Senior Validation Engineer Jobs in Portland, ME (NOW HIRING)

Wunderlich-Malec Engineering (WM) is a 100% employee-owned ESOP and one of the largest and most well-established engineering companies in the United States. When you join WM you become part of a company that is 100% employee-owned with 40+ years of industry history, ENR (Engineering News Record) Top 500 firm, and rated as a top System Integrator Giant.

Primary Purpose The Senior Engineer will be responsible for performing electrical engineering design, relay settings, system studies, testing, and commissioning activities associated with utility, generation, industrial, institutional, and federal electrical power systems. This position serves as a technical lead on assigned projects, performing work independently while providing technical direction and mentorship to junior engineers, designers, field technicians, and commissioning personnel. The Senior Engineer is responsible for the development, review, and implementation of Protection & Control systems, relay settings, communications integration solutions, SCADA interfaces, logic diagrams and associated engineering documentation. This position supports projects throughout their entire lifecycle, including business development, conceptual design, detailed engineering, relay settings development, factory acceptance testing, field commissioning, startup support, and troubleshooting. The Senior Engineer is responsible for proactively communicating project risks, schedule concerns, technical challenges, and resource requirements to project management and department leadership.

Major Responsibilities This position requires the Senior Engineer to provide electrical engineering design, testing, commissioning, and technical consulting services to electric utilities, generation owners, industrial facilities, institutional campuses, and federal agencies. Responsibilities include:

• Engineering Design – Develop Protection & Control design packages including one-line diagrams, three-line diagrams, elementary diagrams, wiring diagrams, logic diagrams, communication architecture diagrams, panel layouts, cable schedules, SCADA integration drawings, and relay settings documentation.
• Relay Settings and Studies – Perform relay coordination studies, short-circuit studies, load flow studies, arc flash studies, power quality evaluations, protection system analysis, and relay settings calculations.
• Design Review – Evaluate specifications, engineering drawings, operating philosophies, and client standards to understand the functionality and purpose of substations, generation facilities, industrial power systems, and distribution systems. Provide redline markups of Protection & Control design packages, relay settings files, logic configurations, and communications integration designs.
• Compliance and Standards – Ensure designs, settings, studies, and commissioning activities comply with applicable client standards, NERC requirements, IEEE standards, utility requirements, and industry best practices.
• Event Analysis – Analyze relay event reports, oscillography, sequence-of-events records, fault data, and power quality information. Develop technical reports and corrective action recommendations.
• Technical Leadership – Lead projects and provide technical direction to subordinate engineers, designers, technicians, and commissioning personnel assigned to projects.
• Customer Interface – Develop and maintain strong working relationships with customers by demonstrating awareness of customer needs, technical requirements, project schedules, and financial objectives.
• Resource Management – Assist in the planning and management of engineering resources, project execution strategies, commissioning activities, and technical deliverables.
• Proposal Development – Assist with the preparation of engineering proposals, estimates, schedules, technical scopes of work, and project budgets.
• Training and Mentoring – Provide technical mentorship and training to junior engineers, designers, technicians, and commissioning personnel.
• Testing and Commissioning – Direct, support, and/or perform testing and commissioning activities associated with protective relays, circuit breakers, transformers, RTUs, SCADA equipment, communications systems, batteries, chargers, metering systems, and other substation equipment.
• Field Verification and Startup Support – Support system energization, conduct field walkdowns, lead commissioning activities, participate in startup activities, and troubleshoot system issues during construction and operational phases.
• Functional Testing – Directly witness and/or perform critical testing activities including DC Functional Trip Testing, relay functional verification, end-to-end testing, SCADA point-to-point verification, communications testing, and post-installation validation testing.
• Safety Leadership – Demonstrate safety consciousness in equipment handling, electrical and electronic procedures, and the unique situations encountered at diverse work sites

 Ideal Candidate Qualifications

• Proven ability to motivate, mentor, and optimize in a collaborative, team-oriented environment.
• Goal oriented and focused.
• Strong drive, energy, enthusiasm, and proactive style.
• Experience managing technical projects of various sizes.
• Excellent communication (written and oral) & interpersonal skills.
• Proven ability with problem solving and decision making.
• Strong organizational, multi-tasking, & time-management skills.
• Strong budget management skills.
• Diverse skill set with the ability to work independently. Will act to guide less experienced engineers/technicians.
• Knowledge of designing, programing, and calculating settings for electromechanical, solid state, and microprocessor protection devices from industry platforms, including, but not limited to: GE, SEL, ALSTOM, SCHNEIDER, SIEMENS, Beckwith, Basler, Eaton, and ABB.
• Ability to write code for macros or scripts that aid in performing studies or calculating relay settings.
• Knowledge and experience with power system study software, which may include CAPE, CYME, ASPEN, ETAP, SKM, Synergy, and others.
• Knowledge and experience of fault analysis, postmortem analysis, and/or mis-operation mitigation efforts.

Job Requirements

Education A Bachelor’s degree in engineering (electrical, mechanical or engineering technology) from an accredited institution is preferred.

Experience A minimum of 6-15+ years engineering and/or testing & commissioning experience should include:

• In-depth understanding of three-phase power systems
• In-depth understating of protection and control schemes and implementation
• Experience leading engineering teams, project execution activities, and client-facing technical efforts.
• Experience creating and reviewing Protection & Control engineering design packages for utility, generation, industrial, institutional, and/or federal facility projects.
• Experience with AutoCAD, MicroStation, or similar engineering design software.
• Experience with PDF editing software such as Bluebeam Revu or similar applications.
• Experience with calculating relay settings and performing coordination studies for utility, distribution, generation, and industrial systems.
• Experience with utilizing relay test sets with various relay vendors including SEL, GE, Beckwith, ABB, Basler, etc. and various manufacturers of electromechanical relays
• Experience and understanding of equipment testing - circuit breakers, transformers, circuit switchers, MOABS, CTs, PTs, batteries & chargers, transfer switches, line tuners, wave traps, carrier relays, etc.
• Experience leading crews to test and commission new and modified substations including equipment isolation/restoration and complex circuit cutovers being mindful to mitigate inadvertent operations
• Experience with rotating machinery, including generators and excitation systems
• Experience testing previously programmed RTUs locally and remotely to system operators
• Experience with SCADA, RTU, and DFR systems
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications including Word and Excel

Travel Ability to travel a minimum of 25%.

Driver’s License Must possess and maintain a valid and unrestricted driver’s license.

 Physical Demands of Position Seeing, color perception, hearing, listening, clear speech, dexterity in hands, driving, lifting, climbing, ability to mount and dismount equipment, pushing, and pulling, warm and cold temperature conditions, sun exposure, moisture, potential exposure to hazardous materials and electrical voltages.

Working Conditions Standard office work, work-from-home, and in the field leadership: On site environment could require work in various temperature conditions; in and/or around moisture, on slippery and/or uneven surfaces, in confined spaces, and at heights; will require frequent standing, driving a 4-wheel drive vehicle, and occasional bending, squatting, climbing, twisting, balancing, and reaching; will have exposure to noise, vibrations and chemicals. May require irregular or extended hours, subject to being on call and travel for project completion.

*Job Descriptions are not exhaustive lists of all skills, responsibilities, or efforts associated with a job.  They reflect principal job elements essential for performing the job and evaluating performance.

Wunderlich-Malec is proud to offer a comprehensive employee-owner benefit package. Full-time employees may be eligible for the following benefits: Medical • Dental • Vision • Basic and Supplemental Life and AD&D • Long Term Disability • Voluntary Short Term Disability • Healthcare & Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts • Health Savings Account • Paid Time Off (PTO) • Paid Holidays • Tuition Reimbursement • Referral Bonus Program • 401(k)/Profit Sharing • 100% ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) • Employee Assistance Program • Will Preparation Resources • Worldwide Travel Assistance