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Contract Relay Protection Engineer information

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$58K

$98.9K

$195K

How much do contract relay protection engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 23, 2026, the average yearly pay for contract relay protection engineer in the United States is $98,903.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $70,000.00 and $102,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a contract relay protection engineer?

Contract Relay Protection Engineers are specialized professionals who design, test, and maintain protective relay systems for electrical power networks on a contract basis. Their main role is to ensure the safety and reliability of electrical systems by preventing damage from faults such as short circuits or equipment failures. Working as contractors, they may serve utilities, industrial clients, or engineering firms for specific projects or periods of time. They are responsible for relay settings, system coordination, troubleshooting, and compliance with industry standards.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a contract relay protection engineer?

To thrive as a Contract Relay Protection Engineer, you need a solid background in electrical engineering, experience with power system protection, and typically a bachelor's degree in engineering or related field. Familiarity with relay coordination software (such as SEL, GE, or ABB), AutoCAD, and relevant protection standards (IEEE, NERC) is essential, and a Professional Engineer (PE) license is often preferred. Strong problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and effective communication are important soft skills for this role. These competencies ensure the reliable design, installation, and maintenance of protective relay systems that safeguard electrical grids and infrastructure.

What are some common challenges faced by contract relay protection engineers when working with different utility clients?

Contract Relay Protection Engineers often encounter varying design standards, documentation practices, and communication protocols when partnering with different utility clients. Adapting quickly to each client's specific requirements and ensuring compliance with their protection schemes can be challenging. Additionally, balancing multiple projects and deadlines while maintaining high-quality deliverables requires strong organizational skills. Effective collaboration with both in-house teams and client representatives is essential for successful project execution.

What is the difference between Contract Relay Protection Engineer vs Substation Engineer?

AspectContract Relay Protection EngineerSubstation Engineer
CertificationsRelay protection certifications, electrical engineering licensesElectrical engineering licenses, substation design certifications
Work EnvironmentField and project sites, electrical substations, power plantsSubstation facilities, project planning, and design offices
Employer & IndustryPower utilities, electrical contractors, energy companiesUtility companies, engineering firms, infrastructure developers

The Contract Relay Protection Engineer primarily focuses on designing, testing, and commissioning relay protection systems within electrical substations, ensuring system reliability. In contrast, a Substation Engineer oversees the overall design, construction, and maintenance of substations. Both roles require electrical engineering expertise and certifications, but their daily tasks and focus areas differ, with the relay protection engineer specializing in protection systems and the substation engineer managing broader substation operations.

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Contract Relay Protection Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Contract Relay Protection Engineer job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 87% Full Time, 1% Part Time, 1% Temporary, and 10% Contract. Highlights an 92% In-person, 3% Hybrid, and 5% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $98,903 per year, or $47.5 per hour.

Protection Engineer

Southern California Edison (SCE)

Rosemead, CA • On-site

$129K - $193K/yr

Full-time

Re-posted 26 days ago

Job description

Join the Clean Energy Revolution
Become a Protection Engineer at Southern California Edison (SCE) and build a better tomorrow. Supporting SCE's power generation portfolio spanning hydroelectric, thermal, and battery energy storage assets, this role contributes to both capital improvement projects and ongoing operations and maintenance of protection systems, ensuring long-term system reliability and grid safety. It offers the opportunity to directly impact the performance and resilience of critical infrastructure while working across diverse technologies and operational environments. This work is both highly technical and mission-critical, supporting safe, reliable power delivery to millions of customers.
As a Protection Engineer, your work will help power our planet, reduce carbon emissions and create cleaner air for everyone. Are you ready to take on the challenge to help us build the future?
Responsibilities
  • Ensures technical issues and problems are resolved in a timely, efficient and cost-effective manner utilizing available resources.
  • Supervises, leads, and coordinates work with full time and contract employees in the execution of new technical strategies, equipment or standards.
  • Conducts life cycle assessments for utility infrastructure materials and processes; improves preventive maintenance procedures to decrease overall downtime.
  • Conducts risk assessments and implements risk mitigation strategies to ensure the safety and reliability of engineering projects.
  • Supports audits and inspections; ensures compliance with relevant environmental, health, and safety
  • Regulations.
  • Provides engineering and technical expertise and guidance for the identification, analysis and resolution of high impact, complex and/or cross-functional problems in engineering.
  • Ensures the engineering facility design basis is controlled and design basis documentation is maintained. Conducts engineering and related studies with full technical responsibility for planning and coordinating high-impact complex projects.
  • Provides support and technical training to junior engineering levels.
  • A material job duty of all positions within the Company is ensuring the protection of all its physical, financial and cybersecurity assets, and properly accessing and managing private customer data, proprietary information, confidential medical records, and other types of highly sensitive information and data with the highest standards of conduct and integrity.

Minimum Qualifications
  • Bachelor's Degree in Engineering or Bachelor's Degree in a scientific/technical/math field.
  • Five or more years of experience in engineering within operations, production, construction or maintenance environments.
  • Possess a valid Class C Driver's License.

Preferred Qualifications
  • Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering; Power Systems focus and/or advanced degree preferred.
  • 5+ years of experience in power system protection engineering within utility, power generation, or similar industrial environments.
  • Experience with protection relays and schemes, including relay selection, settings development, coordination studies, testing, and troubleshooting.
  • Knowledge of both legacy electromechanical and modern digital relay technologies, including system modernization and migration strategies.
  • Proficiency in fault analysis, short-circuit studies, protection coordination, and relay settings validation for medium- and high-voltage systems.
  • Hands-on experience with protection engineering software such as ASPEN, CAPE, ETAP, CYME, or similar platforms.
  • Ability to interpret one-line diagrams, schematics, control logic, and relay drawings while supporting design reviews, commissioning, and capital projects.
  • Familiarity with NERC/WECC requirements, maintenance and testing programs, arc flash mitigation, and protection system compliance.
  • Experience supporting battery energy storage systems (BESS), renewable generation, or other inverter-based resources.
  • Strong troubleshooting, root cause analysis, collaboration, and communication skills with the ability to work effectively across engineering, operations, maintenance, and project teams.

Additional Information
  • This position's work mode is hybrid. The employee will report to an SCE facility for a set number of days with the option to work remotely on the remaining days. Unless otherwise noted, employees are required to work and reside in the state of California. Further details of this work mode will be discussed at the interview stage. The work mode can be changed based on business needs.
  • Visit our Candidate Resource page to get meaningful information related to benefits, perks, resources, testing information, hiring process, and more!
  • Qualified applications with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.
  • The primary work location for this position is Rosemead, CA.
  • Position will require up to 25% traveling and being out in the field throughout the SCE service territory.
  • This position has been identified as a NERC/CIP impacted position - Prior to being hired, the successful candidate must pass a Personnel Risk Assessment (PRA) or Background Investigation. Once hired, the candidate must complete specified training prior to gaining un-escorted access to assigned work location and performing necessary job duties.
  • Relocation does not apply to this position.

About Southern California Edison
The people at SCE don't just keep the lights on. Our mission is so much bigger. We're fueling the kind of innovation that's changing an entire industry, and quite possibly the planet. Join us and create a future with cleaner energy, while providing our customers with the safety and reliability they demand. At SCE, you'll have a chance to grow personally and professionally, making a real impact in Southern California and around the world.
Southern California Edison is a proud Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status.
We are committed to ensuring that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodations at AskHR@sce.com or (626) 302-3456 and select option 2.

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