Sr Lead Electrical Engineer - QDC

QISG leverages Quanta’s comprehensive resources to deliver collaborative solutions for our partners' energy infrastructure needs. We use in-house talent, expertise and resources to plan, design, engineer, manage, conduct maintenance on and construct projects.

Our turnkey service capabilities provide our customers with efficiency, consistency, attention to detail and safe execution. The QISG team brings together Engineering, Safety, Quality, Material Procurement, QA/QC, Right-of-Way Acquisition, Scheduling, Environmental Planning, Permitting, Title and Land Management expertise that ensure outstanding results for our clients.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The Senior Lead Electrical Engineer is the electrical discipline lead on the QDC Engineering team, responsible for the technical completeness, technical compatibility and buildability of electrical scope on fast-track, advanced technology projects: the utility interconnect and substation interface, medium-voltage distribution, generator and paralleling switchgear yards, transformers, switchgear, UPS and critical power distribution, electrical rooms, duct banks, cable tray and raceway, and grounding. In QDC's current delivery model the detailed design is performed by Quanta engineering OpCos and third-party engineers of record; the Senior Lead Electrical Engineer provides technical oversight of that work, sets and enforces QDC design criteria, reviews calculations, drawings and specifications, and asks the questions the designer cannot: is the system complete, does it work with the rest of the project, and is this the right application for the equipment selected. The Senior Lead Electrical Engineer reports to the (Sr) Engineering Project Manager, QDC, supports all projects in the division, works hand in hand with the Senior Lead Electrical Designer, and serves as the electrical technical point of contact between Engineering, Procurement, Field Operations and the client from proposal and early engineering through detail design, construction, startup and commissioning. As the QDC Engineering team grows, this position is expected to lead the electrical discipline, planning, assigning and reviewing the work of QDC engineers and designers.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Technical Design & System Definition

• Develop and maintain QDC electrical design criteria and the project basis of design for the utility interconnect, medium-voltage distribution, generator and paralleling systems, UPS and critical power distribution, grounding and raceway systems, including redundancy topology, voltage levels, equipment ratings and spare capacity
• Develop or review one-line diagrams, load lists and load flow, equipment sizing (transformers, switchgear, generators, UPS, feeders) and protection philosophy for the power distribution system; confirm the design delivers the client's availability and maintainability requirements
• Perform, direct or review electrical studies (short circuit, protective device coordination, arc flash, load flow, voltage drop, cable ampacity and grounding) and confirm the results are carried into equipment ratings, settings, labels and layouts
• Prepare or review equipment specifications, data sheets and technical requisitions for major electrical equipment, and lead technical bid evaluations and vendor submittal reviews for switchgear, transformers, generators, UPS and PDUs
• Apply applicable codes and standards (for example NEC/NFPA 70, NFPA 70E, NFPA 110, IEEE and ANSI standards, and NESC where the utility interface requires it) and client design criteria; identify deviations, requirements versus preferences, and the risks of each
• Support proposals and early engineering with electrical concepts, equipment lists, order-of-magnitude quantities, long-lead equipment identification and technical narratives

Design Oversight, Review & Quality

• Provide technical oversight of OpCo and third-party electrical design from concept through IFC: review calculations, drawings, specifications and models for technical completeness, technical compatibility, constructability, procure-ability and compliance with codes and QDC and client criteria
• Confirm scope compatibility with the mechanical-piping and civil-structural scope and with the client's operating and maintenance requirements; raise questions early, and discuss and explore alternatives with the OpCos, the client and the field
• Participate in and help lead design reviews, constructability reviews, model (30/60/90 percent) reviews and IFC readiness reviews for electrical scope; document review comments, track them to closure and verify their incorporation
• Perform quality reviews of electrical deliverables against QDC checklists and standards, and provide recommendations to the OpCos and the Engineering Project Manager

Engineering, Construction & Procurement Coordination

• Facilitate communication, coordination and document flow for electrical scope among the client, Quanta engineering OpCos, field execution teams, equipment vendors and third parties
• Identify and remedy gaps between Engineering and Construction and between Engineering and Procurement; remove hurdles and resolve issues
• Coordinate the utility interconnect and substation interface with the utility, the substation or transmission design team and the OpCos, including service requirements, protection and metering interfaces, feeder routing and energization sequencing
• Coordinate electrical equipment locations, duct bank routing, foundation and stub-up requirements, tray routing and grounding with the civil-structural and mechanical-piping disciplines and with the field, working through the Senior Lead Electrical Designer
• Support procurement with technical requisitions, bid evaluations, vendor drawing and submittal review, factory acceptance test witnessing and long-lead equipment tracking; flag designs that are waiting on vendor data
• Support the Engineering Project Manager with scope definition, deliverable lists, engineering schedules, work-hour estimates and status reporting for electrical scope

Change, RFI & Documentation Management

• Provide the technical response to construction RFIs, field change requests and redlines for electrical scope, or direct the OpCo's response, and confirm the answer is carried into the drawings and model
• Assess the technical impact of proposed changes on the power distribution design, equipment ratings, studies, schedule and cost, and provide that assessment so the project team can run the change through the formal QDC change process rather than by informal agreement
• Keep electrical engineering documentation current in the project document management system (e.g., Procore), including design criteria, calculations, studies, specifications and inputs to the project issue, RFI and decision logs
• Document assumptions, decisions and handoffs in writing so alignment is created by documentation rather than by meetings alone

Team Leadership, Best Practices & Lessons Learned

• Lead the electrical discipline as the QDC Engineering team grows: plan and assign engineering work, review the work of QDC engineers and designers, and be accountable for the technical quality and schedule of the electrical engineering package
• Mentor engineers and designers (QDC or OpCo), review their work, and help build the QDC electrical design criteria and standards as the team grows
• Capture lessons learned during the project; lead root-cause reviews of electrical RFIs, rework and design gaps and record the methods that saved time or money
• Develop and refine QDC electrical best practices, design criteria, standard specifications, checklists and templates, and help roll them out to OpCos and project teams
• Identify scope, design, procurement and change risks early and raise them to the Engineering Project Manager with proposed mitigations, in support of the Project Risk Wheel and project risk register

Field Support & Stakeholder Relations

• Travel to project sites to walk down installations, verify field conditions and installed equipment against the design, resolve technical issues, and support cable installation, terminations, testing, energization and commissioning
• Present design criteria, alternatives and recommendations in front of the client, OpCos and field leadership; represent QDC professionally in design reviews, coordination meetings and site meetings
• Be willing to speak up and ask questions; bring potential project-related problems and possible solutions to the attention of the responsible party
• Take personal responsibility for the quality and accuracy of his or her work; perform other duties as assigned

EXPERIENCE & EDUCATION

Candidates from industrial, power and EPC electrical engineering backgrounds (petrochemical, power generation, utilities, heavy industrial) with strong medium- and low-voltage power distribution design experience are encouraged to apply. A power-distribution-led background with experience overseeing or reviewing the work of other design teams is the expected profile; data center experience is preferred but not required.

• Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from an ABET-accredited program
• Minimum 10 years of electrical engineering experience on large commercial, industrial, power, mission critical or EPC projects, including at least 5 years in a senior or lead engineer role
• Demonstrated experience designing medium- and low-voltage power distribution systems, including one-line development, load and equipment sizing, and generator, transformer, switchgear and UPS application
• Experience performing or reviewing power system studies (short circuit, protective device coordination, arc flash, load flow, voltage drop and cable ampacity) and applying the results to equipment ratings and layouts; working knowledge of SKM, ETAP or equivalent
• Experience reviewing and directing the work of other engineers, designers or engineering firms, including calculations, drawings, specifications and 3D models; able to navigate Revit, Navisworks or an equivalent model review environment (modeling proficiency is not required)
• Working knowledge of the codes and standards that govern electrical design (for example NEC/NFPA 70, NFPA 70E, NFPA 110, IEEE and ANSI standards, and NESC where applicable) and the ability to apply them and to explain deviations
• Ability to read and interpret vendor drawings and submittals for switchgear, transformers, generators and UPS, protection and metering diagrams, cable and conduit schedules, and civil, structural and mechanical drawings
• Practical understanding of how electrical systems are procured, built, tested and energized in the field, and of what makes a design constructable, procurable and maintainable
• A builder's mindset: motivated to help establish a new team and its standards, comfortable working without a fully defined playbook, and eager to create processes rather than only follow them
• Experience supporting construction RFIs, submittal review, field verification and startup in a fast-paced environment
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Bluebeam or similar markup tools, and project document management systems
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; comfortable collaborating with multiple disciplines and companies and explaining and defending design decisions to engineers, field leadership and the client
• Detail-oriented and organized; able to deal with ambiguity, work independently, manage multiple projects and set priorities in a complex, multi-party environment

Preferred Qualifications/Skills

• Professional Engineer (PE) license in Texas, or a PE license in another state with the ability to obtain Texas registration by comity
• Data center or other mission critical facility experience (hyperscale, colocation or enterprise), including medium-voltage distribution, generator and paralleling switchgear, UPS and battery systems, PDU and busway distribution and redundant (N+1, 2N) topologies
• Utility interconnect, substation or switchyard interface experience, including service agreements, protection and metering interfaces and energization coordination
• Experience on multi-company, design-build or EPC projects where scope was split among several contractors and engineering firms, including oversight of an engineer of record
• Experience supporting or witnessing factory acceptance testing, site acceptance testing and Level 1 through Level 5 commissioning of critical power systems
• Experience with Autodesk Construction Cloud/BIM 360, Procore, and model-based design review workflows
• Field or construction background (electrical contractor project or field engineer, startup or commissioning engineer) on large industrial or commercial projects
• Experience developing design criteria, standard specifications, design checklists and lessons learned programs

Travel/Office Location

• Houston, TX office-based position supporting QDC projects
• Occasional travel (up to 30%) to project sites, Quanta OpCo offices, vendor facilities and client meetings for design reviews, field walkdowns, factory testing, RFI resolution and startup support
• Specific targeted multi-week site presence may be needed during critical equipment setting, testing, energization and commissioning phases

• Competitive Compensation
• Comprehensive Health Coverage - Multiple Medical, dental & vision plans with 100% preventive care
• 24/7 telehealth (Teladoc)
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Company-funded HSA and pre-tax savings options
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• No-cost Short- and Long-term Disability
• Employer-paid basic Life & AD&D Insurance
• Paid Time off (PTO) and 10 Paid Holidays
• Paid Parental leave
• Education Reimbursement and Professional Development
• Employee discount program and optional insurance offerings:
  
  • Identity Theft Protection
  • Accident Insurance
  • Voluntary Life (spouse and child)
  • Critical Illness
  • Hospital Indemnity
  • Pet Insurance
    
    

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex (including gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity), age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, and/or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state or local law.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status.

We prohibit all types of discrimination and are committed to providing access and equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities. For additional information or if reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application, interview, or hiring processes or to perform the essential functions of a position, please contact us the Company’s Human Resources department.