Senior Substation EPC Physical Engineer — Remote

Leidos; Reston (VA); On-site; USD 87,000 - 157,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

PMP

PE Licensure

Mentorship programs

Leadership training

Upskilling opportunities

Management opportunities

Job summary

Leidos Energy's EPC Solutions group in Reston, Virginia, seeks a Senior Substation Physical Engineer to lead outdoor substation physical design for transmission and distribution projects up to 765 kV. You will own yard layout, grounding, cabling, and related drawings from concept through construction support.

You will collaborate with cross-disciplinary teams to optimize layouts, reduce costs, and ensure constructible designs.

Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from an accredited university.
• Minimum 4+ years of relevant experience in utility substation physical design with a B.S. degree, or 3+ years of relevant experience with a M.S. degree.
• Demonstrated experience developing substation physical design packages for transmission and distribution substations.
• Knowledge of outdoor substation equipment and layouts, including power transformers, circuit breakers, disconnect switches, instrument transformers, surge arresters, bus systems, steel structures, grounding systems, and associated station equipment.
• Experience performing substation physical engineering calculations and applying utility design standards and industry codes.
• Familiarity with electric utility infrastructure and the principles involved in substation physical engineering and EPC project execution.
• Experience with engineering software and design tools such as AutoCAD, MicroStation, Bentley OpenUtilities, CDEGS, STAAD, MathCAD, or similar industry-standard applications.
• Experience supporting Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC) turnkey projects for electric utilities.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a Substation Physical Engineer supporting the engineering and design of utility transmission and distribution substations, with primary responsibility for outdoor substation physical design on EPC projects.
• Develop and review substation physical design packages including equipment layouts, electrical plan and section drawings, grounding plans and details, conduit and cable routing, foundation layouts, steel structure arrangements, bus configurations, and material specifications for small to medium-sized utility substation projects.
• Perform engineering calculations related to substation physical design, including grounding analysis, conductor sizing, bus and equipment clearances, rigid and strain bus design, structure loading, and foundation requirements.
• Identify and recommend cost-saving alternatives, such as optimizing bus and equipment arrangements to cut steel, foundation, and conductor quantities, reducing yard footprint or construction hours, and adjusting designs when procurement lead times or vendor options change.
• Read, interpret, and develop substation physical drawings such as one-line diagrams, plan and elevation views, equipment layouts, grounding layouts, conduit plans, cable trench layouts, and construction details.
• Coordinate closely with Protection & Control, SCADA, Civil/Structural, Transmission Line, and other engineering disciplines to ensure an integrated and constructible design solution.
• Assist senior engineers with engineering studies, site evaluations, constructability reviews, and technical design assessments.
• Prepare project deliverables including engineered drawings, design calculations, technical reports, material take-offs, project correspondence, and construction support documentation.
• Evaluate the impacts of design changes across multiple disciplines and recommend technically sound and cost-effective solutions.
• Perform Quality Control reviews of physical design deliverables for smaller projects.
• Support proposal development efforts by providing drawing counts, scope input, manhour estimates, and technical support for substation physical engineering activities.
• Assist in the development and continuous improvement of engineering processes, design standards, and best practices to enhance project execution efficiency.
• Maintain accurate project records, calculations, and design files while ensuring a high level of organization and attention to detail.
• Continue to expand technical knowledge of substation physical design, equipment applications, industry standards, and utility practices.
• Develop and deliver technical presentations and knowledge-sharing sessions to support team development and training initiatives.
• Provide engineering support during procurement, construction, commissioning, and field execution activities, including responding to RFIs, reviewing vendor drawings, and supporting field personnel.
• Support company goals and represent the organization professionally with clients, contractors, and project stakeholders.

Skills

Electrical engineering

Substation design

Project coordination

Education

B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering

Tools

AutoCAD

MicroStation

Bentley OpenUtilities

CDEGS

STAAD

MathCAD

Job description

Leidos Energy's EPC Solutions group in Reston, Virginia, seeks a Senior Substation Physical Engineer to lead outdoor substation physical design for transmission and distribution projects up to 765 kV. You will own yard layout, grounding, cabling, and related drawings from concept through construction support.

You will collaborate with cross-disciplinary teams to optimize layouts, reduce costs, and ensure constructible designs.