Reliability Engineer

Reliability Engineer – West Region Responsibility

This posting will fill 1 location specific position and 1 position providing statewide support that is not location specific. The 1 location specific position will support West Region. The 1 position that is not location specific will help support Distribution Reliability responsibilities across the state.

West Region Reliability Engineer Location: The successful candidate will report to an Operating Headquarters within West Region and must live within a reasonable commuting distance to the Operating Headquarters in that region. Relocation assistance is available for qualified candidates if needed.

Reliability Engineer – Statewide Program Support Locations: State of Georgia. The assigned operating headquarters location will be dependent on the successful candidate's location.

Job Level: Exempt 5 or 6 dependent upon the successful candidate's qualifications including education, experience and skillset.

Job Summary

Statewide Program Support Reliability Engineer

The Statewide Program Support Reliability Engineering position will primarily be responsible for supporting Reliability projects throughout the state to ensure the Reliability organizational goals are met. This position will support the planning, implementation, and execution of programs focused on improving power distribution system reliability, operational efficiency, and regulatory compliance. This role will involve cross-functional collaboration, data-driven decision-making, and a strong emphasis on achieving key performance metrics such as SAIDI and SAIFI. The successful candidate must be a champion of Safety Excellence. Safety and attention to detail are paramount in this position. Therefore, the successful candidate will be expected to incorporate appropriate safety measures into all aspects of their job. He or she will also be expected to engineer and manage the organization's projects efficiently and keep Reliability projects on schedule.

The Statewide Support Reliability Engineering position will work with the local region Reliability and Distribution Automation Engineers to assist in the work needed to program and commission SCADA and non-SCADA devices installed on the distribution system. Duties include working with and around low voltage. This position will require interaction with multiple work groups including Distribution Construction, region engineering and supervision, P&C Applications, Operations Support, P&C Field Services, and Project Engineering. To be effective, the successful candidate must be capable of communicating, building rapport, and establishing professional working relationships with all their peers and these cross-functional teams across Power Delivery. As with all Distribution Reliability Engineering positions, he or she will be responsible for proper implementation of Company reliability strategies and ensuring proper coordination of protective schemes.

Area Reliability Engineer

The Area Reliability Engineer's primary responsibilities are to support distribution reliability needs in his or her assigned area(s) and to also support GPC distribution reliability initiatives by assisting with corporate reliability projects throughout the state. The successful candidate must be a champion of Safety Excellence. Safety and attention to detail are paramount in this position. Therefore, the successful candidate will be expected to incorporate appropriate safety measures into all aspects of their job. He or she will be expected to engineer and manage their projects efficiently, on schedule, and without service interruptions.

The Area Reliability Engineer will be required to perform field investigations, analyze outage management system data, SCADA data, and metering data to determine root causes impacting distribution reliability and then engineer solutions to optimize system performance. This position will perform circuit studies within their assigned area(s) and in other areas around the state based on priority of corporate reliability objectives. All reliability projects must be thoroughly evaluated to ensure maximize effectiveness.

The responsibilities of this position also include working with the Distribution Automation team on commissioning, testing, and maintaining distribution automation equipment, protective relays, controls, and communication equipment. The Area Reliability Engineer will perform, in conjunction with the Distribution Automation group, all work needed to program and commission electronic devices installed on the distribution system. Duties also include working with and around low voltage.

The successful candidate will be considered the subject matter expert on protection and coordination in their assigned area(s). He or she will work closely with area engineering, Distribution Planning, Area Planning, Renewables, and the TMC organization, providing them with technical expertise, breaker relay settings and protective device relay settings as needed. This will require interaction with multiple work groups including P&C Applications, Operations Support and P&C Field Services &/or Distribution Automation. He or she will be responsible for proper implementation of Company reliability strategies and ensuring proper coordination of protective schemes. When system upgrades occur, the Area Reliability Engineer must also ensure that protective equipment is sized appropriately, both in terms of continuous load carrying capacity and fault interrupting capability.

The Area Reliability Engineer will be utilized as a technical resource and is required to demonstrate the skills obtained in GPC Level II Distribution Certification courses. He or she will provide guidance on customer related inquiries and distributed generation interconnection evaluations as needed. This position will review outage data regularly for quality assurance and monitor trends in performance. Periodically, he or she will be required to investigate device operations to ensure proper coordination and take corrective action(s) if necessary.

The Area Reliability Engineer must maintain visibility, communicate effectively, promptly respond to concerns, and provide SERP & Supervisor On-Call support for their assigned area(s). The successful candidate must be capable of building rapport and establishing professional working relationships with all GPC stakeholders.

Job Requirements

Education Requirements:

Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Engineering Technology, or a degree in a related field (i.e. Mathematics, Science); 4-year ABET accredited degree is required

Engineer in Training (EIT) certification is a plus

Professional Engineer (PE) license is preferred

Experience Requirements:

Minimum of 3 years operations experience required in one or more of the following areas: Electric Power Distribution Operations, Electric Power Transmission Operations, Protection & Control (P&C) Field Services, P&C Applications.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

Candidate must have knowledge of Section 0 and demonstrate Safety Excellence at all times.

Candidate must model all aspects of Our Values - Safety First, Unquestionable Trust, Superior Performance and Total Commitment.

Candidate should possess knowledge of Southern Company engineering and construction best practices.

Candidate must possess knowledge of Southern Company distribution operating procedures.

Must be a self-starter, able to work independently, and capable of prioritizing multiple work assignments.

Knowledge of electric utility distribution system operations, overhead and underground distribution design, distribution automation, and coordination of protective devices is preferred.

Must be capable of producing designs that will enhance system reliability performance.

Must be able to articulate and enforce applicable Company policies while providing excellent service for internal & external customers.

Must have working knowledge of the NESC.

Must be capable of creating quality distribution work orders, estimates and construction prints.

Knowledge of Microsoft office products and other related engineering software systems is preferred.

Working knowledge of CymTCC and CymDist is preferred.

Proven experience in writing and executing switching orders.

Must possess effective project management and organizational skills.

Ability to manage multiple tasks and meet strict deadlines.

Ability to work well with internal and external customers.

Effective communication skills.

Capable of working in a team environment that supports multiple organizations such as Sales, Customer Service, Area & Distribution Planning and Renewables.

Knowledge of Georgia Power Company Distribution Bulletins, the Engineering Handbook & other relevant Company guidelines is preferred.

Must be capable of meeting the Official Transmission and Distribution Switching & Clearance List criteria.

Other Requirements

Candidate must be able to work outdoors in all weather conditions.

Position requires walking through rough and uneven terrain.

Candidate must be able to lift or move approximately 25 pounds of equipment and materials.

Familiarity with hand tools and test equipment to repair mechanical and/or electrical equipment is desired.

Must be willing to serve in the supervisor on-call rotation at the assigned work location.

Availability for local area emergency assistance after hours, nights, weekends and holidays is required.

Ability to support restoration efforts in state and out of state is required.

Must be available to travel overnight and provide statewide support while working alone and driving to remote locations.

Candidate must currently hold a valid Driver's License.

Strong technical aptitude and problem-solving skills.

Behavioral Attributes

Candidate must be committed to Safety Excellence as a core value

Demonstrates "Our Values": Safety First, Unquestionable Trust, Superior Performance and Total Commitment.

Maintains a "Questioning Attitude" continuously seeking opportunities for improvement.

Demonstrates a genuine interest to understand and respect different perspectives.

Supports continual learning and Human Performance principles.

Takes full ownership and proactively takes the initiative to resolve issues in a timely manner