Lead Protection & Control Engineer

Blue Ridge Power is a full-service EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) company for solar projects across the United States, offering integrated engineering, a qualified professional labor force, and an expansive fleet of equipment to serve the needs of our clients. Headquartered in Asheville, NC, with offices in Fayetteville, NC, and Lexington, SC. Blue Ridge Power has installed 8 GW of solar infrastructure throughout the country and employs about 700 team members. Learn more at blueridgepower.com.

Blue Ridge Power is seeking a Lead Protection & Control Engineer to join our Engineering team! The Lead Protection & Control Engineer will develop relay settings and technical design support for the Blue Ridge Power (BRP) relay engineering group. The Lead Engineer will also perform the role of Owners Engineer for design produced by contractors for BRP. The Lead Engineer is responsible for scheduling, engineering labor estimates, relay design estimates, relay settings, communication design, and compliance. This position is designated as a safety-sensitive position.

This position can be remote, preferably within comfortable travel distance of one of our BRP office locations in Asheville or Fayetteville, NC, and any travel will be fully reimbursable. Competitive salary and annual bonus offered.

What You’ll Do:

• Plan, coordinate, assign, and schedule relay design work tasks including project scope development, cost estimating, proposal development, design preparation, and assembling relay packages for commissioning and testing. 
• Lead efforts in the development and implementation of standards for relay equipment, material, design, testing, and construction requirements for transmission substations. 
• Implement the company design processes and procedures and use computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) software applications to ensure consistency, quality, and efficiency in the station design process. 
• Implement the development of relay material specifications, selection, evaluation of materials, and failure analysis to determine the root cause.
• Provide input to budget development related to station design and material procurement for BRP estimators. Aid in cost variance analysis post-project completion to improve estimates.
• Work closely with other engineering groups within BRP to coordinate all solar and battery storage engineering aspects.
• Act as Owners Engineer for design work performed by outside consultants. Responsibility includes evaluating the design per scope of work, BRP standards, and error rate.
• Act as a design engineer for design for in-house projects for the BRP substation group.
• Develop and perform internal and external QAQC (Quality Assurance and Quality Control) for relay settings.
• Actively participate in industry forums, conferences, and other company initiatives to support BRP’s mission.
• Review and seal drawing sets, relay settings, and associated reports.
• Manage direct reports and the resourcing loading of those reports efficiently.
• Analyze disturbance records and develop relay-specific solutions as required.
• Represent BRP as a subject matter expert in customer-facing calls.
• Other duties as assigned. 

Must-Haves:

• 9-15+ years of related electric utility engineering experience.
• Demonstrated knowledge of electric system components and related communications and protection functions.
• Demonstrated knowledge of relay protection schemes, inverter-based generator protection, DTT, utility coordination, and communication protocols.
• Demonstrated knowledge of generator stability and dynamic operation analysis. Ability to perform study/or produce dynamic simulation files preferred.
• Experience with performing post-fault event analysis preferred.
• Demonstrated expertise in system modeling, relay settings, and coordination studies using ETAP, PSSE, CAPE, ASPEN, and PSCAD.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze performance, process improvements, and standardization activities.
• Demonstrated effective interpersonal, verbal, and written skills.
• Flexible and adaptable commercial agility; ability to reorder critical design projects based on new commercial requirements under tight deadlines and sometimes changing requirements.
• Demonstrated strong organizational skills. 

Education and Certifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or electrical and computer engineering required.
• Professional Engineer License required.

Work Environment and Physical Demand:

• This position can be remote, preferably within comfortable travel distance of one of our BRP office locations in Asheville or Fayetteville, NC.
• Traveling up to 10% to project site visits to various projects may be required on a per-project basis.
• May require lifting/carrying items up to 30 pounds. 
• Must be able to sit/stand at a desk and utilize a computer for extended periods.

Blue Ridge Power believes in taking care of our employees by offering benefits that support their physical, mental, and financial well-being.

Our comprehensive benefits package includes Medical, Dental, Vision, Matching 401k, Paid Time Off, Company Paid Holidays, Training and Development, Tuition Reimbursement, Hybrid Work Options, Remote Work Options, Dog-Friendly Offices, and much more!

Blue Ridge Power supports organizations local to our offices in Fayetteville, NC, and Asheville, NC, including the school systems, environmental groups, athletics, youth organizations, and more.

Blue Ridge Power is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the workplace.

Blue Ridge Power does not accept any unsolicited resumes or referrals from any third-party recruiting firms or agencies.