Senior System Protection Engineer (Hybrid) – Relays & Studies

Sargent & Lundy; Metairie (LA); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 153,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work arrangement

Generous relocation package

Job summary

Sargent & Lundy is seeking a Senior System Protection Engineer to lead protection engineering for grid projects in the Grid Services team. You will manage relay settings, protection philosophies, and power system studies, with a focus on high‑voltage transmission and substation protection & control design.

The role requires strong experience in fault studies, coordination, and using CAPE/ASPEN, with responsibilities for documentation, standards, and collaboration with clients and field teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from an ABET‑accredited program (or equivalent).
• 7 or more years of experience in system protection engineering for transmission and/or substation projects, including:
• Significant hands‑on responsibility for relay settings and protection studies.
• Strong background in system protection and relay logic, including:
• Line, transformer, bus, breaker failure, and capacitor/reactor protection philosophies.
• Proven experience performing fault studies and relay coordination using CAPE and/or ASPEN (or equivalent protection analysis tools).
• Experience working with Powerbase or similar relay/asset databases for managing settings and protection data.
• Demonstrated ability to check and interpret P&C drawings:
• One‑lines, three‑lines, schematics, wiring diagrams, logic diagrams, and panel layouts.
• Familiarity with applicable IEEE, ANSI, and NERC/PRC standards related to protection and control.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work directly with:
• Utility clients
• Equipment manufacturers
• Construction and commissioning teams
• Proven experience leading portions of projects, coordinating with multidisciplinary teams, and meeting schedule and quality requirements.

Responsibilities

• Responsibilities include system protection engineering—relay settings, protection philosophies, and power system studies.
• Support and review substation protection & control design for high‑voltage projects.
• Configure, set, and troubleshoot microprocessor‑based protective relays using vendor software.
• Use Powerbase or similar databases to manage relay records and settings.
• Support event analysis and misoperation investigations.
• Develop and review P&C design documents with substation teams.
• Provide protection requirements and markups for P&C design.
• Support commissioning and field energization, including test plans and RFIs.
• Ensure protection schemes comply with client standards, IEEE/ANSI, and NERC/PRC.

Skills

Relay settings

Protection studies

P&C design review

CAPE/ASPEN proficiency

Power system knowledge

Protection coordination

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering (ABET‑accredited)

Tools

SEL AcSELerator

EnerVista

Powerbase

Other OEM relay software

Job description

Sargent & Lundy is seeking a Senior System Protection Engineer to lead protection engineering for grid projects in the Grid Services team. You will manage relay settings, protection philosophies, and power system studies, with a focus on high‑voltage transmission and substation protection & control design.

The role requires strong experience in fault studies, coordination, and using CAPE/ASPEN, with responsibilities for documentation, standards, and collaboration with clients and field teams.