Substation Designer

Substation Designer

Location: Atlanta, Georgia

Job Type: Full-Time

Position Summary

The Substation Designer supports the development of safe, reliable, and constructible electric substation designs for utility and industrial clients. This role prepares and coordinates physical design drawings, equipment layouts, sections, details, bills of material, and related design deliverables for greenfield and brownfield substations.

The designer works closely with engineers, project managers, protection and control engineers, civil and structural teams from concept through construction.

Essential Responsibilities

• Develop substation physical design packages, including general arrangements, plans, elevations, sections, equipment layouts, grounding layouts, conduit and cable plans, details, schedules, callouts, and bills of material.
• Translate one-line diagrams, design criteria, equipment data, and engineering direction into coordinated design drawings.
• Lay out bus, structures, switches, breakers, transformers, instrument transformers, arresters, line terminations, feeders, and other major substation equipment.
• Apply required electrical clearances, phase spacing, bus heights, equipment access, maintenance space, and constructability considerations.
• Support bus and conductor selection, equipment arrangement, grounding, lightning protection, and protection and control interfaces under the direction of the responsible engineer.
• Prepare new substation designs and modifications or expansions to existing energized facilities.
• Coordinate design interfaces with civil, structural, protection and control, communications, and other disciplines.
• Review vendor drawings and equipment information and incorporate approved data into design documents.
• Maintain drawing sets, revisions, reference files, and project documentation in accordance with company and client standards.
• Incorporate redlines, field changes, and record information into final as-built drawings.
• Check work for accuracy, completeness, consistency, and compliance with project requirements before submission.
• Communicate design questions, conflicts, schedule risks, and missing information promptly to the project team.
• Support multiple projects and priorities while meeting established budgets and schedules.

Required Qualifications

• Associate degree, technical diploma, or equivalent training and experience in drafting, design technology, electrical technology, or a related field.
• Experience preparing electrical substation or comparable utility design drawings.
• Proficiency with AutoCAD and/or Inventor design software.
• Ability to read and interpret one-line diagrams, physical drawings, equipment drawings, specifications, and design markups.
• Working knowledge of substation equipment, physical arrangements, electrical clearances, and drawing package development.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to producing coordinated, high-quality work.
• Ability to organize assignments, manage revisions, and work effectively within project budgets and schedules.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills and the ability to collaborate across disciplines.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with distribution, transmission, switching, collector, or customer-owned substations.
• Experience with both greenfield and brownfield projects.
• Familiarity with common substation bus configurations and equipment applications.
• Experience with 3D modeling tools such as Autodesk Inventor or other substation design platforms.
• Familiarity with NESC, applicable IEEE standards, utility standards, and client-specific design criteria.
• Experience reviewing the work of junior designers or coordinating multidiscipline drawing packages.

Core Competencies

• Technical drawing development and spatial coordination
• Constructability and practical problem solving
• Quality control and attention to detail
• Collaboration across engineering disciplines
• Clear communication and timely escalation of issues
• Adaptability when priorities or design requirements change
• Accountability for commitments, schedules, and deliverables

Attributes of the Successful Candidate

• Humility – exhibits grace in success and failure while doing meaningful work where skills have impact and make a difference
• Motivation – committed and persistent in pursuit of quality and optimal client and company solutions. Willingness to constantly learn, share, and grow.
• Integrity – both to the P&D way of doing business and as a professional engineer with a strong work ethic with a commitment to quality and accuracy.
• Initiative – Self-sufficiency, and a strong desire to learn new technologies and solutions.
• Agility – ability to quickly understand and transition between different projects, concepts, initiatives, or work streams while ensuring deadlines are not affected by the transitions.
• Self-managed – able to effectively manage time and priorities, fully aware of responsibilities and tasks and proactive in completing them without being reminded by others.
• Judgment – exercises prudence and insight in decision-making process while mindful of others and long-term ramifications
• Curiosity – the ideal candidate exhibits an inquisitive nature and the ability to question the status quo among a community of people they enjoy and teams that work well together
• Sacrifice – Demonstrates effort, selflessness, and willingness to jump in and help. A startup mentality.

About Patterson and Dewar Engineers

If you like the idea of working in an employee-owned consulting firm that has a 75 year reputation for integrity, client care, and quality services, and can “think and operate like an owner” this is the job for you, and we want you. We invest in our people through training and employee development and by fostering a culture of innovation, caring and collaboration.

We are also committed to an unwavering delivery of high-quality services and results for our clients and reward those who delight our clients. We are a team that focuses on providing excellent customer service with a “can do” attitude and thrives on finding innovative ways to work both safer and more efficient.

We offer competitive compensation, a comprehensive benefits package, and the opportunity to learn, grow and contribute to a vibrant culture that stands the test of time.

• Competitive Compensation
• Group Medical Health Insurance Benefits
• Group Vision Health Insurance Benefits
• 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan: 401(k) Retirement Savings Plans help you save for your retirement for eligible employees. A range of investment options are available with a personal financial planner to assist you. The Plan is a pre-tax Safe Harbor 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan with a company contribution.
• Paid Time-Off (PTO) Benefits: Eligible employees use PTO for vacation, a doctor’s appointment, or any number of events in your life. Currently these benefits include Vacation/Sick days – 4 weeks | Holidays - 7
• Bonus program
• Flexible Spending Account: FSAs help you pay for eligible out-of-pocket health care and dependent day care expenses on a pre-tax basis. You determine your projected expenses for the Plan Year and then elect to set aside a portion of each paycheck into your FSA.
• Supplemental Life/Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance: If you want extra protection for yourself and your eligible dependents, you have the option to elect supplemental life insurance. D&D covers death or dismemberment from an accident only.
• Short- and Long-Term Disability Insurance: Disability insurance plans are designed to provide income protection while you recover from a disability.

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible schedule
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Norcross, GA 30071