Engineering Manager, Power Systems

Engineering Manager, Power Systems — High Voltage / Substation

Location: United States (Southern region) — Remote start, phased transition to site Engagement type: Contract / Staff augmentation Experience required: 10+ years

The Opportunity

A major North American heavy industrial operator is expanding one of its flagship manufacturing facilities. The expansion includes new production capacity requiring a complete high voltage power infrastructure — from utility interconnection through main substation and plant-wide distribution to energisation.

We are seeking a senior power systems authority to own this electrical scope end to end. This is an owner-side role embedded within the client's engineering team, carrying both front-end technical design and field execution oversight through to commissioning.

The engagement begins remotely and transitions to site in the southern United States as the project moves into execution.

What You Will Own

• Utility interconnection and system studies — load flow, short circuit, interconnection coordination through to energisation approval
• Main substation design — single line diagrams, bus arrangement, equipment sizing and selection, grounding to IEEE 80, lightning shielding to IEEE 998
• Plant high voltage distribution — step-down transformers, breaker vaults, feeders, series reactors
• Power quality — flicker assessment to IEEE 1453, harmonic analysis to IEEE 519, sizing and specification of SVC, STATCOM and passive harmonic filter systems
• Load characterisation — furnace and drive loads, melting cycle behaviour, worst-case flicker and harmonic injection conditions
• Protection and control — relay coordination, transformer protection, substation automation
• Long lead equipment specification and procurement support
• Construction oversight, commissioning and energisation

What We Are Looking For

Essential

• 10+ years of progressive experience in high voltage power systems engineering
• Hands-on design authority from 34.5 kV upward; experience at 115 kV to 230 kV or above
• Substation design ownership — not support — on large industrial facilities
• Power quality experience on nonlinear industrial loads: harmonics, flicker, SVC or STATCOM sizing
• Fluency in US standards and practice: IEEE, ANSI, 60 Hz systems, US utility interconnection process

Preferred

• Direct experience on electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking power systems
• Background in integrated steel mill electrical infrastructure
• Experience carrying a scope from front-end engineering through to site execution and commissioning

Acceptable alternatives

• Large-scale paper and pulp, refining, petrochemical, or mineral processing facilities with comparable HV complexity and nonlinear load environments

Qualifications

• Degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent
• US Professional Engineer (PE) licence — advantageous; confirm requirement at application stage

Engagement Model

The preferred model is a single expert who carries both the technical design phase and the execution phase. Where that is not available, a paired model — technical authority remotely and execution lead on site — is an accepted alternative under a single statement of work.

Candidates based outside the United States are welcome to apply. Relocation support and mobility assistance are available for the site-based phase.

Why This Role

• Owner-side authority with genuine scope ownership — not a support function
• Long-duration engagement spanning design through commissioning
• Major capital programme at a well-established operator with a strong pipeline of follow-on work
• Remote start with structured transition to site