Principal Electrical Engineer (Substations) in Palo Alto, California at City of Palo Alto

THE COMMUNITY & CITY OF PALO ALTO
Known as the “Birthplace of Silicon Valley,” Palo Alto is home to 68,000 residents across nearly 26 square miles of land and water. Located between San Francisco and San Jose, it is a global hub for technology, medicine, and green innovation. With more than half of adults holding graduate degrees, Palo Alto is recognized as one of the most educated and engaged communities, offering excellent schools, premium shopping, dining, healthcare, recreation, and a strong sense of environmental stewardship.

With a FY 2027 budget of $1.5 billion and 1,088 full-time staff, the City of Palo Alto provides a full range of services, including police, fire, ambulance, utilities, libraries, parks, community centers, a golf course, airport, zoo, and open space preserves with 41 miles of trails. Palo Alto is a national leader in sustainability, aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions 80% below 1990 levels and reach carbon neutrality by 2030. To reach the 80% goal by 2030, the City’s electric system will need to be reconstructed to increase capacity and provide higher system reliability.

THE DEPARTMENT & DIVISIONS
With over 125 years of public utility operations, the City of Palo Alto Utilities (CPAU) provides electricity, water, wastewater, natural gas, and fiber optics services to the residents and businesses of the city. Nationally recognized for innovation, reliability, safety, sustainability, and workforce development, CPAU delivers safe, reliable services with local decision-making, environmental programs, and customized solutions. The Utility Department emphasizes safety, regulatory compliance, customer service, infrastructure reliability, and cost control, while supporting the City’s sustainability goals through renewable energy, carbon offsets, and programs that help customers reduce their carbon footprint and use resources efficiently. All the above utilities have dedicated enterprise funding to operate, maintain, and improve this infrastructure.

The Electric Division provides 100% carbon neutral power, a standard in Palo Alto since 2013. The Division keeps rates competitive—generally lower than private Bay Area utilities—and offers programs, workshops, and services to help residents and businesses use energy efficiently, lower consumption, and keep bills affordable. Major initiatives for the City’s Electric Division are to expand system capacity to meet near-term building and transportation electrification loads. With facilities aging as far back as the 1950’s, there is a significant number of capital improvement projects that need designed and constructed over the next five years.

ELECTRIC UTILITY SERVICES AT A GLANCE

• 26,428 residential meters
• 3,566 commercial meters
• 938 GWh of energy purchased annually
• 185 MW peak load
• 9 Substations
• 19 miles of 60kV sub-transmission lines
• 317 miles of distribution lines

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate is a licensed Electrical Professional Engineer (PE) in the State of California with significant experience in substations and protection systems, ability to lead electric utility capital improvement programs and an ability to mentoring engineering staff. Candidates should possess strong expertise in power systems, utility infrastructure design, construction management, budgeting, and long-range system planning. Successful candidates communicate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders, collaborate across departments and agencies, and apply sound engineering judgment to support reliable, safe, and resilient utility operations.

Principal Electrical Engineer – Substations

This position functions as the City’s technical expert for substation engineering, protection schemes, and control systems. Incumbents independently perform the most complex engineering work, provide technical guidance to other engineering staff, and lead major capital improvement projects. Work requires a high level of judgment, technical competence, and responsibility for decisions affecting the safety and reliable operation of the City’s electric system.

Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Lead the design, engineering, and analysis of new and existing substation facilities, major system upgrades, and equipment replacement projects within the City’s Electric CIP program.
• Serve as the subject matter expert on substation equipment including transformers, breakers, switchgear, protective relays, SCADA systems, grounding, and control systems.
• Conduct complex power system studies, including short circuit, arc flash, relay coordination, and grounding studies.
• Provide technical oversight during construction, commissioning, testing, and energization of substation facilities.
• Develop long term substation asset strategies, reliability improvement programs, and lifecycle management plans.
• Ensure compliance with applicable codes, standards, and regulations including NESC, IEEE, NFPA, OSHA, and City policies.
• Prepare and present staff reports, technical memoranda, Council communications, and recommendations.
• Provide mentorship, technical leadership, and training to engineering and technical staff.
  
  

For a full Job Description click HERE.

UPCOMING PROJECTS & OPPORTUNITIES

1. Grid Modernization - Upgrade of distribution lines, substations, and sub-transmission to support building and transportation electrification and improve system reliability.
2. Substation Upgrades - Reconstruct four existing substations with advanced technology to increase system capacity.
3. New Customer Connections – Review existing substation capacity and identify improvements to meet the growing needs of the Community.
4. Automation – Design and install new automation devices to operate electric infrastructure and enhance system reliability.
5. System Protection – Develop engineering standards for various protection schemes and identify advanced protections schemes to improve safety and overall system reliability.

Sufficient education, training and/or work experience to demonstrate possession of the following knowledge and skills, which would typically be acquired through:

• BSEE and six years of related experience; or, an equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential duties of the job such as those listed above.

Desirable Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in electrical engineering, Power Systems, or related field is desirable.
• Progressively responsible professional electric utility engineering experience, including substantial experience with substation design, protection, and capital project delivery.
• Progressively responsible engineering experience in electric utility T&D planning, system modeling, or system engineering.
• Experience in a municipal utility or public sector environment is desirable.

CERTIFICATION & LICENSING REQUIREMENTS

• Registration as a Professional Engineer in the State of California (Electric preferred)
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification (preferred but not required)

SALARY AND BENEFITS

Annual Salaries: $198,682 – $264,909 DOE/DOQ

*Effective July 11, 2026, per the UMPAPA MOA, there will be a 3% cost-of-living adjustment. The new salary range will be $204,651 to $272,876.*

PLUS, all positions will receive a benefits package that includes:

• Retirement: CalPERS 2% @ 60 formula for Classic employees; 2% @ 62 formula for New Members
• Medical Plan: Plan options available.
• Dental and Vision Plans: Fully paid.
• Life and AD&D Insurance: Fully paid up to annual salary.
• Flexible Spending Accounts: Daycare and Health Care.
• Deferred Compensation Plan: 457 Plan available.
• Leave: Includes Vacation, Holidays, Management, Sick, and Paid Parental.
• Annual Day of Recognition: Floating holiday which can be used for individual days of cultural significance.
• Flexible Work Schedule: 9/80 work schedule available.
• Additional Benefits: Commuter Benefits, Gold Standard EAP Program
• Childcare & Educational Benefits: Up to $10,000 for childcare at eligible facilities in Palo Alto. Employees may also apply for their children to attend Palo Alto Unified Schools.

For more information about our benefits, click HERE.

This position is represented by Utilities Management and Professional Association of Palo Alto (UMPAPA).