Senior Substation Engineer & Project Leader

BHE Renewables; Des Moines (IA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

BHE Renewables in Des Moines, IA, seeks a Senior Engineer – Substation Operations to act as a technical expert across our substation and generation facilities, driving safe, reliable, and compliant operation of critical infrastructure.

You will lead major projects, mentor engineers, apply HPI principles, and ensure regulatory compliance, with up to 25% travel and strong communication as essential requirements.

Qualifications

• Five years of industry experience as a practicing engineer and Professional Engineer (PE) license required; or eight or more years of experience without PE.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from an accredited institution.
• Advanced technical, analytical, and leadership skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex projects and influence cross-functional teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Up to 25% travel required. Valid driver’s license required.

Responsibilities

• Lead and optimize substation and generation maintenance programs, including asset management strategies, oil and bushing testing, commissioning, infrared inspections, relay testing, and compliance activities.
• Lead documentation standard creation, update and review. Documentation includes substation engineering design, preventative maintenance, operation and testing standards, templates and procedures.
• Provide full lifecycle project leadership for capital and O&M projects, including planning, engineering design, cost estimating, contracting, construction oversight, and financial performance monitoring.
• Conduct advanced protective relay and other programmable substations and electric equipment device programming.
• Lead risk identification, mitigation strategies, emergency response planning, and recovery initiatives.
• Interact with programmable devices to ensure appropriate data capture setup and pull event records.
• Perform event analysis including fault and event records and present findings to leadership and stakeholders.
• Serve as a technical authority and mentor to other engineering staff.
• Champion HPI practices by evaluating existing processes and implementing improvements to prevent and mitigate human error.
• Stay informed of industry trends and emerging technologies relevant to BHE Renewables’ operations.
• Understand NERC CIP regulatory compliance requirements for BESS elements and support appropriate controls and testing.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering

Professional Engineer (PE) license

Job description

BHE Renewables in Des Moines, IA, seeks a Senior Engineer – Substation Operations to act as a technical expert across our substation and generation facilities, driving safe, reliable, and compliant operation of critical infrastructure.

You will lead major projects, mentor engineers, apply HPI principles, and ensure regulatory compliance, with up to 25% travel and strong communication as essential requirements.