Lead Electrical Engineer, BESS

Lead Electrical Engineer – Westwood Professional Services, Inc.

Lead Electrical Engineer to support our Battery Energy Storage team. The position involves designing battery energy storage systems (BESS), including site electrical design, power conversion system (PCS) and battery management system (BMS) integration, medium and high voltage interconnection design, auxiliary power systems, protection and control schemes. The role serves as client and internal leader for all electrical engineering of projects, coordinating with Westwood Service Leaders and the Director of Electrical Engineering to maintain firm standards, ensure consistency, and oversee other electrical designers.

It may also include supervision responsibilities for direct reports related to timesheet, expense, PTO approval, annual growth planning, disciplinary actions, and compensation adjustments.

• Manage the electrical engineering of commercial and utility‑scale battery energy storage projects and be responsible for managing the electrical design budget.
• Design medium voltage collection systems, step‑up transformers, switch gear, and interconnection facilities for BESS projects.
• Develop single‑line diagrams, three‑line diagrams, AC/DC schematics, panel schedules, and protection and control drawings.
• Specify and integrate power conversion systems (PCS/inverters), battery management systems (BMS), and energy management systems (EMS).
• Design fire suppression systems, HVAC requirements, and auxiliary power systems specific to battery storage facilities.
• Perform arc‑flash analysis, protective device coordination, and relay setting calculations for battery storage facilities.
• Responsibility for contractual electrical engineering scope, verify incorporation into design, and coordinate change orders with the project manager.
• Coordinate interconnection studies including system impact studies, facilities studies, and compliance with ISO/RTO requirements.
• Ensure compliance with UL 9540, UL 9540A, NFPA 855, IFC, NEC Article 706, IEEE 1547, and other relevant codes and standards.
• Assist project managers in responding to RFPs by preparing proposal scope and fees for the electrical engineering.
• Coordinate with other project disciplines (civil, structural, fire protection, battery system integrators).
• Schedule and plan necessary resources needed to support projects weekly.
• Oversee project electrical team resources and be responsible for staff performing electrical calculations and studies such as short circuit, load flow, voltage drop, harmonics analysis, and transient stability studies.
• Be the primary electrical contact for clients and coordinate with utilities, code enforcement officers, fire marshals, and independent system operators (ISOs).
• QA/QC of design work performed on projects for which you are the lead electrical engineer.
• Maintain awareness of currently available battery technologies (lithium‑ion, flow batteries, etc.), power conversion systems, safety systems, and industry best practices.
• Review and evaluate battery system vendor proposals for technical compliance and performance specifications.
• Collaborate with and support electrical engineering teams in other offices as projects and workload sharing between offices dictates.
• Support construction of the projects by responding to contractor and owner requests including RFIs and submittal review.
• Conduct site commissioning support and witness testing of protection systems, PCS, and BMS integration.
• Assist Market Directors as needed for marketing efforts and creation of marketing materials surrounding electrical engineering work.
• Supervise, train, and/or mentor graduate engineers, staff engineers, and design technicians.

• Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering or Power Systems Engineering Program.
• Knowledge of NEC (particularly Article 706), NESC, UL 9540, NFPA 855, IFC Chapter 12, and IEEE standards (1547, 519, C37 series).
• Knowledge and proficiency in the use of electrical power system modeling programs for protection, short circuit, and power flow studies.
• Approximately 4‑10 years of experience in the design of electrical distribution, power generation, energy storage…