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- Senior Physical Substation Engineer
Description
Founded in 1973, ISG is a multi-disciplinary, employee-owned firm providing architecture, engineering, environmental, and planning services to communities across the nation. Guided by our mission: simplify solutions and passionately design the future; we partner with clients to turn complex challenges into meaningful, lasting impact.
We are seeking a Senior Physical Substation Engineer who will lead the design of high-voltage transmission and distribution substation physical packages, including layouts, bus work, grounding, conduit, and equipment placement. This role ensures designs meet client(s), utility, and regulatory standards while optimizing for safety, reliability, and constructability. The Senior Engineer mentors’ junior staff, reviews and approves deliverables, and serves as a primary client contact for resolving technical issues.
This position will work on projects directly associated with FirstEnergy, one of ISG’s trusted and longstanding client partners.
ISG employee owners are motivated by a shared goal to stretch the limits of great design and positively influence each other, our clients, and the communities we serve. Within our Energy Business Unit, ISG’s Power Group plays a vital role in delivering resilient infrastructure solutions, supporting projects and clients nationwide.
To provide a glimpse into the work, below are examples of similar projects and initiatives you may contribute to as part of this role:
- Substation Upgrades
- Electrical Substation Misoperated Line Terminal Improvements
- FAC-008 Facility Rating Projects
Essential Duties
- Develops and reviews complete physical design packages for high-voltage substations, including: One-line and three-line diagrams, general arrangement (GA) drawings & section views, bus work layouts and equipment plans, grounding layouts and calculations per IEEE Std 80, conduit, trench, and cable routing plans, and engineering documents and bill of materials
- Ensures compliance with utility, client, and regulatory standards (IEEE, ANSI, NEC, NESC, NFPA).
- Applies advanced engineering judgment to optimize substation layouts for safety, reliability, constructability, and cost efficiency.
- Oversees integration of civil/structural and protection & control (P&C) requirements into the physical design.
- Performs and reviews calculations including but not limited to grounding, voltage drop, conduit fill, lightning protection, illumination, cable sag/tension, etc.
- Reviews and approves design packages including drawings, technical reports, and construction notes for accuracy and completeness.
- Leads design coordination meetings with clients, utilities, vendors, and internal teams to resolve design issues.
- Serves as the technical point of contact for clients, providing solutions to complex design challenges.
- Mentors and guides junior engineers and designers, reviewing their work and providing structured feedback.
- Supports project schedules and budgets by accurately forecasting design hours and meeting deliverable milestones.
- Recommends and implements improvements in design processes, tools, and templates to increase efficiency and quality.
- Stays current with emerging technologies, equipment, and industry standards impacting substation design.
ISG Employee Owner Benefits
- Medical, dental, and vision
- Paid time off, pro-rated amount available on your start date
- Paid holidays and paid volunteer time
- Paid parental leave
- Bi-annual profit sharing
- Employee Ownership Stock Plan (ESOP)
- 401K retirement plan
- Life insurance
- HSA and FSA options
- Bereavement leave
- Supplemental voluntary benefits
- Short term and long-term disability
- Parking reimbursement, varies on office location
Requirements
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
- Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (focus in power systems or related discipline required).
- 5+ years of experience in substation physical design, with proven leadership on medium to large projects.
- Professional Engineer (PE) license, required
- Proficiency with marking up drawings digitally and understanding of CAD operations.
- Experience with grounding analysis software (WinIGS, CYME, CDEGS, or equivalent).
- Experience with photometric analysis software (Visual Lighting, AGi32, DIALux,Revit or equivalent).
- Experience with lighting analysis software (WinIGS, CDEGS, PSCAD or equivalent).
- Experience with Substation Design Suite (SDS) and Inventor preferred but not required.
- Strong understanding of substation equipment, procurement,and configurations (AIS, transformer banks, ring bus, breaker-and-a-half, etc.).
- Knowledge of industry codes and standards: IEEE, ANSI, NESC, NEC, NFPA, OSHA.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with ability to interface directly with clients.
- Valid driver’s license and ability to travel for site visits, design reviews, and client meetings
About ISG
We are 100% owned by our employees! ISG's Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) allows for broader ownership, the ability to be directly connected to performance, and our culture of accountability and opportunism is amplified. Put simply, everyone works hard = everyone benefits, not just an elite group.
We are focused on strengths, using those talents to guide personal development and team collaboration. We are involved in our communities and lead through empowerment. Firm growth is a direct reflection of the dedication, ingenuity, and hard work each ISG owner brings to the office and field every day.
ISG's growth and sustainability are based on the unwavering belief that we need to grow for the betterment of our people and firm. We are entrepreneurial. We believe in having the right people onboard and being disciplined during good times and when faced with new challenges. And most importantly, we foster growth through positive mentorship and progressive ideas that lead to strategic, contextual based decisions. We believe that this unwavering commitment to our culture, clients, and dynamic qualities translates to better services for our partners, and that it will continue to guide ISG's future.
Learn more about ISG at http://www.isginc.com
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