Senior Engineering Manager

PDS 6 / Power Delivery Substation

This position is not eligible for recruiting or sourcing by outside parties.

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Position Summary

The Senior Engineering Manager – Physical Substation Design is responsible for providing strategic leadership, technical oversight, and operational management for the Physical Substation Engineering department. This role leads a team of engineering managers, engineers, designers, and technical specialists responsible for the planning, design, and execution of transmission and distribution substation projects ranging from distribution voltage levels through EHV (500 kV+).

The Senior Engineering Manager ensures engineering excellence, project profitability, client satisfaction, employee development, and compliance with all applicable industry standards while supporting the company’s long-term strategic objectives.

Responsibilities

Leadership & Management:

• Provide leadership, mentoring, and direction to Engineering Managers, Lead Engineers, and multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Develop department goals, annual business plans, staffing strategies, and performance objectives.
• Foster a culture centered on safety, quality, accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Recruit, develop, coach, and retain high-performing engineering professionals.
• Build leadership succession plans and technical career development programs.

Engineering Oversight:

• Provide executive oversight for physical substation engineering projects from conceptual design through construction support.
• Ensure designs comply with client specifications, utility standards, IEEE, ANSI, NESC, NEC, ASCE, OSHA, and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Establish engineering standards, best practices, quality procedures, and design workflows.
• Oversee engineering reviews and technical risk assessments.
• Support complex technical problem-solving and provide expert guidance on challenging engineering issues.

Project Delivery:

• Monitor engineering schedules, budgets, staffing utilization, and project profitability.
• Collaborate with Project Managers to ensure projects are delivered safely, on schedule, within budget, and to the highest quality standards.
• Identify project risks and implement mitigation strategies.
• Support proposal development, project planning, and resource forecasting.
• Drive continuous improvements in engineering execution and project delivery processes.

Client Relations:

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with utility clients, EPC partners, and key stakeholders.
• Serve as an executive-level technical representative during client meetings.
• Participate in project pursuits, interviews, presentations, and business development activities.
• Support contract negotiations and strategic client initiatives.

Operational Excellence:

• Develop departmental KPIs and monitor performance metrics.
• Implement process improvements that enhance productivity, consistency, and quality.
• Drive adoption of engineering technologies, digital workflows, and automation tools.
• Support enterprise initiatives related to quality management and operational efficiency.

Financial Management:

• Manage departmental budgets and labor utilization.
• Support revenue forecasting and financial planning.
• Improve engineering efficiency while maintaining quality and client satisfaction.
• Participate in strategic planning and annual budgeting activities.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Partner with Protection & Control, Civil/Structural, Transmission Line, Construction, Procurement, and Project Management teams.
• Coordinate engineering resources across multiple offices and business units.
• Promote collaboration and knowledge sharing across engineering disciplines.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering (or related discipline) from an accredited university.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license (or ability to attain within 12 months) required.
• Minimum 10 years of progressively responsible experience in electric utility substation engineering.
• Minimum 4 years of engineering leadership or management experience.
• Demonstrated experience managing multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Extensive knowledge of physical substation design for transmission and distribution systems.
• Strong understanding of utility engineering standards and design practices.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Engineering, Engineering Management, or Business Administration (MBA).
• Experience supporting investor-owned utilities, municipalities, or cooperatives.
• Knowledge of digital design and 3D modeling platforms.
• Experience implementing engineering quality management systems.
• PMP certification is a plus.

Technical Knowledge

• High-voltage substation design (12 kV–500 kV+)
• AIS and GIS substations
• Equipment layouts and yard design
• Bus arrangements
• Grounding systems
• Lightning protection
• Conduit and cable trench design
• Raceway systems
• Control building layouts
• Structural coordination
• Foundation coordination
• Physical design standards
• Material specifications
• Construction support
• Engineering quality assurance
• Engineering risk management

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic thinking
• Executive communication
• Servant leadership
• Team development
• Conflict resolution
• Decision-making under pressure
• Financial acumen
• Customer focus
• Continuous improvement mindset
• Organizational leadership
• Change management

This opportunity is a hybrid arrangement located in either of Mesa's Madison AL, Chattanooga TN or Knoxville TN offices.

Notice to External Search Firms: Mesa Associates, Inc. and its subsidiaries do not accept unsolicited resumes and will not be obligated to pay a placement fee for unsolicited resumes. Mesa Associates, Inc. Talent Acquisition engages with approved search firms directly for specific hiring needs.