Associate Director – T&D Protection & Control Substations

Associate Director – T&D Protection & Control Substations

We are seeking an experienced Associate Director – T&D Protection & Control Substations to join our Transmission & Distribution team, supporting the delivery of high-voltage substation infrastructure projects.

In this role, you will combine hands-on technical expertise with engineering leadership, contributing directly to the design and review of protection and control systems while overseeing engineering teams delivering secondary systems for HV substations.

You will support projects from concept development through detailed design, testing, and construction support, ensuring safe, reliable, and efficient substation operation while maintaining high engineering standards across the team.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and contribute to the design and engineering of protection and control systems for HV substations, including protection schemes, control systems, and substation automation.
• Define protection philosophies, control architectures, and communication interfaces in accordance with project requirements and applicable standards.
• Lead and review detailed secondary engineering deliverables, including:
• Protection and control schematics
• Interlocking and control logic diagrams
• Relay configuration and functional design specifications
• Protection coordination and relay settings philosophy
• Perform or review protection coordination studies and relay settings, ensuring proper selectivity and fault clearance strategies.
• Ensure proper integration of protection systems, SCADA interfaces, communication networks, and primary equipment.
• Provide technical support during construction, testing, and commissioning, including review of relay settings, logic implementation, and functional testing procedures.
• Lead and mentor protection and control engineering teams, supporting professional development and technical knowledge sharing.
• Provide technical oversight of engineering deliverables, ensuring quality, consistency, and compliance with project specifications and standards.
• Coordinate engineering activities across primary, civil, system studies, and commissioning teams to ensure effective multidisciplinary integration.
• Interface with clients, project managers, contractors, and equipment vendors to ensure technical alignment and successful project delivery.
• Support development of technical procedures, engineering standards, and best practices within the organization.

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Experience

Typically 12-15+ years of experience in protection and control engineering for HV substations

Proven experience delivering secondary systems across multiple project phases (concept, design, commissioning)

Experience providing technical leadership and mentoring within engineering teams

Technical Skills

Strong expertise in:

Protection and control system design for HV substations (line, transformer, busbar and feeder protection schemes)

Substation automation and SCADA integration

Protection coordination and relay settings philosophy

Control logic, interlocking schemes, and communication networks

Integration of protection systems with primary equipment and system studies

Experience with engineering tools and platforms such as:

AutoCAD

Protection relay configuration and analysis tools

Soft Skills

Strong analytical and technical decision-making capabilities

Ability to combine hands-on engineering with team leadership

Excellent communication and stakeholder coordination skills

Nice to Have

Experience working on UK transmission or distribution substation projects

Exposure to National Grid standards and protection philosophies

Experience with IEC 61850 substation automation systems

Experience configuring protection relays such as ABB, GE, Siemens, or SEL

Commissioning and field testing experience

Chartered Engineer (CEng) or equivalent professional certification

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