Substation Relay Protection Engineer

Substation Relay Protection Engineer

This position will be filled at the Engineer II or III level; the level of selected candidate will be dependent on the qualifications, experience, education, and certification level of the successful candidate.

How Will You Make an Impact?

Colorado Springs Utilities is hiring a Substation Relay Protection Engineer to develop substation protection relay settings for our transmission and distribution system, ensuring system reliability and NERC compliance for our settings.

In this job, you will work alongside a Principal Protection Engineer as you develop an understanding of our protection philosophies and policies for Colorado Springs Utilities. You will leverage your engineering expertise to produce quality and accurate relay settings to ensure substation equipment and controls will serve the needs of our transmission and distribution systems today, tomorrow, and into the future.

Check out the links below to learn about some of the projects that you will be a part of:

Kelker Substation Expansion Project
Central Bluffs Substation
Horizon Utility Campus

Some of the ways in which you will make an impact include:

• Reviewing and/or developing substation protection relay settings, including transmission and distribution line protection, transformer differentials, bus differentials, breaker failure, and more
• Monitoring, reviewing, and updating documentation to ensure compliance with settings related to NERC standards, and serving as a subject matter expert for audits
• Participating and providing input in the development of engineering and construction standards
• Strengthening technical knowledge as needed for developing system protection relay settings related to system equipment projects
• Reviewing electrical design packages necessary for installing new and replacing aged electrical system equipment and controls
• Providing relay setting technical support through the design, construction, commissioning, and energization of substation equipment
• Running fault studies and providing input into short-circuit models using ASPEN One-Liner
• Coordinating and developing relaying one-lines for our electrical system

Who You Are...

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering is required; an emphasis in Power Systems is valued
• Relevant and progressively responsible high voltage substation and transmission system protection knowledge, with experience in relay setting development for substation projects
• Experience with fault study modeling is valued, either with ASPEN One-Liner or CAPE

The military job codes/duty codes most closely related to this role are: 120A, 12A, 51S, 881A, 32E1, 32E2, 32E3, 32E4, 32EX, 5311, 5904, 5310, 122, 5960, 8004, 144, 1301, 1302, 1310, 2070, 6004, 6005, 9620, 9622, 9624, 9626, 9630, 9631, 9632

Who We Are...

• One of the largest four-service public utilities in the nation (over 500,000 customers)
• A national leader in reliability (power on an average of 99.991% of the time)
• Diamond Designation recipient from the American Public Power Association - a utility leader in reliability, safety, workforce development, and system improvements
• Located at the base of the Rocky Mountains in the most desired city to live in the United States (U.S. News & World Report, 2022)

Our Commitment to Our Employees...
Our people are the heart and soul of Colorado Springs Utilities. They keep the lights on, gas flowing, water coming in, and wastewater leaving. We do not just say people are important - we prove it! That's why we are honored to invest in protecting the health and financial security of our employees and their families through our rich benefits program.

• Time Off - Because everybody needs time off to recharge
  • Vacation - New employees accrue 13 days of paid time off to start, while our more tenured employees accrue 24 days per year
  • Personal Leave -3 days per year of personal leave
  • Paid Holidays -12 paid holidays per year
  • Sick Leave - Accrue 12 days of sick leave annually for those days when you or a family member is feeling under the weather
  • Vacation Buy - Purchase up to 40 hours of additional vacation time
• Pension Plan - Looking forward to a comfortable lifestyle once you're done working? The Colorado Public Employees' Retirement Association (PERA) provides you with retirement benefits and peace of mind when you retire
• Medical - Select from three comprehensive medical plans, starting at $0 per month. Employees also enjoy access to a Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA). (effective the 1st of the month following your start date)
• Wellness Program - Voluntary wellness program that allows you and your spouse to each earn up to $500 to use towards healthcare expenses, $100 in Visa gift cards, and up to $400 in gym membership reimbursements
• Dental - Select from two dental plans, with in-network PPO preventive care covered at 100% and access to orthodontia coverage (effective the 1st of the month following your start date)
• Vision - Voluntary plan that covers full vision care services and discounts on LASIK eye surgery (effective the 1st of the month following your start date)
• Retirement Saving Programs - Supplement your pension plan with voluntary retirement programs such as the PERAPlus 401(k) and MissionSquare's Roth IRA and 457 plans
• Disability Coverage - Short-Term (STD) and Long-Term Disability (LTD) insurance available for purchase (effective the 1st of the month following your start date)
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) - Makes the going a little easier by aiding with mental health, stress management, work-life balance, financial and legal matters, and much more
• Long-Term Care Insurance (LTC) - Whether it's due to an accident or a serious illness, LTC insurance is available for purchase to help you and your loved ones (effective the 1st of the month following your start date)
• Life Insurance - Company-paid life insurance and supplemental coverage available (effective the 1st of the month following your start date)
• Tuition Reimbursement - Employees are eligible to receive up to $5,250 annually for Tuition Reimbursement
• Qualifying Public Service Employer - Payments made towards student loans may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program