About this role
About Liberal Construction
Liberal Construction, LLC is a United States construction company headquartered in McLean, Virginia. Since 2010 it has delivered design-build projects for US clients across Africa, the GCC and Europe. We are hiring engineers for our project sites in Djibouti, East Africa.
The role
We are looking for a power electrical engineer to work on site in Djibouti and carry the electrical content of concurrent power projects: a substation renovation, medium-voltage switchgear with an E-House, a UPS replacement, and the electrical works of containerised living units. You will turn the design into something that can be built, submitted, tested and energised. You will hold the design conversation with our Professional Engineer in the United States, answer the client's design comments, verify what suppliers send us, plan the outages, and be present when the switchgear is energised.
What you will do
- Hold the technical conversation with our Professional Engineer in the United States: single-line diagrams, load and cable schedules, protection philosophy and equipment selection. Review the design before it leaves the company.
- Own the power-system studies and their consequences in the field: short circuit, protective-device coordination, arc flash, and earthing and lightning protection.
- Answer client design-review comments line by line, and prepare and track RFIs, submittals and transmittals through the submittal register.
- Plan and secure electrical outages, write the switching, isolation and energisation plans for MV work, and be present for the switching.
- Witness factory and site acceptance tests (insulation resistance, VLF or hipot, contact and earth resistance, transformer and cable tests, relay settings and functional tests) and confirm protection and interlocks are implemented as approved before anything is energised.
- Work inside the quality control plan: preparatory, initial and follow-up inspections, non-conformance reports driven to closure, the electrical punch list to zero, and the closeout package.
- Write and evaluate the technical part of enquiries for switchgear, switchboards, transformers, generators, capacitor banks and relays, and review supplier submittals against the specification.
- Work safely to NFPA 70E: arc-flash boundaries, energised-work permits, lockout and tagout.
What we are looking for
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering (power or energy systems).
- At least 7 years of experience after graduation, including at least 3 years on medium- and low-voltage power distribution.
- Hands-on experience with 11 kV or 15 kV switchgear and ring main units, distribution transformers up to at least 3 MVA, LV switchboards, capacitor banks and automatic transfer switches.
- Protection and coordination competence: relay settings, short-circuit and arc-flash studies, using ETAP, SKM, EasyPower or equivalent.
- Working knowledge of NFPA 70 (NEC), NFPA 70E and the relevant IEEE standards, or the IEC equivalents.
- Experience with submittal registers, RFIs and formal client design-comment cycles.
- Strong written English, able to obtain the access clearance the project site requires, and willing to live and work in Djibouti.
Desirable: Professional Engineer licence (or EIT); SEL protection relays, SCADA and PLC integration; generator and UPS systems; commissioning on live, mission-critical systems; French or Arabic.
What we offer
- Monthly salary of US$2,000–4,000.
- Accommodation: company accommodation, or an accommodation allowance.
- Transportation provided by the company.
- A return air ticket every year.
- Work visa and permits arranged and paid for by the company.
We value smartness and hard work over years of experience. We never charge candidates any recruitment fee.
Location
On site in Djibouti, East Africa. Full-time.
How to apply
Apply on this page: complete the short form and attach your CV. Every application is reviewed by our team. Shortlisted candidates take an online assessment, followed by technical and final interviews.