Substation Engineering Manager

Description

The Engineering Manager is responsible for leading a team of engineers and designers in the execution of substation physical design projects while overseeing staff development, technical quality, and project delivery performance. This role combines engineering leadership with team management responsibilities, ensuring successful execution of projects across multiple clients and programs. 

Provide technical oversight, support resource planning, and drive continuous improvement of standards, processes, and tools. This position serves as a key interface between engineering staff, project management, and clients, while maintaining accountability for team performance, employee development, and overall delivery success.

Requirements

• Lead and manage a team of engineers, designers, and drafters, providing direction, support, and oversight across multiple concurrent projects.
• Oversee the professional development, career growth, and performance of direct reports, including mentorship, feedback, and goal setting.
• Ensure team well-being, engagement, and retention while maintaining accountability to project and organizational objectives.
• Guide engineering staff in the execution of substation physical design deliverables, including layouts, equipment arrangements, grounding systems, and cable routing designs.
• Provide technical leadership and oversight, ensuring designs are accurate, compliant, and aligned with company and client standards.
• Serve as Engineer of Record (as required), performing final technical reviews and approvals, including PE stamping of deliverables.
• Support execution of projects by aligning resources, workload, and priorities across the team to meet delivery commitments.
• Coordinate resources across teams, disciplines, and offices to ensure effective project execution and balanced workloads.
• Lead and participate in client communication and strategy, including technical discussions, issue resolution, and relationship management.
• Interpret contracts, scopes, and project requirements to ensure engineering work aligns with contractual obligations and expectations.
• Identify scope gaps, inconsistencies, and potential scope creep; coordinate resolution with stakeholders and support change management efforts.
• Support and contribute to proposals, engineering estimates, and change order development to ensure accuracy and alignment with execution plans.
• Monitor team and project performance metrics, including budget, schedule, quality, and client satisfaction, from an engineering delivery perspective.
• Lead project coordination efforts, including recurring meetings, milestone reviews, and cross-discipline alignment.
• Oversee quality control processes and project reviews, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and adherence to standards across all deliverables.
• Provide technical mentorship and guidance to staff at all levels, including training on tools, standards, and engineering best practices.
• Identify and implement improvements to engineering processes, templates, tools, and workflows to enhance efficiency and consistency.
• Support cross-service and cross-market coordination efforts to align engineering execution strategies across projects (coordination-focused, not full project management ownership).
• Contribute to organizational planning and staffing discussions, providing input on team capability, hiring needs, and long-term growth strategy.

Skills and Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from an ABET-accredited engineering program.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license required.
• 10+ years of relevant experience in substation physical design engineering.
• Demonstrated proficiency in completing highly complex engineering tasks, applying engineering theory, industry standards, and best practices.
• Proven ability to lead and develop engineering teams, including mentorship, delegation, and performance management.
• Strong understanding of substation physical design, including layouts, grounding systems, equipment configuration, and constructability.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate multidisciplinary teams and balance resources across multiple projects.
• Ability to interpret contracts, scopes, and project requirements and translate them into executable engineering work.
• Strong communication and leadership skills, with experience interfacing with clients, management, and internal teams.
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate project performance and ensure alignment with budget, schedule, and quality objectives.
• Proficiency in relevant engineering software and the ability to train and mentor staff in tool usage.
• Strong organizational, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.

For Preferred Consideration (Not Required):

• Advanced degree in engineering or related field.
• Experience leading an engineering team or department with responsibility for staffing, workload planning, and performance management.
• Experience providing technical direction at a department or organizational level.
• Experience managing or supporting large programmatic work across multiple clients or regions.
• Demonstrated involvement in proposal strategy, business development, or client growth initiatives.

About Westwood Professional Services, Inc. (Westwood)

At Westwood, our purpose is to create a better world for people through our work. We transform the energy grid, design resilient infrastructure, and develop communities that will flourish today and for future generations. With over 50 years of experience and a legacy of innovation, we stand at the forefront of our industry, dedicated to understanding the unique needs of the markets we serve.

Our approach revolves around people. We are committed to building a culture that attracts, retains, and develops high performers. Our team values relationships, innovation, dedication, initiative, and growth. We believe fostering a collaborative “One Team” mentality yields superior outcomes in everything we do.

We customize our technical capabilities and geographic reach to meet our clients where they are and help them realize their vision. We are partners in our clients’ success, driving to provide solutions that make a lasting difference. Safety, sustainability, and operational excellence are not just facets of our work; they are intrinsic to our identity, guiding every decision we make.

We are deeply invested in the communities we serve. Through our projects and giving-back initiatives, we enrich the lives of those we serve, engage others within our industry, and create a lasting impact on communities around the world. To us, success transcends the completion of projects; it is reflected in the lives we have positively impacted by our work.

Join us in creating a better world.

In 2025, Westwood was recognized as #77 on the ENR Top 500 Design Firms. Additionally, Westwood was ranked #5 for ENR's Top Design Firm for Solar, #6 for Battery Storage, and #3 for Wind (2025). The firm consistently ranks on the industry's top 25 lists and receives recognition for its involvement in award-winning projects nationwide.

Westwood provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. We believe that diverse backgrounds strengthen our business. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.