Engineering Assistant Jobs in Lacey, WA (NOW HIRING)

GENERAL FUNCTION

This position is a primary leadership role responsible for managing and supporting the safe, resilient activities and operations of the Peninsula Light Companys distribution and operational technologies systems and associated staff. Incumbent will manage the system engineering and distribution design department whose functions range from asset management of the distribution system including substations and line equipment as well as Operational Technology (OT) systems such as: advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), power quality (PQ), protective relays, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), Outage Management System (OMS), OT communications, and Geographic Information System (GIS). The incumbent will also be the Project Manager, or supervise a PM, and/or a key stakeholder during major projects that impact the entire business such as during AMI upgrades, Customer Information Systems (CIS) / Work Order / Staking or other projects of scale that result in business wide changes.

Day to day responsibilities include assigning work, ensuring coordination and cooperation on the flow of work between the all-business Departments, short-and long-range utility system planning, resource estimates and Warehouse inventory support, employee training and development, and on-site review of construction as needed. Assisting with the management and contracts for a number of long-term partnerships with consultants and vendors that support our Operational Technologies infrastructure will also be a key function for this role. This is a supervisory position, and the incumbent may be required to serve as back-up for the Chief Operating Officer as well as the Electrical Operations Manager and/or Water Department Manager. This position reports to the Chief Operating Officer who will evaluate work through reports, briefings and observations of daily activities.

Salary Range: $140,951-176,586/annually

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

Incumbent provides supervision to include performance reviews for direct reports but not limited to the following: Distribution Design Supervisor, System Engineering Supervisor, System Engineer, System Engineering Specialists, and System Engineering Assistant.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES/ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

1. Assigns, manages, supervises, trains, and evaluates the work of assigned staff. Provides management guidance and support to subordinates as necessary
2. Develops policies, procedures, standards, and other documents as needed for the Engineering and Operations (E&O) Departments.
3. Reviews and provides management direction to new construction and upgrade of existing facilities through the efforts and interactions of Distribution Design Department personnel with Operations, contractors, and other utilities.
4. Provides oversight of electrical system modeling and analysis, including the vision and leadership to continuously improve GIS capabilities.
5. Reviews and participates in long-range system planning based on analysis of load growth/customer connections and recommends phasing of construction and capital budget outlay.
6. Provides management input and coordination to the regular review of the Companys sectionalizing and voltage control programs to ensure the highest quality of service to customers.
7. Provides leadership, vision, input and coordination with Operations and Dispatch regarding SCADA/OMS/DMS, including the system integration for those systems (collectively known as OpNet).
8. Oversees company compliance with the reliability standards of Western Electricity Coordinating Council, North American Electric Reliability Cooperation and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (if applicable).
9. In conjunction with technical input, determines when projects are feasible within existing budget limitations.
10. Attends, participates and provides leadership in utility-related functions such as meetings, conferences, seminars, and workshops in order to maintain a high level of knowledge supporting an electric utility.
11. Works in concert with the Chief Operating Officers to develop annual budget and monitors expenditures against programs throughout the budget year.
12. Provides input to determine and monitor capital improvement, special equipment, engineering, and contract labor budgets.
13. Ensures that assigned staff continually and harmoniously operate at a high level of productivity and responsiveness, and develops a sense of cooperation and importance of coordination with other company departments.
14. Responds to company needs during periods of emergency outage of electric power. This is expected 365/24/7 as part of a team coverage for leadership of the E&O department.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Demonstrate advanced experience to effectively manage, train and evaluate assigned staff and the ability to identify and solve complex management business problems.
• Demonstrate thorough knowledge and practice of the principles of management to include planning, coordinating, directing, and effectively leading a department of an electric utility.
• Provide knowledge and experience in electrical system protection schemes and relays including fault location, isolation and restoration schemes (FLISR); managing and overseeing substations and associated equipment including analysis and oversight for the system used for routine maintenance programs
• Must perform studies and prepare work plans that continually ensure the effectiveness of distribution systems and increase the reliability of our service and product to our membership, including single phase and three phase operation
• Must coordinate contingency plans for power distribution in emergency situations.
• Identifies appropriate knowledge and understanding of state and federal safety regulations and emergency procedures related to utility operations.
• Demonstrate advanced ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, and to understand and follow verbal and written instructions.
• Demonstrate advanced skill in the establishment of effective working relationships with assigned staff, other department heads, customers, contractors, and the general public.
• Exhibit the ability to view departmental objectives and effects with a company-wide perspective.
• Exhibit proficiency in computer software applications, including Microsoft Suite application, and other related applications. Working/general knowledge on any of the existing PLC current applications will be required and include, but are not limited to: ESRI, AutoCAD, NISC, Microsoft Report Server, Milsoft IVR/OMS/Engineering Analysis, Survalent ADMS/OMS, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) TEAMS/AcSELerator for relay configuration and management, Tableau, Verizon Grid Wide/Aclara metering.

WORKING CONDITIONS/PHYSICAL DEMANDS

This position will require off-campus, on-site visits to monitor quality of design staff input, meet with crews and/or consultants and work at substations or field sites as needed. Work is normally performed in an office setting; however, field visits are required in all types of weather conditions. May occasionally be scheduled to work weekends and is expected to be available during storm situations. This position requires frequent driving and field inspections of electric utility systems and facilities in a service area of about 100 square miles. Work site visitations will involve maneuvering through rough, uneven terrain in all types of seasonal conditions. The position requires considerable oral, written and verbal communication skills, and deals with visually presented material.

RECRUITING REQUIREMENTS

1. Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering and a P.E. license is required. [Note regarding P.E. license: A candidate who meets and/or exceeds position requirements except for the P.E., who can obtain the P.E. license within one year of employment may be considered.] Prefer Masters degree in electrical engineering or related field.
2. Five years of electric utility-related experience is required. Seven to ten years preferred.
3. Two years utility experience that includes advancement with demonstrated effectiveness in a supervisory capacity, preferably in a unionized environment.
4. Candidate employment history must demonstrate advanced and effective communication, interpersonal, leadership and conflict resolution skills.
5. Valid drivers license is required.

Visit our Benefits of Working for PenLight page for a detailed description of the company's benefits offerings.