Lead Engineer - Substation Protection & Control

Responsibilities

• Act as the Qualus’ Protection & Control Subject Matter Expert (SME), providing technical governance across multiple projects and programs
• Serve as Principal Engineer or Technical Authority on complex, high-risk, or non-standard projects, providing final technical approval and direction
• Provide review and approval of: Protection planning, philosophy, and application documents
• One-lines, schematics, logic diagrams, panel layouts, and wiring diagrams
• Oversee protection coordination studies and relay settings for utility transmission systems, including review and validation of work performed by others
• Chair or participate in senior-level design reviews, hazard and risk assessments, and near miss investigations
• Support Factory Acceptance Tests (FATs), Site Acceptance Tests (SATs), and critical field inspections for complex installations
• Advise project teams on construction sequencing, outage planning, and commissioning strategy
• Participate in client technical, Safety by Design, and constructability review meetings
• Provide technical oversight for project scopes, feasibility studies, cost estimates, and definition-phase deliverables, including review of assumptions and risks
• Support Business Development by contributing technical strategy, execution approaches, and risk assessments for proposals and pursuits
• Act as a primary technical escalation point for clients, internal teams, and external partners
• Mentor senior and junior engineers, and play a key role in the continuous improvement of P&C standards, tools, and engineering practices

Qualifications

• 15–20 years of utility-focused protection, control, and metering engineering experience, with demonstrated system-level responsibility
• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from a recognized university
• Registration as a Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) in Canada, or eligibility to obtain (U.S. PE considered an asset)
• Recognized expertise in substation protection philosophy, including transmission line, transformer, bus, and feeder protection
• Extensive experience reviewing and approving detailed P&C design drawings and technical deliverables
• Experience performing protection coordination studies and relay settings for high-voltage transmission systems
• Hands-on knowledge of protection software and platforms such as ASPEN, CAPE, EasyPower, SKM, and SEL / GE relay families
• Practical experience with substation construction, commissioning, outage planning, and operational interfaces
• Proven ability to provide technical judgment on non-standard, complex, or first-of-kind applications
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Experience on EPC projects, and familiarity with utility maintenance and operational practices, are considered strong assets

Benefits & Compensation

• Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Short and Long-Term Disability
• 401(k) match
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• EAP
• Parental Leave
• Paid time off
• Holidays

About the Role

We are seeking a Lead Protection & Control Engineer to join our well-established Protection & Control team of engineers and designers in Canada.

Requirements

This role offers long-term workload stability, exposure to a diverse portfolio of projects, and the opportunity to provide technical leadership across utility and renewable energy clients. You will work on projects ranging from 12 kV to 500 kV, supporting designs from early concept through construction and commissioning.

Skills

The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of success in protecting and controlling electrical systems, with a focus on high-voltage substations. They should possess a deep understanding of protection, control, and metering principles and be able to apply these principles to complex, high-risk projects.

Company Overview

Qualus is a leading pure-play power solutions firm and innovator at the forefront of power infrastructure transformation, with differentiated capabilities across grid modernization, resiliency, security, and sustainability. The firm partners with utilities, commercial, industrial, data center, and government clients, and renewable and energy storage developers, offering comprehensive solutions through boutique and integrated advisory, planning, engineering, digital solutions, program management, and specialized field services. Qualus also provides software and technology enabled services and develops breakthrough solutions for critical power industry challenges such as distributed and variable resource integration, emergency management, and secure data exchange. The firm has over 1,800 professionals, with offices throughout the U.S. and Canada.