Substation Engineer

Job Title: Substation Engineer Job Description
The Substation Engineer will play a key role in delivering electrical engineering and design solutions for power delivery and renewable energy projects. This position focuses on substations and extends to solar, battery storage, data centers, hydropower stations, and broader power generation and distribution facilities. You will contribute to the day-to-day execution of engineering work, support a growing team, and have opportunities to cross-train across multiple power delivery disciplines.
Responsibilities
- Direct and coordinate the work of single- and multidiscipline engineering teams throughout the full project lifecycle, from development and initiation through close-out.
- Lead and mentor a team of entry-level engineers, providing technical guidance and support for their professional growth.
- Manage all aspects of large multidiscipline projects or medium-sized projects with a high degree of technical complexity, involving a substantial project staff.
- Produce and coordinate multiple projects concurrently, ensuring alignment of design, schedule, and quality standards.
- Establish and maintain strong client relationships and participate in marketing, contractual, design, and production meetings.
- Conduct work sessions for deliverable development in collaboration with internal staff and external stakeholders.
- Coordinate staffing and workload across the entire project lifecycle to ensure deliverables are completed on schedule.
- Track and manage the financial aspects of projects, adjusting team work effort as needed to keep projects within agreed budget and schedule parameters.
- Collaborate with Accounting, Operational, and Business leadership teams to conduct periodic project reviews.
- Implement and uphold QA/QC procedures to maintain high technical and documentation standards across all project deliverables.
- Supervise large project teams and serve as a mentor for less-experienced Project Managers and engineers.
- Perform other related duties as needed to support project success and team objectives.
Essential Skills
- Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering.
- Minimum of 3 years of experience working on substation or transmission utility projects.
- Hands-on experience with substation engineering and substation design for power delivery facilities.
- Strong foundation in electrical engineering principles applied to power delivery, including protection and control and physical design.
- Ability to manage and coordinate multidiscipline project teams and multiple concurrent projects.
- Proficiency in tracking project schedules and budgets and adjusting work plans to meet project parameters.
- Experience implementing QA/QC procedures on engineering projects.
- Demonstrated ability to lead and mentor entry-level engineers and support their development.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills for effective collaboration with clients, internal teams, and stakeholders.
Additional Skills & Qualifications
- Advanced Engineer-in-Training (EIT) or Professional Engineer (PE) certification is preferred.
- Experience with protection and control (P&C) design, physical design, and schematic development for substations.
- Background in power engineering, including substation/transmission and power generation and distribution.
- Ability to establish and maintain client relationships and participate in marketing and contractual discussions.
- Experience working within an engineering, procurement, construction, and management (EPCM) environment is beneficial.
- Interest in power delivery and renewable energy projects such as solar, battery storage, data centers, and hydropower stations.
- Comfort working with teams spread across multiple offices and states.
- Desire for ongoing professional development and participation in an employee-focused ownership culture.
Work Environment
This role is based in an engineering office environment in Kentucky, with the option to sit in any office within the state and a preference for Lexington or Louisville. The Lexington engineering office includes roughly 100 engineers across various disciplines, providing a collaborative, multidisciplinary setting. The position is expected to be primarily on-site for the first six months to integrate with the team, learn firm-specific processes, and build strong working relationships. After this initial period, a hybrid work schedule is available, with an emphasis on regular in-office presence to support team coordination and leadership responsibilities. The team includes leadership based in Kentucky and additional team leads in Tennessee. Travel is minimal and typically limited to project sites within Kentucky, estimated at less than 15% of the time, often once a month or bi-monthly as needed. The environment supports a flexible schedule, professional development, and participation in an employee-owned culture with an ESOP program, comprehensive internal benefits, paid time off, and paid holidays.
Job Type & Location
This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Lexington, KY.
Pay and Benefits
The pay range for this position is $35.00 - $60.00/hr. Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors. Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job
classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be
subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits
available for this temporary role may include the following:

Medical, dental & vision
Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
401(k) Retirement Plan Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
Short and long-term disability
Health Spending Account (HSA)
Transportation benefits
Employee Assistance Program
Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)
Job Type & Location
This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Lexington, KY.
Application Deadline
This position is anticipated to close on Nov 11, 2026.
Workplace Type
This is a hybrid position in Lexington,KY. About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

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sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected
by law.

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Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the
city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants
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