Engineer - T&D Program Management (St. Louis)

About the role

Burns & McDonnell is the market leader in providing program management services to the electric utility industry. The ideal candidate will have a safety-first mindset, be dedicated to client and team success, and take an entrepreneurial approach. Roles within the program management track involve frequent, often daily, client interaction. Engineers leverage their technical expertise to make informed decisions in project execution and may lead a team in one of the following functional areas after demonstrated proficiency.

Responsibilities

• Project Management
  • Lead a cross-functional team to execute substation, transmission line, and telecommunication projects from inception through design, construction, and closeout.
  • Oversee 5-20 projects concurrently of varying sizes ($100k–$50M) and voltages (4kV–765kV).
  • Manage projects for schedule adherence, identifying risks and requirements to meet in-service dates.
  • Navigate projects through client gate approval processes, including presentations to senior and executive management.
  • Ensure financial adherence by maintaining accurate cost forecasts reflecting committed and uncommitted costs.
  • Coordinate craft labor resources with client-approved vendors for construction, testing, and field activities.
  • Provide regular project status updates through data maintenance, reporting, and client meetings.
  • Lead project meetings with cost, schedule, real estate, environmental, construction, and engineering resources.
• Portfolio Management
  • Develop a multi-year capital expenditure plan supporting client replacement and betterment of electric transmission and distribution assets.
  • Interface with project sponsor organizations to determine proposed plans and business justification.
  • Ensure synergies across projects to prevent duplicated or inefficient scope.
  • Monitor client capital investment allocation to align with subsidiary investment targets for optimal rate of return.
  • Engage with project sponsors to evaluate need-by dates for realistic schedules and budgets.
  • Assist with rate filing support for federal and state filings.
  • Review tabletop engineering estimates for accuracy and scope.
  • Review project change requests (scope, in-service date, etc.) and reconcile with existing and long-range portfolios.
  • Interface with client accounting groups to establish financial setups for projects.
  • Create analyses and reports to assist clients in tracking, coordination, and execution of projects.
  • Build baseline scopes, schedules, and budgets for release to multiple client stakeholders.
• Outage/Construction Sequencing
  • Develop substation and transmission project construction lifecycles with a focus on outage efficiency and constructability.
  • Manage multiple projects simultaneously while meeting deliverable dates and expectations.
  • Analyze scoping and project documents to determine construction boundaries within substations and the electric grid.
  • Conduct site walkdowns and project calls to establish achievable construction sequences with attainable outages.
  • Analyze needed outages against adjacent scheduled outages in the area.
  • Create initial outage sequences to communicate proposed construction lifecycles to the project team.
  • Coordinate with drafting resources to create engineering-caliber drawings documenting project evolution from present to final state.

We seek team members who foster a culture based on our MacCulture Principles, emphasizing quality, diversity, and inclusion to enhance team cohesion and camaraderie. Individuals eager to tackle new challenges in the utility industry and contribute to expanding our program management offerings will find entrepreneurial opportunities.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical, mechanical, civil engineering, or a related degree from an ABET-accredited program.
• Minimum of three years of experience in engineering design, project management, or a relevant role.
• Excellent facilitation, collaboration, organization, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to thoughtfully and positively influence, lead, and manage.
• Strong planning and analytical skills.
• E.I.T. or PE license preferred.
• Superb oral and written communication skills, with the ability to present complex information clearly to all levels of employees, management, and clients.
• Travel 10-20% depending on project assignment and client needs.

This position is full-time and based in St. Louis, MO.