Senior/Lead Power Systems Protection Engineer

Position Summary

This role will play a key part in helping the organization tackle critical projects related to protection system design, relay coordination, event analysis, and regulatory compliance in a rapidly evolving power system landscape. We are seeking a versatile and motivated individual to join our team as a Senior or Lead Power Systems Protection Engineer. This is a technical engineering role that requires a proactive professional with strong protection engineering skills, analytics, and project management abilities. The ideal candidate will be adept at managing a variety of technical protection engineering projects, including relay coordination studies, event analysis, compliance with NERC PRC standards, and supporting renewable energy integration. This is a unique opportunity to join a team of industry leaders with a clear mission and vision.

Roles and Responsibilities

This senior/lead role will be responsible for serving as a subject matter expert on protection engineering, providing technical oversight, and ensuring exceptional project delivery.

The following are a list of roles, responsibilities, and projects related to this position:

• Lead and conduct protection system design and coordination studies, including relay settings, coordination analysis, and protection scheme development for transmission, distribution, and renewable energy interconnections.
• Analyze system faults and protection system performance, including root cause analysis of misoperations using tools such as ASPEN OneLiner, CAPE, SEL AcSELerator, or equivalent.
• Support clients in NERC compliance activities, including PRC-005 (Protection System Maintenance and Testing), PRC-019 (Voltage Coordination), PRC-027 (Coordination during Fault), PRC-029 (Inverter-Based Resource Ride-through), and other relevant standards.
• Develop and review relay settings to ensure proper system protection, selectivity, dependability, and security.
• Review short-circuit study results of generation interconnections and provide analysis and recommendations to clients.
• Integrate protection studies with broader power system engineering analyses, including powerflow, dynamics, and EMT studies, to ensure reliable operation under changing grid conditions.
• Develop technical reports, presentations, and documentation to support project deliverables and client communication.
• Conduct event analysis of system disturbances to identify lessons learned, root causes, and recommend mitigation measures.
• Stay current with emerging technologies (e.g., IEC 61850, wide-area protection schemes, grid-forming inverter interactions) and their impact on protection system design and operation.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (e.g., system planners, renewable developers, large load customers) to integrate protection system requirements into broader grid modernization projects.
• Provide subject matter expertise and mentorship to junior engineers on protection engineering best practices.
• Deliver technical presentations to clients and across the industry to share insights and elevate best practices in protection engineering.
• Meet with clients (virtual and in-person as needed) to understand needs and deliver actionable, strategic guidance.

Qualifications

Candidates should have the following required qualifications:

• A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in electrical engineering with a specialization in power systems engineering (or a closely related field) from an accredited college or university.
• At least 5+ years of deep technical experience in system protection engineering, including relay settings, testing, coordination studies, and event analysis.
• Specialized experience in NERC PRC standards compliance, including evidence preparation, documentation, and audit readiness.
• Understand protection and control systems and know how to get information from protection and control diagrams (single-line, three-line, logic, etc.), equipment test reports, and manuals.
• Proficiency with short-circuit analysis and protection design tools, including ASPEN OneLiner, CAPE, SEL AcSELerator, or equivalent.
• Experience working with protection system hardware and software from major manufacturers (e.g., SEL, GE, ABB, Siemens).
• Familiarity with protection relay test procedures, test plan developments, and test reports.
• Familiarity with powerflow, dynamics, and/or EMT simulations to understand protection system impacts on system behavior.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate complex technical requirements into actionable recommendations.
• Strong interpersonal skills, presentation abilities, and the capability to build strategic relationships with clients and indust