Director, Substation Engineering

We are seeking a Director, Electrical Engineering to provide strategic, technical, and operational leadership for WSB’s Power Delivery electrical engineering organization, with a primary emphasis on Substation Engineering and Protection & Control (P&C). The role leads managers, and technical leaders across Substation Engineering, P&C, Power Systems Studies, and Distributed Energy Resources (DER), and is accountable for engineering quality, consistent execution, workforce planning, staff development, and client delivery.  This position is able to be located out of any major WSB office: Minneapolis, Denver, Austin, Houston, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Boston or Atlanta.

The ideal candidate is a licensed Professional Engineer with deep substation engineering experience, strong technical judgment across power delivery disciplines, and demonstrated success building high-performing teams, scalable engineering standards, and strong utility and client relationships.

What you will do:

People & Organizational Leadership

• Lead directors, managers, technical leaders, senior engineers, and engineering staff across Substation, P&C, Studies, and DER.
• Develop and mentor engineers and emerging leaders, with a focus on technical growth, leadership development, and succession planning.
• Oversee workforce planning, recruiting, retention, performance management, and compensation recommendations.
• Build a culture focused on safety, accountability, technical excellence, quality, communication, and professional growth.
• Establish the resources, training, and organizational structure needed to scale engineering operations.

Substation Engineering & Technical Leadership

• Serve as the senior technical leader for substation engineering, providing oversight of physical design, electrical design, equipment selection, protection and control, and overall project execution.
• Provide technical direction on complex substation projects, including HV/MV substations, transmission and distribution facilities, protection schemes, equipment specifications, grounding, one-lines, control systems, and constructability.
• Oversee engineering standards, design criteria, specifications, calculations, drawings, and deliverables to ensure consistency and technical quality.
• Provide technical guidance across P&C, power systems studies, interconnection, DER/BESS integration, and utility standards.
• Establish and improve QA/QC processes, design standards, technical procedures, and quality metrics.
• Promote coordination among Substation, P&C, Transmission, Distribution, Studies, DER, Project Management, and other WSB service lines.
• Champion a safety-first culture across office, field, and project-site environments.
• Leverage digital tools, data, and AI responsibly to improve engineering efficiency and consistency while maintaining technical accuracy.

Project & Operational Leadership

• Translate Power Delivery strategy into engineering plans, staffing requirements, training priorities, and operational objectives.
• Partner with Project Management to align scope, schedule, budget, staffing, utilization, technical risk, change management, and delivery commitments.
• Serve as Project Principal, Executive Sponsor, or senior technical leader on strategic substation projects, key accounts, MSAs, and complex multidisciplinary programs.
• Maintain accountability for team budgets, P&L, utilization, workload and revenue forecasting, and delivery risk.
• Establish consistent standards for project execution, resource planning, communication, risk escalation, and client experience.

Client Management & Business Development

• Develop and maintain relationships with electric utilities, EPCs, renewable developers, industrial clients, data center clients, and strategic partners.
• Support and lead pursuits involving substation engineering, P&C, transmission/distribution, interconnection, and other power delivery services.
• Develop proposals, technical scopes, fee estimates, pursuit strategies, presentations, and client interviews.
• Leverage industry relationships and market knowledge to expand WSB’s substation and power delivery business.
• Proactively address client concerns related to quality, schedule, resources, communication, and project execution.
• Represent WSB at client meetings, industry events, conferences, and professional organizations.

What you will bring:

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from an accredited institution

Licenses & Certifications

• Professional Engineer (PE) license required

Experience

• 15+ years of progressive power delivery, utility consulting, or electrical engineering experience, with significant experience in substation engineering and/or P&C.
• Strong technical experience in one or more additional areas, such as power systems studies, DER, BESS, grid interconnection, transmission, or distribution.
• Minimum 5+ years of leadership experience, including management of managers, technical leads, or multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Demonstrated success leading engineering organizations, developing staff, improving QA/QC, planning resources, and establishing repeatable engineering standards and processes.
• Strong technical judgment, communication, organization, coaching, decision-making, and conflict-resolution skills.
• Experience working directly with utility, renewable energy, EPC, industrial, or other power delivery clients.

Software

• Microsoft Office Suite, including Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive.
• Substation and electrical engineering tools, including AutoCAD, MicroStation, ETAP, CYME, PSS/E, ASPEN OneLiner, EasyPower, PSCAD/SKM, or similar platforms.
• Familiarity with project management, resource planning, and data/dashboard tools used in power delivery environments.

Working Conditions

• Primarily office/hybrid working within a WSB office, client locations, project sites, or industry events.
• Travel and field visits may be required to support projects, client relationships, and business development.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Engineering Management, Business Administration, or related field.
• Deep technical expertise in substation engineering and P&C, with additional experience in power systems studies, DER, BESS, or interconnection.
• Experience scaling engineering teams, implementing QA/QC programs, developing leadership pipelines, and managing MSAs.
• Established relationships with utilities, developers, EPCs, OEMs, consultants, and other power industry stakeholders.
• PMP or equivalent certification and/or active leadership in professional organizations such as IEEE, IEEE PES, or NSPE.

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