Senior Project Lead – NERC Protection & Controls

GDS Associates, Inc. has an exciting and challenging opportunity for a Senior Project Lead – NERC Protection & Controls in the Rates, Regulatory & Compliance Department. This position is expected to work remotely from a home office. This position has the opportunity for hybrid arrangements if local to a GDS office. The main responsibilities are listed below.

The Senior Project Lead – NERC Protection & Controls supports a diverse portfolio of utility and energy clients, providing engineering, compliance advisory, and audit support services related to transmission and generation protection systems.

Responsibilities:

• Provide consulting services to utility clients related to protection and control engineering and NERC compliance
• Develop, review, and validate relay settings aligned with NERC PRC standards
• Perform NERC compliance assessments, gap analyses, and remediation planning
• Support clients during NERC audits, self-certifications, and mitigation activities
• Develop compliance evidence, engineering justifications, and documentation
• Analyze protection system misoperations and disturbances (PRC-004)
• Support compliance with NERC PRC standards: (PRC-002, PRC-004, PRC-005, PRC-019, PRC-023, PRC-024, PRC-025, PRC-026, PRC-027)
• Support protection coordination studies and protection philosophies
• Interface with client engineering and compliance teams
• Develop and review relay settings and protection schemes as needed.

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related discipline
• 6+ years of protection and controls engineering experience
• Professional Engineer (PE) license preferred, but not required
• Project team collaboration
• Manage timely delivery of tasks assigned to a project team
• Strong working knowledge of NERC PRC Reliability Standards
• Experience with SEL, GE, Siemens, or equivalent protective relays
• Strong technical writing and client-facing communication skills
• Prior NERC audit or compliance engagement experience
• Experience supporting both transmission and generation assets
• Familiarity with compliance tracking systems
• Up to 25% travel to Client sites and to attend industry meetings
• Position requires a Personal Risk Assessment/Background Check completed prior to hire and every 7-years while employed.

GDS is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Please note that this position is not available for visa sponsorship.

Work Authorization: Citizens or Permanent Residents of USA or Canada. Cannot provide Visa sponsorship.

Salary is determined by various factors, including but not limited to location, the individual’s particular combination of education, knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience, as well as contract-specific affordability and organizational requirements.

#LI-Remote

• Flex Benefits (Flexible Hours, Telecommuting)
• Competitive Pay
• Excellent Health Insurance Benefits
• Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick, Floating Holiday, Holidays)
• 401(k)
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Tuition Reimbursement