Substation Lead Engineer

Coalesce Management Consulting; Kentucky; On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Coalesce Management Consulting is seeking a Substation Lead to oversee a team of utility engineers supporting large-scale substation capital programs for a utility client. You will provide leadership, governance, strategic oversight, and execution support across multiple active transmission projects.

The ideal candidate has 10+ years of utility project leadership, strong communication, and a track record of coordinating engineering, procurement, construction, and operations to deliver on time

Qualifications

• Minimum 10+ years leading utility project teams or capital programs.
• Strong background in substation projects.
• Experience overseeing multiple concurrent capital projects.
• Strong understanding of utility project lifecycle execution.
• Proven leadership within engineering, construction, or PMO environments.
• Ability to communicate with executive leadership, engineering teams, field operations, contractors, and stakeholders.
• Experience with forecasting, capital governance, project controls, and risk management.
• Strong organizational and leadership skills in fast-paced utility environments.

Responsibilities

• Oversee a team of CMC Utility Experts supporting capital transmission and substation projects.
• Provide leadership, governance, accountability, and strategic direction across active project portfolios.
• Monitor project execution, schedules, budgets, forecasting, risks, and resource allocation.
• Support escalation management and problem resolution across engineering, procurement, construction, and operations teams.
• Ensure consistency in project execution standards, reporting, and communication.
• Lead program-level meetings with leadership teams and stakeholders.
• Review monthly forecasting, funding revisions, and project health metrics.
• Coordinate closely with engineering, construction management, project controls, and utility leadership teams.
• Assist with long-range capital planning and portfolio prioritization.
• Support contractor management and external partner coordination.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives across project delivery processes.
• Ensure projects are executed safely, efficiently, and in alignment with utility standards and expectations.

Skills

Leadership

Forecasting

Project controls

Risk management

Executive communication

Portfolio management

Job description

Position Summary: We are seeking an experienced Substation Lead to oversee a team of utility engineers supporting large-scale substation capital programs for a utility client. This individual will provide leadership, governance, strategic oversight, and execution support across multiple active transmission projects while serving as the primary escalation point for project delivery, forecasting, scheduling, and team performance.

The ideal candidate will bring strong utility leadership experience, exceptional communication skills, and a proven ability to manage complex capital programs within transmission and substation environments.

Requirements

• Minimum 10+ years managing utility project teams or capital programs
• Strong background supporting substation projects
• Experience overseeing multiple concurrent capital projects and engineers
• Strong understanding of utility project lifecycle execution
• Proven leadership experience within engineering, construction, or PMO environments
• Ability to communicate effectively with executive leadership, engineering teams, field operations, contractors, and stakeholders
• Experience with forecasting, capital governance, project controls, and risk management
• Strong organizational and leadership skills in fast-paced utility environments

Responsibilities

• Oversee a team of CMC Utility Experts supporting capital transmission and substation projects
• Provide leadership, governance, accountability, and strategic direction across active project portfolios
• Monitor project execution, schedules, budgets, forecasting, risks, and resource allocation
• Support escalation management and problem resolution across engineering, procurement, construction, and operations teams
• Ensure consistency in project execution standards, reporting, and communication
• Lead program-level meetings with leadership teams and stakeholders
• Review monthly forecasting, funding revisions, and project health metrics
• Coordinate closely with engineering, construction management, project controls, and utility leadership teams
• Assist with long-range capital planning and portfolio prioritization
• Support contractor management and external partner coordination
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives across project delivery processes
• Ensure projects are executed safely, efficiently, and in alignment with utility standards and expectations

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting transmission projects ranging from 69kV to 500kV+
• Utility owner/operator experience strongly preferred
• Experience managing PMO or capital delivery teams
• PMP certification preferred
• Experience supporting EPC contractors and utility capital programs
• Knowledge of project controls, scheduling, forecasting, and portfolio reporting tools

Ideal Candidate: This individual is a strong utility leader who can successfully oversee multiple Utility Engineers and drive execution across complex substation capital programs. The ideal candidate is highly organized, personable, proactive, and capable of balancing strategic oversight with day-to-day execution support while maintaining strong relationships with utility leadership and project stakeholders.