protection and control activities from design development through execution, commissioning, and post-energization support for greenfield and brownfield substations across AES Clean Energy projects.

We are open to considering U.S. remote-based candidates, preferably located in the MST or EST.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead protection and control engineering activities for AES Clean Energy high-voltage substations supporting solar, wind, and battery energy storage projects, with voltage levels ranging from 35 kV to 500 kV.
• Provide technical leadership throughout the project lifecycle, including design development, engineering review, construction support, commissioning, energization, and post-energization support.
• Review protection and control drawings, protection philosophies, relay settings, short-circuit studies, coordination studies, grounding studies, EMT studies, and related technical reports.
• Evaluate short-circuit study results for generation interconnections and provide actionable feedback to EPC partners to support protection design and coordination.
• Apply strong knowledge of protection coordination, time-current characteristics, SEL protection and automation products, and engineering tools such as SEL software, ETAP, and PowerFactory.
• Support technical review and interpretation of equipment testing for high- and medium-voltage circuit breakers, main power transformers, instrument transformers, surge arresters, and grounding systems.
• Coordinate NERC PRC compliance activities across multiple projects and work with EPCs, utilities, and internal stakeholders to support applicable standards and reporting requirements.
• Lead efforts to standardize protection and control practices, philosophies, templates, and lessons learned across projects and applications.
• Support root-cause analysis for site events during commissioning, energization, or operations, and incorporate lessons learned into protection and control standards.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including development, execution, operations and maintenance, and asset management, to improve project outcomes and support long-term operational value.
• Stay current with evolving protection technologies, OEM guidance, utility requirements, and applicable industry standards, including NERC PRC standards and IEEE guidelines.
• Mentor associate engineers and peer engineers, support technical knowledge sharing, and contribute to leadership development within the engineering organization.
• Travel to project sites, vendor facilities, and commissioning locations as needed; anticipated travel and field work is approximately 25%.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering with an emphasis in power systems.
• Minimum of 5 years of demonstrated experience in protection and control engineering for high-voltage substations or renewable generation facilities.
• Experience with SEL protection and automation products is required.
• Strong understanding of power system fundamentals, protection principles, relay coordination, and substation control schemes.
• Experience reviewing or supporting high-voltage equipment testing procedures, test results, and commissioning documentation.
• Familiarity with communication standards and protocols such as IEC 61850, DNP3, Modbus, and related substation automation applications.
• Ability to read and interpret electrical single-line diagrams, DC schematics, protection and control drawings, and substation equipment wiring diagrams.
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to lead technical discussions with EPCs, utilities, consultants, and internal stakeholders.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage priorities across multiple projects and tasks.
• Ability to support project engineering activities during substation design, construction, commissioning, and energization.

Desired Skills and Experience

• Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related power systems discipline.
• Substation design experience in physical design, protection and control design, or both.
• Experience with SCADA systems, controls architecture, and substation automation design.
• Experience developing or supporting hardware-in-the-loop testing environments for protection relays, SCADA systems, and related substation equipment.
• Project management experience coordinating multiple consultants, EPCs, and project stakeholders concurrently.

AES is an Equal Opportunity Employer who is committed to building strength and delivering long-term sustainability through diversity and inclusion.

Respecting all backgrounds, differences and perspectives enables us to improve the lives of our people, customers, suppliers, contractors, and the communities in which we live and work.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and/or expression, race, national origin, ethnicity, age, religion, marital status, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law.

E-Verify Notice: AES will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with information from each new employee's I‑9 to confirm work authorization.

The expected salary for this position, at commencement of employment, is between $113,000 and $141,525/year; however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience.

• medical, dental, and vision coverage
• life insurance
• 401(k) eligibility
• paid time off (including vacation, sick leave time, and parental leave)

If hired, employee will be in an “at‑will position” and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.

The deadline to apply for this role is 09/30/2026

Accelerating the future of energy, together

Our people are our energy and have transformed AES into the type of energy company that the world needs today and in the future.

Coming from all walks of life, our people share a passion for improving lives by advancing the energy sector through innovation, collaboration and action.

We are working in an industry that requires new thinking and ways of working together to create solutions that are both economically and environmentally viable, not just one or the other.

We are looking for passionate people to join us in our mission to accelerate the future of energy.