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Relay Protection Engineer Jobs in Los Angeles, CA

Field Support

Lancaster, CA · On-site

$250/day

Background in commissioning, startup, testing, or field engineering * Knowledge of electrical relay protection systems * Experience reviewing electrical drawings and one-line diagrams * Familiarity ...

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Relay Protection Engineer information

See Los Angeles, CA salary details

$72.7K

$127.2K

$198.3K

How much do relay protection engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 26, 2026, the average yearly pay for relay protection engineer in Los Angeles, CA is $127,193.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $110,400.00 and $140,100.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a relay protection engineer?

A Relay Protection Engineer is responsible for designing, testing, and maintaining protective relay systems used in power grids to ensure electrical equipment operates safely and reliably. They analyze system faults, coordinate relay settings, and troubleshoot failures to prevent damage to transformers, generators, and transmission lines. Their role involves working with utilities, industrial plants, and substations to enhance power system stability and efficiency.

What are the typical daily responsibilities of a relay protection engineer?

A Relay Protection Engineer's daily tasks often include reviewing and designing protection schemes for substations and transmission lines, configuring and testing relay settings, and analyzing system events or faults to determine causes and solutions. They may also be responsible for drafting technical reports and documentation, coordinating with other engineers and field technicians, and ensuring compliance with industry regulations and standards. Team collaboration is frequent, as projects often require input from system planning, operations, and maintenance staff. On-the-job learning is ongoing, with opportunities to work on diverse projects and advance into specialized roles or leadership positions over time.

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

To thrive as a Relay Protection Engineer, you need a strong background in electrical engineering, power systems analysis, and relay protection principles, often supported by a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or a related field. Proficiency with protection relay test equipment, power system simulation software (such as ETAP or SEL), and familiarity with industry standards like IEEE and NERC are commonly required, along with certifications such as Professional Engineer (PE) being advantageous. Strong analytical thinking, attention to detail, teamwork, and effective communication are crucial soft skills for this role. These skills enable accurate system protection designs, reliable operation, and clear collaboration with operations and maintenance teams to ensure electrical grid reliability.

What are the most commonly searched types of Relay Protection Engineer jobs in Los Angeles, CA?

The most popular types of Relay Protection Engineer jobs in Los Angeles, CA are:

What job categories do people searching Relay Protection Engineer jobs in Los Angeles, CA look for?

The top searched job categories for Relay Protection Engineer jobs in Los Angeles, CA are:

Infographic showing various Relay Protection Engineer job openings in Los Angeles, CA as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 100% Full Time. Highlights an 67% In-person, and 33% Hybrid job distribution, with an average salary of $127,193 per year, or $61.2 per hour.

Protection Engineer

Rosemead, CA • On-site

$129K - $193K/yr

Full-time

Re-posted 29 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.