SUBSTATION SENIOR ELECTRICAL EXPERT

Position: SUBSTATION SENIOR ELECTRICAL EXPERT

Nationality: Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia & East Africa Community

Location: Eritrea

Contract Duration: 12 months

About Us:

Your career is about more than building a resume — it’s a chance to #LeaveYourMark. Guaranteeing quality, ensuring health and safety, mitigating risks and improving performance, as well as environmental protection and social responsibility…this is what Bureau Veritas is about. Join an inclusive, flexible and diverse company where you can thrive while positively contributing to transforming the world in which we live.

Position Summary

The Senior Electrical Expert will provide specialist technical leadership for the design, selection, specification, testing, commissioning, and performance assessment of HV/MV substation primary equipment for utility-scale Solar PV and BESS projects in Eritrea.

The position will serve as the technical authority for circuit breakers, disconnectors, earthing switches, surge arresters, instrument transformers, insulators, bushings, cables, terminations, and earthing systems. The Expert will support the Electrical/Grid Integration Engineer and project team in ensuring equipment reliability, safety, grid-code compliance, and effective integration with the power system.

Key Responsibilities

• Review and approve HV/MV substation designs, equipment layouts, single-line diagrams, technical specifications, design calculations, and equipment schedules.
• Select and specify circuit breakers, disconnectors, earthing switches, surge arresters, current and voltage transformers, bushings, insulators, cables, terminations, and earthing components.
• Verify equipment voltage, current, insulation, short-circuit, switching, environmental, seismic, and operational ratings.
• Review substation layouts for electrical clearances, safety, maintainability, reliability, accessibility, future expansion, and lifecycle cost.
• Conduct or review load-flow, short-circuit, voltage-stability, harmonic, power-quality, overvoltage, and contingency studies.
• Support grid-impact and interconnection studies, equipment-rating verification, reinforcement assessments, and selection of appropriate points of connection.
• Review protection philosophies, relay settings, coordination studies, instrument-transformer requirements, circuit-breaker duties, anti-islanding protection, and fault ride-through provisions.
• Ensure coordination of primary equipment with protection, control, auxiliary-power, communication, SCADA, and remote-monitoring systems.
• Review manufacturers’ drawings, technical data, type-test certificates, quality plans, testing procedures, operation manuals, warranties, and performance guarantees.
• Develop or review Factory Acceptance Testing and Site Acceptance Testing requirements and witness critical equipment tests.
• Assess equipment condition, performance, remaining useful life, maintenance requirements, and compliance with approved specifications.
• Investigate equipment failures and non-conformities, conduct root-cause analysis, and recommend corrective, preventive, design, operational, or maintenance improvements.
• Provide technical support during installation, energization, grid synchronization, commissioning, performance validation, and final acceptance.
• Coordinate with utilities and regulatory authorities on interconnection, protection, operating procedures, technical approvals, and compliance requirements.
• Prepare design-review reports, technical assessments, failure-investigation reports, testing records, compliance documentation, and acceptance recommendations.
• Mentor junior engineers and provide training to utility operators and maintenance personnel.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Power Systems Engineering, Power Electronics Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Power Systems, Energy Systems, or a related specialization is highly desirable.
• Minimum six years’ relevant professional experience in HV/MV substation design, primary equipment, power-system studies, and interconnection planning.
• Demonstrated expertise in primary substation equipment selection, specification, testing, installation, and commissioning.
• Practical experience in protection-system design, relay coordination, fault analysis, and circuit-breaker duty assessment.
• Experience conducting or reviewing grid-impact, load-flow, short-circuit, stability, harmonic, and power-quality studies.
• Experience with Solar PV, BESS, substations, transmission systems, or other grid-connected power projects is highly desirable.
• Experience working with utilities, grid operators, EPC contractors, equipment manufacturers, laboratories, and regulatory authorities.
• Experience in Sub-Saharan Africa, emerging markets, weak-grid environments, or multi-site projects is an advantage.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of relevant local languages is an advantage.

Technical Competencies

• HV/MV circuit breakers, disconnectors, earthing switches, surge arresters, instrument transformers, insulators, bushings, cables, and terminations.
• Substation layouts, electrical clearances, insulation coordination, earthing, lightning protection, and equipment-rating verification.
• Load flow, fault-level, transient and voltage-stability, harmonic, power-quality, overvoltage, and contingency analysis.
• Protection schemes, relay coordination, selectivity, anti-islanding, fault ride-through, and utility protection interfaces.
• Equipment testing, condition assessment, thermography, insulation testing, failure investigation, and root-cause analysis.
• SCADA requirements, control interfaces, communication protocols, monitoring, alarms, and cybersecurity considerations.
• Knowledge of applicable grid codes and relevant standards, including IEC 62271, IEC 60071, IEC 62305, IEC 61000, IEEE 1547, and applicable CIGRÉ guidance.
• Proficiency in relevant power-system analysis, protection-coordination, electrical design, data-analysis, SCADA, and project-management software.

Professional Credentials and Attributes

Professional Engineer, Chartered Engineer, or equivalent registration is highly desirable. High-voltage systems, protection and relay coordination, power-system analysis, SCADA, equipment-specific, or electrical-safety certification is an advantage. Membership in IEEE, CIGRÉ, or another relevant professional body is desirable.

The successful candidate will demonstrate strong technical authority, analytical judgment, attention to detail, commitment to safety and reliability, practical problem-solving, clear technical reporting, effective stakeholder coordination, professional integrity, and the ability to mentor and transfer knowledge to local teams.

ACCEPTABLE CV Format

CURRICULUM VITAE (CV)

Education: {List college/university or other specialized education, giving names of educational institutions, dates attended, degree(s)/diploma(s) obtained}

Employment record relevant to the assignment:

{Starting with present position, list in reverse order. Please provide dates, name of employing organization, titles of positions held, types of activities performed and location of the assignment, and contact information of previous clients and employing organization(s) who can be contacted for references. Past employment that is not relevant to the assignment does not need to be included.}

Membership in Professional Associations and Publications: ______________________________________________________________________

Language Skills (indicate only languages in which you can work): ______________

Adequacy for the Assignment:

Contact information : (e-mail …………………., phone……………)

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