Commissioning and Testing Engineer

OVERVIEW

This Electronics Engineer - Commissioning position will provide support and assistance to the Systems and Communication Test and Energization (TETD) organization within the Commissioning and Testing (TET) group in the Transmission Services (T) business line. This full-time contract Commissioning and Testing Engineer position provides on-site engineering and project management support for construction projects. The position also provides support, as a field electronics engineer, for coordinating and performing the testing of communications and control equipment in high voltage electrical substations, radio stations and control centers, as well as modifications and additions to the existing installations on the system in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana and will require extensive (up to 95%) travel. In addition to field installations there will be laboratory testing as well.

REQUIREMENTS

Education & Corresponding Experience:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Electronic or Telecommunications Engineering or a directly related engineering field is required.
• 6 months of Electrical Engineering experience is required.
• Candidates 3 months from graduation will be considered. Proof of degree may be requested after graduation.
• Knowledge of engineering concepts, principles, and practices applicable to components and facilities found on a regional transmission system is required.

Required Technical Skills & Experience:

• Training or experience in communications, control systems, or SCADA sufficient to allow knowledge development of design standards through on the job training.
• Demonstrated ability to read and understand electrical schematics and prints to determine how communications and control systems operate.

Preferred Skills & Experience(optional):

• 3 months experience using technical skills, communications standards, and industry approved work standards.

ASSIGNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Confer with engineers, internal customers, and others to discuss existing or potential engineering projects.
• Assist in planning and implementing research methodology and procedures to apply principles of electrical theory to engineering projects.
• Prepare/draft specifications for Contracting Officers’ (COs’) use in the purchase of materials and equipment.
• Assist with design, implementation, maintenance, and improvement of electronic / electrical instruments, equipment, facilities, components, products, and systems.
• Operate computer-assisted engineering and design software and equipment to perform engineering tasks.
• Create electrical drawings, reports, and calculations to support recommended engineering solutions for electrical systems.
• Assist with and coordinate construction, installation, maintenance, support, documentation, and/or testing activities that enable compliance with specifications, codes, and customer requirements, alert manager or PM of any potential concerns or issues.
• Perform detailed calculations to compute and support recommended construction, and installation standards and specifications.
• Assist with inspection of completed installations and verification of operations to validate conformance to design and equipment specifications and compliance with operational and safety standards.
• Assist with redesign to commission and verify proper electrical circuit functions and that all equipment designs meet applicable standards.
• Assist by providing schedule and progress information for construction projects.
• Draft or review written work plans/functional tests.
• Perform troubleshooting and provide technical support to craft/customer personnel.
• Attend project scoping meetings or design reviews, recommending changes to specification diagrams based on technical and operational issues.
• Propose field labor-hour estimates and develop recommended outage/transition plans to facilitate project implementation.
• Work with design staff during engineering phase to understand design philosophy and provide field information/valid requirements.
• Apply diversified knowledge of engineering principles/practices in broad areas of assignments and related fields.
• With guidance from more experienced personnel, facilitate projects on site, including scheduling outages through outage coordinator, and verifying that materials arrive on site.
• Assist in testing of communication equipment including SCADA, SONET, microwave radio, Transfer Trip, and PLC’s (Programmable Logic Controllers).
• Assist with on-site field testing and commissioning of communications equipment.
• Test fiber optic cables.
• Draft technical laboratory reports and commissioning test documents for communications equipment. Provide start-up and commissioning of substation and control center communication facilities. Including radios (microwave, UHF, and VHF), multiplex equipment, transfer trip, SCADA, event recorders, telephone systems and fiber optic systems. Includes laboratory testing as well as field installation.
• Perform corrections to verify that all the equipment functions properly. Revise or correct all drawings to reflect the as-built condition of the equipment wiring and physical layout.
• Provide planning support, coordinate plans of service with stakeholders, and implement plans for assigned projects.
• Participate on teams to research and test telecommunication and related equipment.
• Assist in development of requirements for technical specifications for procurement of telecommunications systems and equipment and provide technical support in the administration of material contracts and project management of turnkey system contracts.
• Prepare detailed design, material, or procurement specifications for equipment, ensuring that technical tradeoffs have been considered and that recommendations conform to existing policies and standards and are within budgetary constraints.
• Prepare engineering designs or assist in developing engineering requirements for the development, installation, and modification of facilities.
• Provide technical support to construction, operations, and maintenance personnel.
• Mark documents and maintain filing system(s), files, emails, and records in accordance with compliance requirements. Share and disperse documents only to appropriate personnel (those with a Lawful Government Purpose (LGP) to know). Mark and maintain all official records in accordance with the Information Security (INFOSEC) and Information Governance & Lifecycle Management (IGLM) standards and procedures. Validate official records are accurately maintained for auditing purposes.