Power Systems Engineer

Overview

Position Summary 

We are seeking an experienced Protection & Control Engineer, with primary emphasis on utility protection engineering, to support electric utility clients with relay settings, coordination reviews, trip investigations, protection design support, and modernization efforts. This role is well suited for someone who understands how protection schemes are intended to operate in the field and can translate that knowledge into clear, practical engineering deliverables. 

Note to candidates: We recognize that qualified candidates may not have every skill listed below. If you have meaningful experience in utility protection engineering and this type of work is familiar territory, we encourage you to apply. 

Responsibilities

Key Responsibilities 

Distribution Protection Engineering 

• Perform protection analysis and coordination reviews for utility distribution and substation systems. 

• Review relay settings, fault-current impacts, and protection changes associated with breakers, relays, reclosers, fuses, and related equipment. 

• Evaluate protective-device coordination, feeder and transformer protection, and the field application of protection schemes. 

• Develop or review protection philosophies, application practices, calculations, and settings documentation. 

• Support commissioning, field testing, and validation of protection systems. 

Substation Protection & Control 

• Develop protection schemes for utility distribution and substation applications. 

• Apply transformer differential, feeder, bus, breaker failure, and related protection functions as project needs require. 

• Support relay logic, control narratives, sequence-of-operations documentation, and related design packages where needed. 

• Support protection system replacement, upgrade, and modernization programs. 

Grid Reliability & Trip Investigation 

• Investigate unexpected trips to determine why a relay or breaker operated and recommend practical corrective actions. 

• Perform root-cause investigations of trips, outages, and suspected protection misoperations. 

• Develop clear technical findings and corrective-action recommendations. 

• Communicate results through concise reports and customer presentations. 

Protection System Modernization 

• Support relay and breaker replacement projects, from individual device replacements to broader protection system modernization efforts. 

• Develop technical specifications, design criteria, engineering packages, and specification reviews. 

• Coordinate protection requirements with utility engineering, operations, testing, and project teams. 

Technical Leadership & Client Support 

• Lead assigned engineering work with minimal oversight and maintain quality, schedule, and budget awareness. 

• Perform technical reviews and mentor less-experienced engineers. 

• Participate in customer meetings, design reviews, and technical discussions. 

• Provide surge capacity and specialized expertise for critical utility programs and workforce gaps. 

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a closely related discipline.
• Approximately 10 or more years of directly relevant utility protection and control experience, or an equivalent combination of experience and demonstrated capability.
• Demonstrated experience developing protective relay settings and performing protection coordination and fault analysis.
• Strong working knowledge of utility distribution substations and feeders, protective-device coordination, relay settings, feeder and transformer protection, relay logic, and protection application principles.
• Experience investigating relay events, trips, outages, or misoperations and translating findings into practical recommendations.
• Ability to independently prepare calculations, settings files, technical reports, specifications, and design documentation.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to work directly with utility engineering and operations personnel. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional Engineer (PE) license or the ability to obtain one.
• Experience supporting investor-owned, municipal, or cooperative electric utilities.
• Experience with SEL relays and related tools, especially SEL-351/351S, SEL-421, SEL-451, SEL-487B/487E, SEL-501, SEL-587, SEL-651R2, and SEL-751.
• Experience with recognized power-system analysis or protection-coordination software.
• Familiarity with SCADA, RTUs, distribution automation, communications, and substation modernization projects.
• Working knowledge of applicable IEEE, NERC, and utility-specific protection standards and practices.
• Experience providing technical leadership, quality reviews, or mentorship. 

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is a seasoned protection engineer with practical utility experience. They can move confidently from system studies and relay settings to event investigation, design review, and customer discussion. They are accountable, detail-oriented, comfortable working independently, and able to explain complex protection issues clearly. 

Core Areas of Expertise 

Utility Distribution Protection 

Relay Settings Development 

Substation Protection & Control 

Protection Coordination Studies 

Fault & Event Analysis 

Transformer Differential Protection 

Trip Investigations 

Protection System Modernization 

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER | DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE

Shermco is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status.  Shermco is a drug-free workplace.

NO AGENCIES PLEASE

Pay Range