Electrical Installation SME

Position Overview

Our client is seeking an experienced Electrical Installation Subject Matter Expert to provide hands-on technical leadership for industrial automation and material handling projects. This position supports electrical installation, testing, commissioning, and system integration while improving field execution, quality, safety, and team capability.

The SME serves as the technical escalation point for complex electrical and controls issues, working with field leaders, project managers, engineering, procurement, safety, commissioning teams, vendors, and equipment manufacturers. During onboarding, the position may lead electrical work on a major project while supporting additional sites.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide technical direction for electrical installations involving conveyors, robotic equipment, automated storage and retrieval systems, automated guided vehicles, and related industrial systems.
• Interpret electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, control panel drawings, PLC input and output documentation, control narratives, and automation logic.
• Review project scope, drawings, specifications, and customer requirements before mobilization. Identify constructability risks, installation conflicts, access limitations, and opportunities to improve execution.
• Develop and update electrical execution plans covering labor, tools, equipment, temporary power, materials, site organization, sequencing, and weekly resource needs. Provide technical input for estimating.
• Establish installation methods, standard operating procedures, testing practices, and quality expectations. Verify that employees and subcontractors follow approved drawings and procedures.
• Support site managers, leads, and foremen with troubleshooting, controls interface issues, system integration, and daily and weekly work planning.
• Support commissioning through point-to-point testing, electrical power-up, system verification, startup troubleshooting, and coordination with equipment manufacturers.
• Inspect workmanship and verify compliance with applicable codes, specifications, manufacturer instructions, and customer requirements.
• Promote and enforce lockout/tagout, arc-flash protection, energized-work controls, electrical safe-work practices, and robotic safety procedures. Participate in job hazard analyses, pre-task planning, and corrective-action investigations.
• Train and mentor apprentices, technicians, leads, and foremen. Assess technical capabilities and recommend development priorities, qualification methods, and project assignments.
• Coordinate technical clarifications, design feedback, installation changes, startup support, and integration activities with engineers, customers, vendors, inspectors, and equipment manufacturers.
• Maintain field documentation, including redlines, as-built information, issue logs, and technical input for turnover packages and closeout reports.
• Investigate recurring defects and commissioning failures. Use root-cause findings and lessons learned to improve installation standards, training, procedures, and estimating assumptions.

Technical Authority

This role directs technical troubleshooting and recommends installation standards, corrective actions, design changes, materials, tooling, and sequencing improvements. The SME may stop electrical work that presents an immediate safety, code, quality, or equipment risk and escalates unresolved technical, safety, schedule, quality, or customer concerns to operations leadership.

Required Qualifications

• At least 8 years of industrial electrical installation experience involving conveyors, automation, robotics, controls, or material handling systems.
• Advanced ability to interpret electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, panel drawings, PLC input and output documentation, and control-system requirements.
• Experience leading electrical installation, troubleshooting, testing, startup, and commissioning activities.
• Strong working knowledge of the National Electrical Code, NFPA 70E, lockout/tagout, arc-flash requirements, and industrial electrical safety practices; familiarity with applicable UL, OSHA, and customer standards.
• Experience developing installation plans, labor and tooling requirements, standard operating procedures, quality standards, and technical training.
• Clear communication skills and the ability to work effectively with field personnel, customers, engineers, project managers, vendors, equipment manufacturers, and inspectors.
• Ability to travel extensively and support active project sites, including extended assignments during the initial onboarding period.

Preferred Qualifications

• Journeyman, Master Electrician, or equivalent state electrical license.
• Experience with automated storage and retrieval systems, automated guided vehicles or autonomous mobile robots, conveyor controls, robotic cells, variable frequency drives, safety circuits, industrial networks, PLCs, and HMIs.
• Experience supporting third-party inspections, equipment manufacturer commissioning, and customer acceptance testing.
• OSHA 30, NFPA 70E, manufacturer, controls, or automation-related certifications.
• Experience as an electrical site lead, superintendent, commissioning lead, or technical trainer.

Measures of Success

Performance will be evaluated through installation quality and first-pass acceptance; reduced rework and punch-list items; safety compliance; timely resolution of technical issues; commissioning readiness and system acceptance; accurate execution plans and closeout documentation; field team skills development; consistent adoption of installation standards; and feedback from customers, equipment manufacturers, project managers, and field leaders.