Lead Substation Engineer

Lead Substation Engineer Location: Houston, Texas Employment Type: Direct Hire/Full Time Work Type: Hybrid — four days in the Houston office and one day remote Travel: Approximately 10% regional travel within Texas Relocation assistance available for non-local candidates **Visa support available but only H1B visa transfer only, no full sponsorship available** Position Overview We are seeking a Lead Substation Engineer to join a growing engineering organization supporting utility and power-delivery projects. This position offers a strong engineering culture, meaningful technical ownership, and opportunities to mentor junior engineers while continuing to advance your own career. The Lead Substation Engineer will execute substation physical and/or Protection & Control projects, provide QA/QC oversight, support technical training, and serve as a technical liaison with clients. This is a technical leadership position focused on project execution, task coordination, and mentoring rather than formal personnel management. What You’ll Do Execute substation physical and/or Protection & Control design projects.Communicate effectively with internal teams and clients to meet project requirements.Perform quality-control checks on substation physical and P&C design projects.Read, develop, and review substation drawings, including one-line diagrams, three-line diagrams, schematics, wiring diagrams, plan-and-section drawings, and conduit and grounding drawings.Create and check bills of materials for substation physical and P&C projects.Perform design quality-control reviews.Provide complete project lifecycle support, from initial scoping through final design and implementation.Apply the minimum requirements of the National Electrical Safety Code to the design process.Work with client standards to implement project designs.Collaborate with designers and drafters to create the required drawings for each project.Support construction-related project activities.Occasionally attend site visits, walkdowns, and client meetings at customer locations.Assign project tasks and provide technical guidance and mentoring to junior engineers.Maintain compliance with applicable quality-control procedures and safe-work practices.Deliver projects in accordance with established scope, schedule, and budget.Work as part of a multidisciplinary design team that includes engineers, designers, and CAD technicians. Required Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field.Eight or more years of related substation design experience.Demonstrated experience in substation physical design, Protection & Control design, or both.Excellent communication skills and the ability to interact effectively with internal teams and clients.Ability to meet deadlines in high-pressure situations.Collaborative leadership style and the ability to work effectively in a team environment.Self-starter who can work independently with minimal direction.Strong analytical skills and demonstrated problem-solving ability in both team-based and independent environments.Ability to work in the Houston office approximately four days per week.Ability to travel approximately 10% within Texas for site walkdowns and client-facing activities. Preferred Qualifications Engineer Intern or Engineer-in-Training certification.Professional Engineer license.Working knowledge of Protection & Control design.Experience with bus calculations.Experience with grounding studies, lightning-protection studies, and lighting studies.Experience performing AC and DC calculations.Experience with WinIGS or CDEGS.Experience working with CAD tools.Master’s degree in a related field.Field testing or commissioning experience.Project Management Professional certification. Engineering Culture and Career Development The organization provides an engineering-driven environment where experienced professionals can take ownership of complex projects, mentor developing engineers, and broaden their technical and project leadership capabilities. Career-development resources may include: Formal mentorship programs.Professional Engineer licensure support and recognition.Project Management Professional development.Developmental leadership training.Technical upskilling opportunities.Continuing education and learning resources.Opportunities to progress into broader technical, project, and organizational leadership roles. Benefits Highlights Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, with HSA-eligible options.A 401(k) retirement plan with a standard company match of 100% on up to 6% of eligible pay and immediate vesting of company contributions.Paid time off, 11 paid holidays for most employees, and up to 160 hours of paid parental leave for eligible employees.Company-provided life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment coverage, and disability benefit options.Employee stock purchase plan offering eligible participants a 10% discount.Employee Assistance Program, mental-health resources, and wellness tools.Family-support resources that may include backup childcare, eldercare, caregiver services, and pet-care benefits.