Senior Protection & Control (P&C) Design Engineer – Cape Town

Kirby Group Engineering; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent package on offer

Job summary

Kirby Group Engineering in Cape Town seeks an experienced Senior Protection & Control Design Engineer to lead HV/MV substation designs for complex projects and ensure compliance with international standards. You will deliver protection philosophies, relay coordination, SCADA integration, and provide technical leadership across the UK, Ireland and Europe while mentoring junior engineers.

This permanent role offers an excellent package, international exposure and strong career development

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering (BEng/BSc Eng) or equivalent
• 6–12+ years’ experience in P&C design
• Proven experience in HV/MV substation designs
• Protection relays selection and coordination
• SCADA / substation automation systems
• IEC 61850 and communication architectures
• Proficiency in tools such as ETAP, DigSilent, EPLAN, AutoCAD or similar
• Demonstrated ability to lead design reviews and mentor team members
• Registration with ECSA (PrEng) or working towards this will be advantageous
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Excellent communication and client-facing ability
• Leadership and mentoring capability
• High attention to detail and commitment to safety

Responsibilities

• Lead the design of HV substation protection schemes (transformers, lines, busbars, feeders)
• Develop protection philosophies, relay selection, coordination, and settings
• Deliver control system and auxiliary systems designs, including schematics and SCADA
• Perform power system studies (fault level, coordination, load flow, grid integration)
• Develop protection and control logic ensuring redundancy and system reliability
• Produce and review technical documentation (schematics, BOM, equipment specification and sizing)
• Ensure compliance with IEC, IEEE, ANSI and Utility specific standards
• Support IEC 61850-based digital substation designs
• Lead design reviews, including evaluating 3rd-party consultant deliverables
• Interface with clients, project engineers, and multidisciplinary teams
• Support testing, commissioning, and troubleshooting
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to team development

Job description

• Permanent position available with a considerable portfolio of works for the next 5+ years
• To build your career by assisting in the delivery of ‘leading edge’ engineering projects.
• To work with a vibrant, agile and multi-functional team in delivering projects on time, safely, to budget and to the required quality standards.
• To benefit from Kirby’s Career Development Programmes that will enhance your leadership capability.
• To work with the best.
• Excellent package on offer with room for negotiations

About Kirby Group Engineering

Kirby Group Engineering is an international multi-disciplinary engineering services contractor and leading provider of high-value engineering services to a number of ‘blue chip’ companies. Operating across Ireland, the UK, Europe and South Africa, Kirby has become the engineering service provider of choice in growth segments such as pharmaceuticals, data centres and power transmission and distribution. Our culture is innovative, collaborative and performance focused. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to grow and develop in a company committed to developing talent and rewarding performance.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Senior Protection & Control (P&C) Design Engineer to join our growing engineering team in Cape Town. The successful candidate will play a key technical leadership role in delivering high-voltage and medium voltage substation designs for projects, ensuring compliance with international standards and client requirements.

This is an exciting opportunity to work on complex high voltage transmission utility and renewable energy infrastructure projects in the UK, Ireland and the rest of Europe while contributing to a collaborative, high-performance engineering culture.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design of HV substation protection schemes (transformers, lines, busbars, feeders)
• Develop protection philosophies, relay selection, coordination, and settings
• Deliver control system and auxiliary systems designs, including schematics and SCADA

integration

• Perform power system studies (fault level, coordination, load flow, grid integration)
• Develop protection and control logic ensuring redundancy and system reliability
• Produce and review technical documentation (schematics, BOM, equipment specification and sizing)
• Ensure compliance with IEC, IEEE, ANSI and Utility specific standards
• Support IEC 61850-based digital substation designs
• Lead design reviews, including evaluating 3rd-party consultant deliverables
• Interface with clients, project engineers, and multidisciplinary teams
• Support testing, commissioning, and troubleshooting
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to team development

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering (BEng/BSc Eng) or equivalent
• 6–12+ years’ experience in P&C design
• Proven experience in HV/MV substation designs
• Strong knowledge of:
• Protection relays selection and coordination
• SCADA / substation automation systems
• IEC 61850 and communication architectures
• Proficiency in tools such as ETAP, DigSilent, EPLAN, AutoCAD or similar
• Demonstrated ability to lead design reviews and mentor team members
• Registration with ECSA (PrEng) or working towards this will be advantageous

Key Competencies

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Excellent communication and client-facing ability
• Leadership and mentoring capability
• High attention to detail and commitment to safety

What We Offer

• Opportunity to work on international projects while based in South Africa
• Competitive salary and benefits
• Professional development and career progression
• Collaborative “one-team” engineering culture

Kirby Group Engineering is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace and welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates, regardless of race, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or age.