Transmission Planning Engineer, or , or Senior Engineer

Are you looking for an exciting job where you can put your skills and talents to work at a company you can feel proud to be a part of? Do you want a workplace that will challenge you and offer you opportunities to learn and grow? A position at Xcel Energy could be just what you’re looking for.

This position can be hired at the Entry, Staff, or Senior level, depending on the candidates' overall experience, qualifications, and interview. This position will be based in Denver, Colorado on a hybrid (3 days per week in the office) work schedule.

Perform Comprehensive Power System Planning Studies, including:

• Steady-State Load Flow Analysis under normal and contingency conditions (N-1, N-1-1, and extreme events) to identify system limitations and develop mitigation strategies.
• Short-Circuit and Protection Coordination Studies to ensure appropriate equipment ratings, relay coordination, and breaker duty compliance, including assessments for system modifications and new interconnections.
• Dynamic Performance Assessments, including Transient Stability and Small-Signal Stability Studies to evaluate rotor angle stability, voltage recovery, and oscillatory damping performance under a wide range of system disturbances.
• Electromagnetic Transient (EMT) Analysis for evaluating control interactions and fast dynamic phenomena associated with large power electronic loads (e.g., data centers), inverter-based resources (IBRs), and FACTS devices, leveraging PSCAD/EMTDC.
• Geomagnetic Induced Current (GIC) Studies aligned with NERC TPL-007 standards to assess geomagnetic disturbance impacts on transformers and bulk electric system reliability.

• Perform NERC TPL-001-5.1 compliance assessments, including extreme event analyses such as CIP-014 physical security risk assessments, wide-area event simulations, and black start restoration studies.
• Support dynamic model validation efforts per WECC and NERC MOD standards, ensuring fidelity of generator, inverter, and composite load models for stability studies.

• Assess grid-forming/grid-following inverter technologies and their impact on system strength, transient behavior, and control interactions.
• Apply IEEE 2800 requirements for I  performance, including ride-through, reactive power support, and fast frequency response capabilities.
• Address challenges of high renewable penetration and develop mitigation strategies to maintain bulk power system reliability.

• Coordinate with West Connect Planning Management Committee, WECC Reliability Subcommittees, and interconnection working groups to support transmission expansion planning, regional policy compliance, and reliability initiatives.
• Engage in regional and subregional transmission planning processes, contributing to multi-utility studies and cross-border resource integration scenarios.

• Execute System Impact Studies (SIS) and Facility Studies consistent with FERC Order 2023 and regional tariffs.
• Evaluate interconnection requests for conventional generation, IBRs, storage, hybrid resources, and emerging technologies such as microgrids and aggregated DERs under FERC 2222 frameworks.
• Recommend necessary transmission reinforcements, upgrades, or operational solutions to accommodate new resources and loads.

• Analyze and model Dynamic Line Rating (DLR), Advanced Power Flow Controllers (APFC), and Topology Optimization (TTO) to maximize transmission efficiency and capacity without traditional infrastructure expansion.
• Support cost-benefit assessments and pilot project implementations for GETs in collaboration with operations and asset management teams.

• Develop and maintain Python-based automation tools to streamline study execution, scenario management, and results post-processing for PSSE, PSLF, TARA, TSAT, PSCAD simulations.
• Advance digital workflows to reduce engineering effort, improve repeatability, and enable high-volume interconnection…