Senior Substation Designer

About the role

The power industry is evolving rapidly to support grid modernization, renewable energy integration, electrification, and the growing demand from industrial facilities and data centers. As a Senior Substation Designer, you will play a key role in delivering Protection & Control (P&C) and Physical Design packages for electrical utility, industrial, and data center substation projects. Working closely with engineers, project managers, clients, and contractors, you will support the development of detailed design packages, coordinate multidisciplinary project activities, and contribute to the successful execution of projects from conceptual engineering through construction support and commissioning. You will also provide technical guidance to junior designers while helping maintain design quality, consistency, and compliance with client and industry standards.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain complete P&C point to point wiring design packages for utility and industrial substation projects.
• Prepare panel wiring diagrams, field interconnection wiring diagrams, control panel layouts, relay panel arrangements, communications and SCADA wiring drawings.
• Develop cable schedules and cable routing plans.
• Perform DC and AC distribution breaker and fuse sizing.
• Develop station one-line diagrams, general arrangement drawings, equipment layouts, and elevations.
• Develop grounding plans, lightning protection, conduit and raceway layouts, cable trench layouts, cable tray layouts, and control building layouts.
• Coordinate equipment locations and clearances.
• Verify existing site conditions and gather field data during site walkdowns.
• Participate in constructability reviews during design development.
• Coordinate design development with civil, structural, communications, and protection engineering disciplines and integrate into design packages.
• Coordinate with engineers, project managers, clients, and contractors throughout project execution.
• Review design standards, calculations, vendor drawings, and client requirements to ensure design consistency and compliance.
• Review design deliverables for quality, accuracy, and adherence to project requirements.
• Develop Bills of Materials for P&C and Physical packages.
• Manage drawing revisions and project documentation throughout the project lifecycle.
• Support construction activities and commissioning efforts as required.
• Resolve field design issues and provide technical support during project execution.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives and QA/QC processes.
• Support the implementation and use of digital design tools and technologies to enhance design quality and project execution.
• Support proposals, estimating, and project planning activities.
• Support geographically distributed and global design teams.
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior designers and drafters.

Requirements

• Associate Degree in Engineering Technology, or related discipline.
• Minimum 12 years of substation design experience.
• Demonstrated experience in both P&C and Physical Design for AIS and GIS Substations.
• Experience supporting substation projects from 12 kV through 500 kV.
• Understanding of project execution from conceptual engineering through construction support and commissioning.
• Proficiency with AutoCAD, MicroStation, or comparable design software.
• Strong understanding of substation equipment, grounding, lightning protection, raceway design, SCADA systems, relays and relay panels, breaker and fuse applications.
• Strong understanding of equipment clearances.
• Strong knowledge of NEC, NESC, IEEE standards and utility requirements.
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously while maintaining quality and schedule commitments.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience supporting utility, EPC, industrial, and data center projects.
• Proficiency with Bentley Substation, Revit, AutoCAD Electrical, Bluebeam, and 3D design platforms.
• Introduction to IEC 61850 and digital substation concepts.

Benefits

Employees have access to medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance, a 401(k) plan, and the ability to purchase company stock at a discount. Eligible employees may also enroll in a deferred compensation plan or the Executive Deferral Plan. Jacobs has an unlimited U.S. Personalized Paid Time Off (PPTO) policy for full-time salaried/exempt employees, seven paid holidays, and caregiver leave. Certain roles may be eligible for additional rewards, including merit increases, performance discretionary bonus, and stock.

Pay

The base salary range for this position is $110,600.00 to $145,200.00. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

Schedule

We value collaboration and believe that in-person interactions are crucial for both our culture and client delivery. We empower employees with our hybrid working policy, allowing them to split their work week between Jacobs offices/projects and remote locations enabling them to deliver their best work.