About the Role
Colm Engineering is seeking an experienced MV/HV & Substation Engineering Program & Team Leader to lead and scale our portfolio of medium-voltage (MV), high-voltage (HV), substation, protection & control, and grid-interconnection projects across commercial, industrial (C&I), and utility-scale markets. Energy Storage (BESS) and renewable integration projects form an important subset of this work, and the successful candidate will be able to perform and oversee end-to-end engineering for substations, MV/HV infrastructure, grid connections, and DER integration. This senior role oversees the full lifecycle of engineering delivery, program strategy, financial performance, team leadership, client development, and technical governance for MV/HV & substation systems—with BESS included as an extension of these core competencies.
Requirements
Key Responsibilities
1.Technical Oversight, Engineering Delivery & Full Design Package Ownership (70%)
Perform and lead all engineering work required for MV/HV and substation projects, grid interconnections, protection & control systems, utility infrastructure, and DER/BESS integration.
Produce and own complete engineering design packages from conceptual through IFC on behalf of EPCs, Owner’s Engineers, utilities, and end clients.
Develop and deliver comprehensive design packages, including:
Substation one-line, three-line, and wiring diagrams (MV/HV)
Protection and control schemes, relay settings, logic diagrams, interlocking, and coordination studies
MV/HV equipment specifications, grounding systems, bus layouts, cable routing, and conduit design
SCADA/RTU integration, telecom/communications (IEC-61850, Modbus, DNP3), and sequence-of-operations
DER/BESS integration, PCS/EMS/BMS interfaces, generation tie-ins, and interconnection compliance
Perform and/or validate all technical studies including:
Load flow, short-circuit, motor starting, fault-level, arc-flash, and transient stability
Protection coordination across MV/HV networks
BESS capacity modeling (as required), degradation/cycling studies, and DER optimization
Ensure compliance with Canadian and/or U.S. engineering standards, including: OESC, CEC, NEC, IEEE, UL, NFPA, NESC, and utility-specific requirements.
Provide engineering authority over all MV/HV, substation, protection, and DER/BESS deliverables.
Support commissioning planning, energization, field troubleshooting, protection cutovers, and system validation.
Oversee quality assurance, design reviews, and technical sign-off for all engineering outputs.
2.Program Leadership, Strategy, P&L Ownership & Financial Management (20%)
Develop and execute the strategic roadmap for Colm’s MV/HV, substation, and grid-integration program, with BESS as a supporting vertical.
Own the program P&L, including forecasting, revenue planning, backlog management, profitability, and margin optimization.
Lead bid/no-bid decisions, pricing strategies, and project pursuit evaluations based on ROI and technical risk.
Establish standardized engineering processes, templates, QA/QC frameworks, and delivery workflows to improve efficiency and scalability.
Provide technical leadership in proposals, client presentations, scopes of work, and RFP responses.
Collaborate with executive leadership (Finance, Operations, Partnerships) to ensure financial and operational performance aligns with corporate growth objectives.
Identify strategic vendor and OEM partnerships for substation equipment, protection hardware, and DER/BESS systems across Canada and the U.S.
3.Team Leadership, Operations & Stakeholder Management (10%)
Lead and mentor engineering staff, designers, technologists, and commissioning personnel.
Oversee workload planning, resourcing, performance management, and professional development.
Serve as the lead technical representative with EPCs, Owner’s Engineers, utilities, regulators, and major clients.
Build professional relationships to support repeat business and program expansion across North American markets.
Qualifications
1.Education & Licensure
Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering required.
P.Eng (Canada) and/or U.S. Professional Engineer (PE) license preferred.
Advanced training in power systems, power systems, protection & control, HV/MV design, DER, or renewable energy is an asset.
2.Experience
7+ years in MV/HV, substation, protection & control, or grid-interconnection engineering.
Strong experience producing and owning full engineering design packages (concept → IFC) for EPCs, utilities, and Owner’s Engineers.
U.S. project experience (NESC, NEC, utility interconnection, IEEE) preferred.
Experience integrating DER/BESS into MV/HV systems is an asset.
Demonstrated financial awareness, including budgeting, cost tracking, or program-level P&L involvement.
Experience working with utilities, EPC firms, IPPs, ISOs/RTOs, or consulting engineering organizations.
3.Technical Skills
Deep proficiency in MV/HV power systems, substation engineering, protection & control, SCADA/communications (IEC-61850, Modbus, DNP3), and grid interconnection.
Strong capabilities in engineering tools such as AutoCAD, ETAP (or equivalent), and standard office software.
Thorough knowledge of Canadian and U.S. standards: OESC, CEC, NEC, IEEE, UL, NFPA, and utility interconnection requirements.
4.Leadership & Soft Skills
Ability to lead engineering execution while balancing scope, schedule, and cost.
Strong communication and client-facing skills with the ability to represent technical decisions clearly.
Proven ability to mentor staff, collaborate across teams, and support business development.