Senior Engineer, Substations - Physical Design

Forge ahead with WSB. WSB was founded on the understanding that culture drives results, and we've dedicated ourselves to the value of strong relationships, collaboration, and forward-thinking ideas. We've inspired each other to discover thoughtful and creative solutions that look beyond the needs of today to the opportunities of tomorrow. We are seeking an experienced Senior Physical Substation Design Engineer with a strong background in high-voltage substation physical design. This individual will execute, lead, and provide technical oversight for substation engineering and consulting services across the United States while working closely with project managers, discipline leads, engineers, designers, and drafters. The role is responsible for successful delivery from conceptual design through IFC, construction support, and record drawings. The Senior Physical Substation Design Engineer will develop and review general arrangements, equipment layouts, plans and elevations, electrical clearances, grounding, conduit and cable systems, bus design, equipment and material specifications, calculations, bills of material, and construction drawings. The role also supports scope development, proposals, estimates, schedules, execution planning, quality reviews, client coordination, and multidisciplinary interfaces. The successful candidate will provide technical leadership, improve engineering standards and processes, communicate directly with clients and external stakeholders, and mentor engineers and designers while maintaining a strong focus on safety, quality, constructability, schedule, and budget. This position is primarily remote, and the candidate may be located anywhere within the United States. We invite you to forge ahead with us.

What you will do:

• Execute, lead, and oversee physical design for greenfield, brownfield, expansion, retrofit, and equipment replacement substation projects.
• Develop and review general arrangement drawings, equipment plans and elevations, sections, details, and complete physical design packages.
• Perform equipment layout and electrical clearance evaluations in accordance with client requirements and applicable industry standards.
• Develop and review grounding designs, grounding plans, grounding details, and inputs to grounding calculations and studies.
• Develop and review rigid and strain bus designs, including conductor selection, equipment connections, bus arrangements, and coordination of mechanical loading requirements.
• Develop and review conduit, raceway, cable trench, duct bank, and below-grade electrical layouts.
• Develop and review station service physical layouts, auxiliary equipment arrangements, lighting, receptacle, and related physical installations as applicable.
• Prepare and review equipment specifications and technical procurement packages for power transformers, circuit breakers, disconnect switches, instrument transformers, surge arresters, station service equipment, and other high-voltage equipment.
• Develop and review bills of material and material takeoffs for substation physical design.
• Review vendor drawings and coordinate approved equipment dimensions, loading, connection, installation, and access requirements into the design.
• Coordinate physical design requirements with Protection & Control, Civil/Structural, Transmission Line, Telecommunications/SCADA, Distribution, and other supporting disciplines.
• Coordinate structural loading, foundation requirements, equipment mounting, grading, drainage, oil containment, and site development interfaces with civil and structural engineers.
• Support project scope development, engineering estimates, schedules, budgets, proposals, and execution plans.
• Provide technical leadership through conceptual, 30%, 60%, 90%, IFC, construction support, and record drawing phases.
• Perform interdisciplinary design reviews and identify physical conflicts, clearance concerns, accessibility constraints, constructability issues, and interface risks.
• Perform and document quality control reviews of drawings, calculations, specifications, and other engineering deliverables in accordance with company and client quality processes.
• Participate in client meetings and communicate with utilities, equipment manufacturers, contractors, and other project stakeholders.
• Provide construction support, including responses to RFIs, review of substitutions, resolution of field conditions, and support for design changes.
• Perform site visits, field inspections, field data collection, and existing-condition verification for brownfield and retrofit projects.
• Develop and maintain design standards, templates, checklists, specifications, typical details, and engineering procedures.
• Provide technical direction and mentorship to engineers, designers, and drafters while managing assigned work to scope, quality, schedule, and budget requirements.

What you will bring:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from an ABET-accredited or similarly recognized engineering program.
• 10+ years of experience in substation engineering and physical design.
• Demonstrated experience designing medium- and high-voltage utility substations, including both greenfield and brownfield projects.
• Strong experience with general arrangements, equipment layouts, plans and elevations, grounding, rigid and strain bus, conduit and raceway systems, electrical clearances, and equipment specifications.
• Advanced knowledge of substation design principles and applicable IEEE, ANSI, NESC, NFPA, and utility standards and practices.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and review engineering drawings, calculations, specifications, bills of material, and construction documents.
• Experience leading technical design activities and coordinating engineers, designers, and drafters.
• Previous experience mentoring junior and mid-level engineers and designers.
• Ability to coordinate effectively with Protection & Control and Civil/Structural engineering disciplines.
• Ability to interpret existing drawings, equipment drawings, specifications, survey information, and field data.
• Strong understanding of electrical clearances, constructability, outage constraints, and modifications within energized substations.
• Working knowledge of project scope development, estimating, scheduling, budgeting, and proposal preparation.
• Excellent written, verbal, organizational, and client-facing communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent projects or assignments and travel occasionally for field assignments, client meetings, factory inspections, and construction support.
• Experience with substations from 69 kV through 500 kV or higher.
• Experience serving as Lead Physical Engineer or Engineer of Record on utility substation projects.
• Experience with major utility clients and utility-specific design standards.
• Experience with AutoCAD, MicroStation, Bentley Substation, Inventor, Revit, or comparable 2D/3D design platforms.
• Familiarity with grounding analysis software such as CDEGS or equivalent.
• Experience with 3D substation modeling, clash detection, reality capture, point clouds, and model-based design workflows.
• Experience performing equipment selection, technical bid evaluations, and vendor drawing reviews.
• Experience supporting EPC, engineer-procure, or fast-track substation programs.
• Professional Engineer (P.E.) license highly preferred.

Who We Are:

WSB is a design and consulting firm specializing in Transportation, Community Planning, Environmental, Energy, Municipal, and Construction services. We provide solutions for the places, spaces and systems that support our lives. We offer services in more than 50 complementary areas across the nation.

Full time WSB employees qualify for competitive compensation and benefits package, including medical insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, life insurance, company paid short-and long-term disability, 401K with match, paid time off, paid holidays, tuition reimbursement, and opportunities for professional growth and development. Part time employees can participate in the 401K plan and applicable earned paid leave.

As an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer, all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran or disability status.

WSB strives to ensure that its careers website is accessible to all. If you need assistance completing your online application, please email wsbrecruiting@wsbeng.com.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, WSB is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans. If you need a reasonable accommodation to assist with your job search or application for employment, please e-mail us at wsbrecruiting@wsbeng.com. In your e-mail, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.

Notice to Third Party Agencies: WSB does not accept unsolicited resumes from third party recruiting firms. Absent a signed Service Agreement by WSB, we reserve the right to pursue and hire any unsolicited candidates without financial obligation to recruiters or agencies.