Senior Substation Protection & Controls Engineer

SLAC; Menlo Park (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory seeks a Facilities Electrical Protection & Controls Engineer to lead engineering for electrical protection, control systems, and substation automation. You will design, implement, and maintain protection schemes, perform arc-flash analyses, and ensure conformance with IEEE/NFPA standards across distributed facilities.

You’ll collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams to optimize power distribution, monitor systems via SCADA, and support major project phases

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or related field; minimum five years in electrical protection & controls.
• Proficient with ETAP or equivalent software; familiarity with protection and control hardware.
• Experience with short-circuit, coordination, arc-flash analysis, and substation automation.

Responsibilities

• Lead protection and control engineering for substation projects across planning, design, and operations.
• Develop protection setpoints, diagrams, and logic files for microprocessor relays (e.g., SEL).
• Perform arc-flash risk assessments and recommend safety-focused mitigations.
• Review designs for conformance to IEEE and NFPA standards; support ICE & project scoping.
• Design monitoring, communication, and SCADA integration for power systems.
• Analyze faults and relay mis-operations; determine root causes and mitigation actions.

Skills

Power protection & controls

ETAP

Relay coordination

Arc flash analysis

Substation protection

SCADA design & monitoring

Protection scheme design

IEEE/NFPA standards

Programming logic for relays

Communication protocols (DNP3/Modbus/6

Education

B.S. in electrical engineering

M.S. in electrical engineering (preferred)

Tools

ETAP

EMTP

PSCAD

Job description

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory seeks a Facilities Electrical Protection & Controls Engineer to lead engineering for electrical protection, control systems, and substation automation. You will design, implement, and maintain protection schemes, perform arc-flash analyses, and ensure conformance with IEEE/NFPA standards across distributed facilities.

You’ll collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams to optimize power distribution, monitor systems via SCADA, and support major project phases