Senior Lead Electrical Engineer

About the role

ABB is seeking a Senior Lead Electrical Engineer to serve as the technical authority for Protection & Controls and Power System Studies within our Automation Energy Industries division in Houston, TX. In this role, you will lead the technical direction of complex projects, define protection philosophies, drive engineering standards, mentor a growing team of engineers, and develop a well-rounded understanding of modern power infrastructure up to 69kV. Our group delivers substation design, protection and controls engineering, power system studies, and power management systems across medium and high voltage infrastructure. This is an opportunity to shape how we approach critical power system challenges, collaborate across disciplines, and leave a lasting impact on modern energy infrastructure. This position reports to the Electrical Engineering Manager.

Responsibilities

• Serve as subject matter expert by leading Protection & Controls engineering across multiple projects — including the definition of protection philosophies, relay selection, settings development, configuration, coordination, and review of single line diagrams — while providing technical oversight and standards to the engineering team.
• Perform and review power system studies ranging from standard analyses (short circuit, load flow, protective device coordination, arc flash) to advanced studies (dynamic stability, harmonics, transient analysis, grounding, motor starting, frequency response, voltage stability, and generator synchronization).
• Investigate and analyze power system disturbances, equipment failures, and protective relay operations at customer facilities.
• Review engineering deliverables to ensure technical accuracy, consistency, and compliance with industry standards, project specifications, and internal engineering practices.
• Mentor team members on protection and control best practices, building technical capability within the group.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams and stakeholders to support project execution and technical decision-making.
• Support substation and electrical building integration design packages from conceptual stage through construction completion (scope varies based on experience).
• Support the design and implementation of power management systems (PMS) (scope varies based on experience).

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from an accredited university and Professional Engineer (PE) license.
• 15+ years of experience in power systems engineering, with significant depth in Protection & Controls for medium and high voltage systems.
• Expert-level knowledge of protection principles, relay coordination, protection scheme design, and proven ability to independently perform relay configuration and settings development (e.g., SEL, GE, Siemens, ABB, or similar platforms).
• Ability to lead and execute power system studies independently — from standard analyses (SC, LF, PC, AF) through advanced studies (dynamic stability, harmonics, transient analysis, grounding, motor starting, and voltage stability).
• Expert-level proficiency with at least one major power system analysis software (e.g., ETAP, SKM PowerTools, EasyPower, PSCAD, or similar).
• Strong understanding of relevant industry standards and codes (IEEE, NFPA, NEC, ANSI, IEC, or equivalent).
• Familiarity with substation design, electrical building integration, and/or power management systems (PMS/SCADA) is considered an asset.
• Excellent technical problem-solving, communication, documentation skills, and ability to mentor junior engineers.

Benefits

• Choice between two medical plan options: a PPO Copay Plan or a High Deductible Health Plan with Health Savings Account
• Choice between two dental plan options: Core and Core Plus
• Vision benefit
• Company paid life insurance (2X base pay) and AD&D (1X base pay)
• Voluntary life and AD&D – 100% employee paid up to maximums
• Short Term Disability – up to 26 weeks – Company paid
• Long Term Disability – 60% of pay – Company paid, with ability to "buy-up" to 66 2/3% of pay
• Supplemental benefits – 100% employee paid (accident insurance, hospital indemnity, critical illness, pet insurance)
• Parental Leave – up to 6 weeks
• Employee Assistance Program
• Health Advocate support resources for mental/behavioral health, general health navigation and virtual health, and infertility/adoption
• Employee discount program
• 401k Savings Plan with Company Contributions
• Employee Stock Acquisition Plan (ESAP)
• 11 paid holidays
• Vacation provided based on years of service for hourly and non-exempt positions; salaried exempt positions receive vacation under a permissive time away policy