Electrical Engineer - Power

PTS Advance • Contract • Walnut Creek, California • 1w ago

Details:

Electrical Engineer - Power

Our client is seeking a senior power engineer to lead substation and power system projects for utility, renewable, and industrial clients. This role is ideal for an experienced engineer who enjoys both hands-on technical work and mentoring, and who wants meaningful influence on project delivery and company growth.

Direct impact on complex power projects (15 kV–230 kV, occasionally higher) from concept through commissioning.
Access to seasoned senior engineers plus the opportunity to mentor and develop mid- and junior-level staff and CAD designers.
Growth path toward group leadership, key client ownership, and participation in strategic decisions and firm-building.
You want to be a part of a small, growing team environment with clear opportunities for leadership, practice building, and potential employee ownership/partnership.

Pay range: Commensurate to experience

Start immediately

Technical Leadership – Substations & Power Systems

Lead design for medium- and high-voltage substations (15 kV–230 kV): one-lines/three-lines, protection & control, AC/DC systems, panel wiring/layouts, grounding, lightning protection, and physical arrangement.
Oversee or perform power system studies: short-circuit, load flow, arc flash, and protection coordination using industry-standard tools (e.g., SKM, ETAP, EasyPower).
Prepare and review specifications for transformers, breakers, switchgear, relays (SEL and similar), controls, metering, and supporting equipment; support technical bid evaluations as needed.
Ensure designs comply with NEC, NESC, IEEE/ANSI, utility standards, and relevant interconnection/utility requirements (e.g., Rule 21 or similar where applicable).

Project Delivery & Execution

Serve as technical lead on substation, renewable (solar PV/BESS), and industrial power projects from scope definition through construction support.
Develop scopes, estimates, schedules, and work plans; manage technical quality (QA/QC) of drawing packages and calculations.
Coordinate effectively with multidisciplinary internal teams, CAD resources, contractors, vendors, and client stakeholders; provide field engineering, site walk support, and as-built review.
Team leadership & mentoring
Provide day-to-day technical direction for engineers and designers, review work and coach on substation design, power system analysis, and protection & controls.
Guide CAD teams on drawing standards, deliverable structure, and efficient production; minimal direct drafting expected.
Contribute to internal standards, templates, and best practices; help build and scale the power engineering group.

Client engagement & business support

Act as a key technical contact for assigned clients; participate in project definition meetings, technical workshops, and design reviews.
Support proposals, level-of-effort estimates, and scopes of work; identify add-on work and help grow strategic accounts.
Help shape group strategy and, ideally, bring in or develop client relationships and a growing book of business over time.

Required Qualifications

10+ years of electrical power engineering experience, with significant focus on utility or industrial substations and distribution systems.
Demonstrated expertise in substation design and protection & control for MV/HV systems (15 kV–115/230 kV; experience up to 500 kV is a plus).
Proven ability to lead projects independently, including scope/schedule/budget awareness and coordination across disciplines and stakeholders.
Experience interfacing with utilities, public agencies, developers, EPCs, or large industrial/transportation/water clients.
BS in Electrical Engineering (power emphasis preferred)
Active PE license in California strongly preferred.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including ability to mentor and lead diverse technical teams.

Preferred experience

Substation & grid projects

Single-line and three-line development, control building layouts, DC system design, and AC/DC panel schedules.
Grounding studies and grid design (IEEE step and touch analysis), lightning protection, and MV/HV cable routing and duct bank concepts.
Familiarity with ring bus, breaker-and-a-half, and similar substation arrangements; greenfield and brownfield upgrade projects.

Control, SCADA & communications

Experience with substation SCADA systems, RTUs, and common protocols (DNP3, Modbus, IEC 61850); understanding of utility and plant networks supporting SCADA.
Ability to review PLC/RTU wiring diagrams and coordinate with integrators, protection technicians, and utility operations teams.

Cross-sector background (nice to have)

Electrical design on solar PV, BESS, water/wastewater, transportation (e.g., traction power), or industrial facilities.
Experience with large emergency power systems, generators, and complex facility distribution (e.g., hospitals, data centers, campuses).
Prior supervisory or group-lead experience (e.g., leading a team of design engineers, project engineers, or drafters) is strongly valued, especially for Principal-level consideration.

Compensation & Benefits:

Full-time salaried position with competitive pay, health, dental, 401(k), profit sharing, paid holidays, and PTO.
Flexible work arrangement: mix of Walnut Creek office presence and remote work, adjusted for candidate experience and project needs.
Opportunities for partnership track or employee ownership for high-performing senior/principal engineers who help grow the practice.

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