Substation Secondary Plant Design Engineer

About the role

WSP South Africa is seeking a Substation Secondary Plant Design Engineer to lead the design and delivery of transmission and distribution substation projects across Southern Africa. The role combines technical engineering, project management, and stakeholder coordination to ensure high‑quality, standards‑compliant solutions.

Key responsibilities

• Prepare and review conceptual, functional, and detailed designs, specifications, bills of quantity and tender documents for substation projects ranging from 11 kV to 500 kV.
• Develop protection and communication design packages, including protection schemes, relay‑setting philosophy, schematics, single‑line diagrams, wiring diagrams, and interface drawings.
• Conduct fault studies, relay‑setting calculations and coordination reports for transmission and distribution networks.
• Design and configure protection, automation and SCADA systems.
• Review contractor submissions against project specifications and ensure compliance with IEC, IEEE, NRS, SANS and Eskom standards.
• Support construction and commissioning phases, attend stakeholder meetings, prepare minutes and technical reports.
• Participate in design reviews, HAZOPs, FATs, SATs and provide on‑site commissioning assistance.
• Contribute to proposal development, scope definition, scheduling and budgeting for consultancy services.

Required profile

• BSc or BEng in Electrical Engineering or a related discipline.
• Proven experience leading engineering teams on substation secondary plant design for transmission and distribution projects.
• Hands‑on experience with PTMC systems and voltage levels from 400 V LV to 500 kV AC (experience with 765 kV AC/DC is a plus).
• Strong knowledge of international standards (IEC, IEEE, NRS, SANS, Eskom) and ability to produce compliant documentation.
• Demonstrated ability to perform fault studies, relay settings, and protection coordination.

Required skills

• Substation secondary plant design
• PTMC systems
• Protection scheme development
• Relay‑setting calculations
• Fault study analysis
• SCADA and automation configuration
• IEC, IEEE, NRS, SANS, Eskom standards compliance
• Creation of single‑line, wiring and interface diagrams
• HAZOP, FAT, SAT participation

What we offer

• Opportunity to work on high‑impact transmission and distribution projects.
• Collaborative environment with multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Professional development and exposure to international standards.