Electrical Engineer - Substations

Actalent is currently seeking a qualified Electrical Engineer for a position in Vancouver, WA. The Electrical Engineer position within the Substation Design organization focuses on developing technical electrical designs and standards for a range of substation projects. The engineer will evaluate project scopes, develop technical designs, and serve as a subject matter expert throughout the construction and closeout phases of high voltage substation projects.

Responsibilities

• Serve as an Electrical Design Engineer on multiple BPA manager-assigned projects in collaboration with Technical Engineering Leads, Project Management, the Project Engineering Team (PE), high voltage Engineers, and other Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) or representatives across BPA, providing expert electrical design engineering guidance to include:
• Receive and review preliminary project documentation, such as the Concept Design Document (CDD), the Asset Plan Item (API) document, and other associated documents; validate Bundle ID’s; and obtain project Work Orders (WOs) as appropriate per established processes.
• Collaborate with applicable Project Manager to set the design due date. Should design schedule slip, alert the Project Manager, and review / revise the design due date. Obtain all appropriate approvals prior to adding scope changes to the project’s design effort.
• Meet, collaborate, communicate, and work closely with the assigned Project Engineer (PE) as needed.
• Review the project SharePoint site to verify complete and accurate documentation; escalate concerns with missing or inaccurate site or data as per procedure. This includes verifying the Project Requirement Diagrams (PRDs) and necessary planning information is considered when developing the project designs and specifications.
• Arrange, coordinate, and facilitate multiple meetings necessary to accomplish the work.
• Provide professional engineering expertise in the design of protective relay schemes.
• Leads the design efforts for protective relaying schemes, other control and protection systems, and associated electrical facilities.
• Develop technical requirements and design parameters for BPA substation facilities and ensure these systems satisfy all functional, operational, maintenance, constructability, reliability, and safety requirements, and meet customer or end-user needs.
• Provide technical direction for Technicians drafting each project design in the Engineering Support group.
• Serve as protection engineer for complex protective relaying projects and for the protective relaying portions of major substation projects.
• Negotiates technical requirements and commitments with team members and other stakeholders.
• Provides guidance for standards and specifications for protective relaying schemes and other control and protection systems.
• Coordinates and provides consultation on the application of BPA and industry standards in procurement and application of protection systems and equipment.
• Provides recommendations for the development and interpretation of engineering policies, design standards, technical requirements, application policies, and installation procedures for systems and equipment used in protective relaying systems.
• Provides expert consultation for all technical aspects of protective relaying schemes. Investigates and analyzes problems associated with complex applications of protection systems and equipment.
• Create technical electrical designs and standards for substation projects such as reactor groups, capacitor groups, station service overhauls, power transformer replacements, power circuit breaker replacements, fiber optic cabling, motor operated disconnects, SER, SCADA, relaying, metering, DFRs and RAS.
• Review, check, and design electrical drawings for new substations (69kV-500kV) and recommend changes and additions to existing substations and other electrical facilities.
• Review, check, and design electrical drawings for new substations below 69kV and recommend changes and additions to existing substations and other electrical facilities.
• Provide professional engineering expertise in the design of SCADA/metering schemes, RAS schemes, and high voltage outdoor designs.
• Leads the development and interpretation of engineering policies, design standards, technical requirements, application policies, and installation procedures for systems and equipment used in substation designs.
• Conduct Station Service system analyses and conduct short circuit or Arc Flash studies.
• Provide input and recommendations for engineering requirements and technical design parameters in the development of substation equipment and facilities, while verifying they meet all functional, operational, maintenance, reliability, and safety requirements.
• Coordinate with BPA internal and external technicians to facilitate the completion and issuance of designs on schedule.
• Coordinate and facilitate planning and organization of substation design projects including troubleshooting design problems, resolving problems, and recommending appropriate design methods.
• Perform print verification and project planning in BPA energized substations, including the examination of open cabinets in substations, while ensuring that the minimum approach distance for the appropriate voltage is always adhered to.
• Obtain substation access permissions to visit existing BPA substations and proposed substation sites while unescorted (voltages in substations can range from 120 volts to 500,000 volts) to verify design prints, meet with electricians or for on-site coordination and other construction meetings.
• Provide background information, technical input, and recommendations that facilitate project decision-making. This may include, at management request, arranging, attending, and facilitating decision-making sessions/meetings with BPA management, executives, and key stakeholders, including drafting agendas, answering technical questions, and presenting information, options, and recommendations for decision-maker consideration.
• Arrange, coordinate, and attend site visit(s) for the projects as assigned by the TEEC Supervisor.
• Create / draft routine project documents, presentations, and communication, including meeting agendas, meeting notes, status reports, corrective action / issue / risk obstacles and mitigation recommendations, procedurally required project documentation, specifications and requirements, etc.; timely distribution of project communications and meeting notes; and project status reports and presentations as requested.
• Provide recommendations to the assigned PM, PE, and project team regarding project expectations, approach, schedule, scope, work plans, step plans, deliverables, and goals, etc.
• Facilitate, assist, and shepherd the project design team members through completion of the project design, collaborate with other design groups for non-electrical design elements; work with BPA’s Drawing Distribution to ensure all drawings, designs, and documentation are distributed for Construction.
• Complete and facilitate technical design efforts for high voltage (69kV-500kV) substation projects including new greenfield substations, bay additions, bay modifications, transmission line re-terminations, bus replacements and re-routes, and high voltage equipment replacements.
• Create, revise, enhance and review engineering standards to support substation design and engineering.
• Facilitate planning, engineering, and design efforts for installation of substation equipment and other electrical systems in BPA substations.
• Serve as engineering technical liaison during construction phase to help resolve any differences between construction and design teams; provides engineering technical review abilities during construction, in conjunction with the construction manager.
• Make recommendations on the application of the National Electrical Code, the National Electrical Safety Code, and North American Electric Reliability Corporation critical infrastructure protection (NERC CIP) to substation work and other related projects.
• Perform print verification and project planning in BPA energized substations, including the examination of open cabinets in substations, while verifying that the minimum approach distance for the appropriate voltage is always adhered to.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering or a closely related field.
• 5 years of experience in engineering design development related to electrical substation projects.
• 3 years working knowledge of High voltage systems, System Control, Communications, Relay planning, functional and technical specifications in a typical electric power system. This shall include experience on electrical substation projects for new substations, capacity additions, line/position extensions, reliability/automation improvements, equipment relocations/replacements, maintenance, and as-built documentation.

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract position based out of Vancouver, WA.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $47.00 - $52.00/hr.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job
classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be
subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits
available for this temporary role may include the following:

• Medical, dental & vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Workplace Type

This is a hybrid position in Vancouver,WA.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Nov 30, 2025.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 30,000 consultants and more than 4,500 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing due to a disability, please email actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com for other accommodation options.

Salary : $47 - $52