Distribution Design Manager - Metro

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a leading energy provider and Fortune 500 company, dedicated to serving millions of electricity and natural gas customers across eight states: Minnesota, Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Mexico and Texas. We make energy work better for our customers, helping them thrive every day. That means always raising the bar - delivering better service and providing more reliable, resilient, and sustainable energy.

Xcel Energy is a place where you’ll have opportunities to grow, expand your skills, and help lead the clean energy transition. We offer meaningful rewards, recognition, and support to help you build your career and make an impact - both on the job and beyond. Most importantly, it means you’ll be joining a company that knows employees are the driving force behind its success and is committed to helping you be your best.

Xcel Energy supports a hybrid work model to enable collaboration and flexibility. Many roles are expected to work onsite three days per week (Tuesday–Thursday); however, work location expectations vary based on role, team, and business needs.

Position Summary

This position provides supervision and leadership while directing design activities across utility operations and/or generation. Leads dispersed teams to deliver high quality results that meet internal and external customer expectations. Accountable for driving innovative and cost-effective designs, providing subject matter expertise, and delivering technical support to construction, operations and generation teams. Responsible for balancing customer needs while maintaining Xcel Delivery standards and administrative guidelines, and to ensure consistent and accurate use of tools, processes and design practices.

Essential Responsibilities

- Provides leadership and overall direction for design activities. Manages highly skilled technical groups with responsibility for adherence to corporate design and quality standards.
- Develops leadership, selects and retains a multi-functional, diversified, well-trained, motivated and empowered workforce. Promotes employee involvement in continuous learning, career planning and enhancing job/industry knowledge and skills.
- Responsible for effective, efficient and competitive utilization of design resources, with emphasis on safety, timeliness, cost-containment, system reliability, customer satisfaction, optimal asset utilization and compliance with regulations.
- Works with Engineering Management to establish the Unit’s business plan, goals and objectives in line with corporate and business unit strategic goals and initiatives. Provide feedback and direction to employees utilizing the Corporate Management System to ensure that business unit goals
- Actively participate in formal company efforts to streamline processes, maintain and improve safety goals, improve quality, and reduce costs. Informally, work within group to determine and implement best practices. Establish and maintain strategic partnerships with other business units and departments to ensure staff and internal and external customers receive information that is current, accurate and meets their expectations.
- Provide mentoring and training to new hires, and existing designers. Provide training for external consultants performing design work for operations and/or generation
- Provide leadership and direction for one or more design process committees, which are responsible for creation and maintenance of design standards, templates, and masters
- Perform administrative duties including approval of time, expense reports, IT requests.

Minimum Requirements

- Associate’s degree in Drafting and Design or equivalent from an accredited college or technical school and minimum of 7 years of relevant utility, operations, or energy infrastructure design experience; OR bachelor’s degree in civil, electrical or mechanical engineering with three or more years of relevant design experience.

Preferred Characteristics

- Previous experience in construction coordination
- Previous project management experience
- A self-motivated problem solver with a continuous improvement mindset.

Our culture is grounded in shared values and employee commitments that guide how we work, support one another, and grow together.

Our Values

Connected, Committed, Trustworthy, Safe

Our Employee Commitments

- Work that makes a difference
- A team you can count of
- Opportunities to grow
- Rewards that help you thrive

Xcel Energy provides job applicants reasonable accommodations for disabilities throughout the application process. If you are in need of an accommodation to complete the application process, now or at any time in the future, please complete the  Applicant Accommodation Request Form .

Non-Bargaining
The anticipated starting base pay for this position is: $97,600.00 to $138,600.00 per year
This position is eligible for the following benefits: Annual Incentive Program, Medical/Pharmacy Plan, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Dependent Care Reimbursement Account, Health Care Reimbursement Account, Health Savings Account (HSA) (if enrolled in eligible health plan), Limited-Purpose FSA (if enrolled in eligible health plan and HSA), Transportation Reimbursement Account, Short-term disability (STD), Long-term disability (LTD), Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Fitness Center Reimbursement (if enrolled in eligible health plan), Tuition reimbursement, Transit programs, Employee recognition program, Pension, 401(k) plan, Paid time off (PTO), Holidays, Volunteer Paid Time Off (VPTO), Parental Leave

Benefit plans are subject to change and Xcel Energy has the right to end, suspend, or amend any of its plans, at any time, in whole or in part.

In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information including but not limited to dates of school attendance and graduation.   You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

Deadline to Apply: 09/28/26

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Accessibility Statement

Xcel Energy endeavors to make https://www.xcelenergy.com and https://jobs.xcelenergy.com accessible to any and all users. If you are in need of an accommodation to complete the application process, now or at any time in the future, please complete the Applicant Accommodation Request Form . For any other application related questions, including application follow-ups or technical issues, please use our Recruiting Assistance, Electra, for assistance. Electra can be found in the lower right-hand corner of our Xcel Energy Careers site.