Senior Engineer- Climate Resiliency Planning

Job Description

The Senior Engineer - Climate Resiliency Planning, provides engineering service and technical support with energy delivery system resiliency to departments responsible for Planning, Standards, Engineering, Project Delivery and Operation of PSE's transmission and distribution energy delivery systems. The Senior Engineer educates and collaborates across departments at PSE, and with external entities, to build awareness and partnerships around understanding, assessing and mitigating the hazards of climate change on the energy delivery system.

The Senior Engineer applies industry guidelines and engineering principles to identify hazards of climate change, and supports development of specifications, standards, design and operational practices that mitigate hazards of climate change through proactive planning, construction, operation, maintenance, and analysis of PSE facilities and assets. The Senior Engineer schedules and coordinates major segments of complex project work to meet cost and timeline objectives, and reviews design documentation, specifications and standards as required to ensure adherence to climate mitigation criteria and guidelines. Assignments involve a substantial degree of complexity, with many interrelated elements, requiring considerations not previously encountered.

The Senior Engineer supports emergency response operations when needed. Upholds the safety compliance standards inherent in PSE’s operating and/or field procedures related to work responsibilities. Promotes and supports a culture of total safety. Demonstrates commitment to conduct business honestly, ethically and consistent with our core values and Code of Conduct. Ensures that duties are performed in accordance with all regulatory compliance obligations. This job is considered “safety sensitive” as defined in RCW 49.44.240 and is subject to pre-employment drug screening that includes screening for the presence of marijuana and marijuana metabolites.

Job Responsibilities

• Interprets and/or modifies available guidelines to assess resiliency of the energy delivery system and align them with mitigation strategies for reducing hazards associated with climate change.
• Prepares complex designs, standards, studies to assess and mitigate the impacts of temperature, sea-level rise, precipitation, wildfire and cascading events on the transmission and distribution energy delivery system.
• Provides a detailed design review of internal or external technical documents.
• Prepares cost estimates and project evaluations without direct supervision.
• Plans and develops project budgets with appropriate documentation.
• Consolidates knowledge of industry developments and best practices for conducting vulnerability assessments and implementing climate change adaptation techniques to mitigate identified hazards, and applies this knowledge at PSE to further business objectives.
• Plans, schedules and coordinates the work of engineering and other cross-functional resources to meet corporate climate resiliency objectives and priorities.
• Coordinates and supports execution of corporate strategies to mitigate climate-related hazards to the transmission and distribution system over intermediate and long-term timeframes.
• Ensures compliance with codes, standards, and design, operation, and maintenance requirements.
• Identifies potential areas of weakness with assigned work and initiates corrective action.
• Documents and shares work with others to strengthen the depth and breadth of skills within PSE’s engineering workforce.
• Communicates solutions to personnel possessing a wide variety of educational and employment backgrounds, including in public forums in both verbal and written forms.
• Supports emergency response work as requested including immediate and extended restoration efforts driven by weather and other system failures.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science degree or PE license in electrical, mechanical, civil or other appropriate engineering field.
• Substantial experience in planning, design, specification preparation, technical field work, project cost estimating and scheduling (typically achieved after 8 or more years practice as a degreed engineer). Years of acquired experience is provided as a guide and alone does not constitute readiness for job level as individual’s skill acquisition rates can vary significantly.
• Demonstrated organization, documentation, prioritization, and project management skills.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience working in the utility industry.
• Possession of a Professional Engineering license.
• Knowledge of engineering economics and utility accounting practices.
• Experience working on complex engineering projects.
• Knowledge of climate impacts and adaptation solutions, including the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Climate READi Framework.