Substation Design Manager

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Own the engineering scope for assigned EPC substation projects (typically 69–500 kV), from proposal through commissioning support.
• Define scope, deliverables, and design schedules; align engineering milestones with overall project schedule and procurement lead times.
• Cover physical layout, grounding, raceway, steel/foundations, bus, equipment ratings, lightning protection, and protection & control (one-lines, three-lines, schematics, wiring, relays, settings philosophy).
• Review and approve drawings, calculations, studies, and specifications for technical accuracy, compliance, and constructability.
• Lead technical risk identification and mitigation; drive value engineering that optimizes safety, cost, performance, and schedule.
• Interface with utilities for POI/GO/TO requirements, interconnection deliverables, and witness testing.
• Support the field with RFIs, NCRs, design clarifications, and redlines; manage change control and as-built documentation.
• Support all procurement efforts of high-risk long lead equipment.
• Lead and mentor a team of pre-construction engineers; set clear goals, provide regular feedback, and grow technical and leadership capabilities.
• Plan staffing and resources across concurrent projects; manage internal/external design partners and specialty consultants.
• Standardize methods of practice, templates, and QA/QC checklists; promote a culture of safety, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Partner with preconstruction and estimating to develop engineering execution plans, level-of-effort, schedules, and risk registers for bids.
• Contribute to technical narratives and differentiators in proposals; present engineering strategies in client and partner meetings.
• Build strong relationships with utilities, owners, and EORs; represent engineering in phase gates, design reviews, and readiness checks.
• Track engineering budgets and KPIs; forecast needs and drive performance to plan.
• Champion a safety-by-design mindset; integrate safety and constructability into design decisions and reviews.
• Maintain rigorous document control, RFI tracking, design change logs, and configuration management.
• Manage procurement of long lead equipment.

Qualifications and Expectations

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering (or closely related field).
• 6-10+ years of high-voltage substation engineering experience with EPC or utility/owner projects.
• Demonstrated leadership managing engineering scope, teams, and multi-discipline coordination.
• Strong knowledge of substation physical and P&C design, grounding, equipment selection, and construction sequencing.
• Proficiency with common tools: AutoCAD, Bluebeam, short circuit/coordination tools, scheduling (e.g., Primavera/MS Project), and MS Office.
• Excellent communication skills; able to engage effectively with clients, utilities, PMs, construction, and suppliers.
• Ability to travel to sites, design partners, and client meetings.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license preferred.
• Experience managing external Engineer of Record (EOR) and third-party specialty firms.
• Familiarity with EPC estimating, procurement lead times (e.g., transformers, breakers, steel), FAT/SAT, and commissioning workflows.
• Utility standards experience and interconnection process familiarity.
• Renewable Energy Interconnection experience.