Senior Protection Engineer

Position Title: SENIOR PROTECTION ENGINEER

Location: HOUSTON, TEXAS

FLSA Class: EXEMPT

Responsible to: PRINCIPAL PROTECTION ENGINEER

We are seeking a highly motivated and detail-oriented Senior Protection Engineer to join our electrical engineering team. This individual will play a key role in designing, developing, testing, and supporting electrical protection schemes for Volta Grid power generation, medium voltage distribution, and auxiliary power systems. The Protection Engineer will collaborate across Engineering, Operations, Commissioning, OEM, and project teams to develop relay settings, perform short circuit studies, support factory acceptance testing and site commissioning, and help ensure safe, reliable, and resilient operation of Volta Grid assets.

• Design protection schemes for transformers, generators, feeders, busses, and related medium voltage and low voltage power distribution equipment.
• Create, review, and maintain relay calculation workbooks, settings files, logic, protection narratives, coordination documentation, and associated design deliverables.
• Apply protection functions to protect equipment such as synchronous generators, transformers, and IBRs with other functions as required by the application.
• Coordinate protection requirements with single-line diagrams, control schematics, equipment vendor packages, and project specifications.
• Create and review short circuit studies to support equipment ratings, protection settings, and coordination requirements.
• Develop study assumptions, validate system data, and document study conclusions in a clear and auditable manner.
• Support arc flash, load flow, transient, and dynamic modeling activities as required by project needs.
• Use engineering tools and models to evaluate abnormal operating conditions and recommend practical protection or control improvements.
• Design and implement protection and control schemes using IEC 61850 standards, including GOOSE messaging and related IED configuration requirements.
• Develop or review relay logic, communications mapping, test plans, and integration documentation for protection and control systems.
• Work with SCADA, controls, automation, and networking teams to ensure protection system data is properly integrated into plant monitoring and control systems.
• Support standardization of relay templates, naming conventions, settings practices, and testing procedures across Volta Grid projects.
• Support factory acceptance testing (FAT), hardware-in-the-loop testing, site acceptance testing, and site commissioning activities for protection and control systems.
• Troubleshoot relay settings, logic, communications, wiring, and field implementation issues in coordination with commissioning and operations personnel.
• Review test results, resolve punch list items, and ensure protection settings and documentation reflect the final installed configuration.
• Travel to project sites, vendor facilities, and test locations as needed, particularly during initial project execution and commissioning phases.
• Work cross-functionally with Engineering, Construction, Operations, Commissioning, Procurement, and external engineering partners.
• Provide technical guidance to project teams and support continuous improvement of Volta Grid protection engineering standards.
• Prepare clear technical documentation, issue logs, design notes, and turnover packages for internal and external stakeholders.
• Maintain a strong safety mindset and promote ethical behavior in all aspects of the business.

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field, or equivalent power systems protection experience.
• 10+ years of experience in protection engineering, relay settings, power system studies, and commissioning support.
• Experience developing relay standards, settings templates, commissioning procedures, or protection philosophy documents.
• Experience creating short circuit studies for industrial, generation, utility, or medium voltage distribution systems.
• Hands‑on experience with SEL relays and relay settings software.
• Experience designing and implementing protection schemes using IEC 61850…