Senior Protection Engineer

Petroplan; Houston (TX); Remote; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Petroplan is seeking a Senior Protection Engineer to join the Electrical Engineering team in a role that can be based in Houston, TX or performed remotely with travel. You will lead the design, development, testing, and commissioning of electrical protection systems for power generation and distribution assets, coordinating with multiple engineering and operations teams.

The ideal candidate brings 10+ years in protection engineering, strong experience with relay settings and short-circuit

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related discipline.
• 10+ years in protection engineering, relay settings, power system studies, and commissioning support.
• Experience developing relay standards, protection philosophies, commissioning procedures, and settings templates.
• Hands-on experience performing short circuit studies for industrial, utility, power generation, or medium-voltage distribution systems.
• Proficiency with SEL relays and associated relay configuration software.
• Experience designing and implementing protection schemes utilizing IEC 61850, including familiarity with the standard's data model concepts.
• Experience supporting FAT, SAT, and field commissioning.

Responsibilities

• Design protection schemes for generators, transformers, feeders, buses, MV/LV systems.
• Develop and maintain relay settings, calculations, logic diagrams, coordination studies, and protection narratives.
• Apply protection functions for generators, transformers, IBRs, and other equipment.
• Coordinate protection designs with one-line diagrams, control schematics, vendor docs, and specs.
• Perform short circuit studies to support equipment ratings and relay coordination.
• Develop study assumptions, validate system models, and document conclusions.
• Support load flow, arc flash, transient stability, and dynamic modeling as required.
• Analyze abnormal conditions and recommend protection or control improvements.
• Design and implement protection and control using IEC 61850, including GOOSE messaging and IED communications.
• Develop relay logic, mapping, integration docs, and testing procedures.
• Partner with SCADA/controls/network teams to integrate protection into plant infrastructure.
• Standardize relay templates and testing procedures across projects.
• Participate in FAT/SAT, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and field commissioning.
• Troubleshoot relay settings and field implementation issues during commissioning.
• Review commissioning docs and close punch lists.
• Travel to project sites and vendor facilities as required.
• Collaborate across engineering, construction, operations, procurement, and partners.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship for protection program improvements.
• Prepare technical reports, logs, turnover packages, and deliverables.
• Promote safety and ethical standards.

Skills

Power system protection

Relay settings

Short circuit studies

Protection philosophies

IEC 61850

FAT/SAT testing

Field commissioning

Project collaboration

Leadership/mentorship

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Professional Engineer (PE) license (Texas)

Tools

SEL relays

SEL relay configuration software

ETAP

PSSb9E

PSCAD

RTDS

Siemens protection relays

ABB protective relays

Job description

My client is seeking a highly motivated and detail-oriented Senior Protection Engineer to join its Electrical Engineering team. This individual will play a critical role in the design, development, testing, and commissioning of electrical protection systems supporting power generation, medium-voltage distribution, and auxiliary power systems. The Senior Protection Engineer will collaborate closely with Engineering, Operations, Commissioning, OEMs, and project stakeholders to develop relay settings, perform power system studies, support factory and site testing, and ensure the safe, reliable, and resilient operation of critical power assets. This role can be based out of Houston, TX or be remote with travel.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design electrical protection schemes for generators, transformers, feeders, buses, medium-voltage, and low-voltage distribution systems.
• Develop, review, and maintain relay settings, calculations, logic diagrams, coordination studies, protection narratives, and associated engineering documentation.
• Apply protection functions for synchronous generators, transformers, inverter-based resources (IBRs), and other electrical equipment based on system requirements.
• Coordinate protection system designs with one-line diagrams, control schematics, vendor documentation, and project specifications.
• Perform and review short circuit studies to support equipment ratings, relay coordination, and protection settings.
• Develop study assumptions, validate system models, and clearly document engineering conclusions.
• Support load flow, arc flash, transient stability, and dynamic system modeling as required.
• Analyze abnormal system operating conditions and recommend practical protection or control improvements.
• Design and implement protection and control systems utilizing IEC 61850, including GOOSE messaging and Intelligent Electronic Device (IED) communications.
• Develop and review relay logic, communications mapping, integration documentation, and testing procedures.
• Partner with SCADA, controls, automation, and networking teams to integrate protection systems into plant monitoring and control infrastructure.
• Support the standardization of relay templates, naming conventions, engineering practices, and testing procedures across multiple projects.
• Participate in Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), Site Acceptance Testing (SAT), hardware-in-the-loop testing, and field commissioning activities.
• Troubleshoot relay settings, communications, wiring, logic, and field implementation issues during commissioning and operational support.
• Review commissioning documentation, resolve punch list items, and ensure final relay settings accurately reflect installed systems.
• Travel to project sites, vendor facilities, and commissioning locations as required.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Construction, Operations, Procurement, Commissioning, and third-party engineering partners throughout project execution.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship while supporting continuous improvement initiatives within the protection engineering program.
• Prepare technical reports, engineering documentation, issue logs, turnover packages, and project deliverables.
• Promote a strong safety culture while maintaining the highest ethical and professional standards.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related discipline, or equivalent experience in power system protection.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in protection engineering, relay settings, power system studies, and commissioning support.
• Experience developing relay standards, protection philosophies, commissioning procedures, and settings templates.
• Hands-on experience performing short circuit studies for industrial, utility, power generation, or medium-voltage distribution systems.
• Proficiency with SEL relays and associated relay configuration software.
• Experience designing and implementing protection schemes utilizing IEC 61850, including familiarity with the standard's data model concepts.
• Experience supporting Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), Site Acceptance Testing (SAT), and field commissioning.
• Strong understanding of: Power system protection principles, relay coordination, one-line diagrams, control schematics, electrical field testing and commissioning
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to effectively collaborate across technical and non-technical teams.
• Ability to travel approximately 25-50%, particularly during active project execution and commissioning phases.

Preferred:

• 10+ years of protection engineering experience.
• Experience performing power system studies using ETAP.
• Experience with Siemens and ABB protective relays.
• Experience with PSS®E, PSCAD, and/or RTDS hardware-in-the-loop testing.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license in Texas, or the ability to obtain licensure.

Desired Skills:

• Strong analytical and troubleshooting abilities.
• Excellent organizational skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced project environment.
• Strong interpersonal and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Ability to translate protection requirements into practical relay settings, engineering studies, logic development, and commissioning procedures.
• Self-motivated, safety-focused, and comfortable supporting both office engineering and field commissioning activities.