Power System Studies Engineer
Power System Studies & Design · Sacramento, CA (Hybrid)
Why This Role Exists
Every protection scope we deliver starts with studies — arc-flash, short-circuit, coordination — that establish the design basis for relay settings, trip coordination, and safety boundaries. This role exists because the studies define what the protection system must do before anyone writes a settings file. You produce the analytical foundation: fault current calculations, coordination curves, arc-flash incident energy levels, and mode transition power flow analysis for 2(N+1) data center power systems with parallel generation, UPS, and priority-based load shedding.
What You Own
- Short-circuit analysis per IEEE C37 for 2(N+1) medium-voltage distribution with multiple parallel fault sources
- Protection coordination studies per IEEE 242 — time-current curves, relay-to-relay and fuse-to-relay coordination
- Arc-flash hazard analysis per IEEE 1584 across all operating modes (normal, maintenance, islanded, degraded)
- Mode transition power flow analysis — load/generation balance during automatic transitions between operating modes
- Load shedding/restoration sequence specifications with UV/OV/UF/OF trigger thresholds and deadband logic
- UPS sizing calculations and controls power resiliency analysis
- Settings recommendations fed to relay settings engineers — pickup levels, time dial values, instantaneous thresholds
Systems You'll Touch
Software Tools
Vendor Platforms
Standards
Site Activities
What Success Looks Like
First 90 Days
- Completed a short-circuit or arc-flash study for an active project — model built, calculations validated
- Produced protection coordination curves for at least one medium-voltage feeder/generator zone
- Reviewed an existing mode transition analysis and identified improvement areas or validation gaps
First 180 Days
- Independently delivering full study packages (short-circuit + coordination + arc-flash) for data center power systems
- Mode transition power flow analysis delivered and used as design basis for RTAC sequence logic
- Settings recommendations accepted by relay settings engineers and validated through secondary injection
Required Background
- 5+ years power system studies for medium-voltage critical infrastructure (data centers, substations, industrial)
- ETAP or SKM Power*Tools modeling experience — short-circuit, coordination, arc-flash
- Protection coordination per IEEE 242 — relay-to-relay, fuse-to-relay, time-current curve development
- Arc-flash analysis per IEEE 1584 — incident energy calculations, PPE category assignments
- Short-circuit analysis per IEEE C37 — symmetrical and asymmetrical fault currents
- Understanding of generator parallel operation and transfer switch configurations in critical power systems
Preferred Background
- Harmonics analysis per IEEE 519 for VFD-heavy or UPS-heavy distribution systems
- Grounding studies per IEEE 80 or IEEE 142
- Load flow analysis for multi-source critical power with automatic mode transitions
- FMEA/FMECA analysis for protection and controls systems
- PE license (any state)
What to Expect in the Field
- Travel
- 10–20% for site measurements, model validation walks, and commissioning support
- Site Hours
- Standard office hours for study work; occasional site visits for as-built verification and field measurements
- Customer-Facing
- Interface with prime contractor electrical engineers for one-line review and study assumptions; occasional study result presentations
- Documentation
- Heavy — study reports, coordination curves, arc-flash labels, incident energy tables, settings recommendation packages
- Field Safety
- Minimal field exposure; NFPA 70E awareness required for site measurement visits
Why Ziggurat
- Your studies define the protection philosophy — the relay settings, trip schemes, and safety boundaries all trace back to your analysis
- Multi-source systems (generators, UPS, ATS) with mode transitions — not simple radial distribution
- Direct feedback loop: see how your coordination curves perform during commissioning and witness testing
- Small firm means your analytical judgment directly shapes protection design, not filtered through layers of review
Hiring Process
Screen
Background review against role requirements — vendor platform experience, relevant certifications, project types, and standards familiarity. Quick assessment of baseline alignment before investing either party's time.
Resume review + 15-min intro call
Technical Review
Deeper evaluation of technical depth. We review sample work — relay settings files, protection study reports, commissioning test procedures, or SCADA configuration packages — depending on the role. If samples aren't shareable, we discuss specific project scenarios in detail.
Async work-sample review or 45-min technical call
Interview
Scenario-based conversation with the principal engineer. Real project situations: how you'd approach a coordination study for a complex switchgear lineup, sequence a commissioning plan across multiple vendor platforms, or troubleshoot a protection scheme failure during site acceptance testing.
60-min video call with founder
Exercise / Artifact Review
A practical evaluation matched to the role. Engineering roles receive a take-home exercise — review and mark up a set of relay settings, identify gaps in a protection study, or develop a test procedure for a specific scheme. Field-focused roles walk through a commissioning package or test report they've delivered, explaining their methodology and decisions.
Take-home exercise (2–4 hrs) or artifact walkthrough (60 min)
Final Conversation
Role scope, current project pipeline, working arrangements, and compensation. This is a two-way conversation — we want to confirm the role fits your goals, not just the other way around.
30-min call
This role supports our protection studies and power studies service scopes.
Questions about this role? Email us at careers@zigguratautomation.com
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First step: a 15-minute call with the principal engineer.