Senior Electrical Engineer, Substation - Salem, OR

About the role

The Substation Practice at David Evans and Associates (DEA) is seeking a Senior Electrical Engineer to lead the technical execution of substation design for utility-scale wind, solar, and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) projects throughout the United States. This role focuses on providing senior technical leadership and oversight across multiple substation projects.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the development of preliminary drawings through IFC plan sets, including providing Quality Control reviews of one-line diagrams, schematics, BOMs, specifications, general arrangements, plan views, schedules, and detailed drawings.
• Lead cross-discipline coordination with staff to finalize comprehensive project designs.
• Supervise the use of power system modeling tools (e.g., EasyPower, ETAP) to analyze systems and determine equipment ratings consistent with the basis of design.
• Oversee preparation of studies such as grounding, cable heating, short circuit, arc flash, and reactive compensation.
• Review system coordination curves and protective relay settings.
• Review calculations required for design, such as AC/DC station service loading and cable sizing.
• Mentor junior staff, fostering a collaborative and growth-oriented work environment.
• Lead office support during project construction, including RFI responses, submittal reviews, and commissioning troubleshooting.
• Implement and oversee the project QA/QC plan, ensuring compliance with firmwide tools, processes, and policies including engineering decision documentation, scope of work management, and quality requirements.
• Manage complex project tasks involving special skills and multi-disciplinary teams.
• Oversee estimates for labor, material, and construction costs, and draw up specifications for the purchase of materials and equipment.
• Keep informed of new developments in electric power and integrate them into project designs.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university in electrical engineering
• 10+ years of direct substation engineering experience
• Registered Professional Engineer
• Demonstrated ability to mentor and develop technical teams
• Strong leadership, written and oral communication, and organizational skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Fifteen (15) + years of applicable industry experience
• Experience with power facility construction and commissioning
• Highly proficient in relay setpoint development including SEL and GE relay programming
• Highly proficient in applicable industry software (e.g., EasyPower, ETAP, CYMCAP, CDEGS, AcSELerator QuickSet)
• Experience as Owner’s Engineer or Engineer of Record for utility-scale BESS, wind and solar projects
• Recognized expert in one or more areas related to renewable energy project deliver