System Protection Technician -3 Levels (T1/2/3, Mid level, Senior level)

Job Description

This position is in the Relay and SCADA Operations Department Southern Division organization at Dominion Energy South Carolina located in Charleston, SC. There is one position which will be filled at the level commensurate with the successful candidate’s education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities.

The department is responsible for all maintenance and construction requirements for the relay protection and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) schemes in our electrical substations and generating plants. 

Job Summary

• This role performs maintenance, installation commissioning, corrective and cyber security activities on system protection devices, control circuits, metering, data communication, and carrier blocking equipment within Dominion Energy's Transmission, Distribution and Generating network.
• This position requires the successful completion of the Electric Transmission System Protection Technician Development Program.
• This position ensures that appropriate compliance maintenance activities, applications, policies and associated documentation are managed and maintained in support of ETFO's Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) and Protective Relay and Control (PRC) programs.
• This position aids in the development of new technicians through a formal training program. Maintains substation control print files, relay test records, test procedures, methods, and service advisories.
• Maintenance activities include routine calibration and functional testing of electro-mechanical and microprocessor relay protection and power line carrier blocking protection applications. This position is required to perform periodic compliance reviews, equipment vulnerability assessments, and the testing and implementation of security patches for ETFO System Protection equipment. These maintenance activities require a comprehensive knowledge of the protective relay schemes and associated data communication equipment interfaces necessary to provide Operating Centers with critical station Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) telemetry over a variety of protocols, using mediums such as Serial, TCP/IP and/or Fiber Optics. These activities ensure that substation protection, auxiliaries, and primary equipment continue to operate in accordance with Dominion Engineering design.
• Installation commissioning activities include the review of engineering designs for protective relay and control applications drawings, logic diagrams, protection set points, and SCADA data communication interfaces. Assists Lead/Senior technicians in the coordination of commissioning activities and functional testing of primary and secondary equipment to ensure installation per Dominion and/or its manufacturer's design. Assists Lead/Senior technicians in developing in-service verification and final commissioning procedures. These procedures establish, with Operating Center, the energizing sequence of new field equipment required to perform final commissioning checks.
• Corrective activities require utilizing the existing alarm network to: assist in analyzing alarms, identify potential problems, assist Lead/Senior technicians in developing corrective action risk evaluations, and extract information necessary to develop a safe and effective corrective action investigation plan for moderately complex protection and control applications. Activities regarding potential cyber issues related to protection and control devices require security assessments to be performed to verify the integrity of cyber security control at substation locations.
   

Required Knowledge, Skills, Abilities & Experience

Minimum Requirements (Note: A partial year of related work experience of 6 months or greater will be considered one year towards the qualifications):

System Protection Technician T1: 0 to 1 years of directly related experience

• Basic knowledge of operation and maintenance of control circuits and protective relay applications.
• Effective verbal and written communication skills.
• Abilities:  test basic and routine types of protective relays; lift up to 50 lbs.; manual dexterity; color vision; hearing; climbing; stooping; standing; bending.

System Protection Technician T2: 1 - 2 years directly related experience.

• Basic understanding of operation and maintenance of protective relays, control circuits, SCADA systems, and substation equipment.
• Good verbal and written communication skills.
• Abilities:  Test basic to moderately complex types of protective relays, remote terminal units, power line carrier and metering equipment; plan and organize basic substation construction projects.

System Protection Technician T3: 2-3 years directly related experience.

• Good understanding of operation and maintenance of protective relays, control circuits, SCADA systems, and substation equipment.
• Good verbal and written communication skills.
• Abilities:  Test moderately complex types of protective relays, remote terminal units, power line carrier and metering equipment; plan and organize basic substation construction projects.

The company is actively seeking United States military veterans and service members who meet the qualifications outlined below.
•    Military service members and veterans with ranks from E3-E5, W1-W2, or O1-O3  plus appropriate equivalent combination of education and years of experience as outlined above / below.

Required KSA and Experience

System Protection Technician

• 3+ years directly related experience.
• Knowledge of operation and maintenance of control circuits, protective relay applications and substation equipment.
• Knowledge of testing electro-mechanical based relays.
• Knowledge of microprocessor-based relay technology, including logic diagrams, variable equations, and communication interfaces.
• Knowledge of SCADA data communication equipment interfaces necessary to provide System Control with critical station telemetry.
• Knowledge of a variety of protocols, using mediums such as Serial, TCP/IP and/or Fiber Optics.
• Skills:  good verbal and written communication; computer knowledge; leadership and training.
• Abilities:  test moderately complex protective relays, remote terminal units, power line carrier and metering applications; direct/advise technicians in major control installations; work under tight deadlines and pressure situations; carry heavy test equipment; work independently; plan and organize moderately complex substation construction projects.

Required KSA and Experience

Senior System Protection Technician 

• 5+ years directly related experience.
• Must have successfully all 4 Modules of the Northwestern Lineman College’s DESC Technical Specialist Certification Program, or the Electric Transmission System Protection Technician Development Program.
• Comprehensive knowledge of operation and maintenance of control circuits, protective relay applications and substation equipment.
• Comprehensive knowledge of testing electro-mechanical based relays.
• Comprehensive knowledge of microprocessor-based relay technology, including logic diagrams, variable equations, and communication interfaces.
• Comprehensive knowledge of SCADA data communication equipment interfaces necessary to provide System Control with critical station telemetry.
• Comprehensive knowledge of a variety of protocols, using mediums such as Serial, TCP/IP and/or Fiber Optics
• Skills:  good verbal and written communication; computer knowledge; leadership and training.
• Abilities:  test highly complex protective relays, SCADA remote terminal units, power line carrier and metering applications; direct/advise technicians in major control installations; work under tight deadlines and pressure situations; carry heavy test equipment; work independently; plan and organize highly complex substation construction projects.

Education Requirements

Degree or an equivalent combination of education and demonstrated related experience may be accepted in lieu of preferred level of education:
Associate

Disciplines:
Preferred:

• Instrumentation Technology
• Electrical Engineering Technology
• Electronics
• Electrical & Electronic Engineering
• Electrical
• Electromechanical Technology
• Electronics Technology

Other disciplines may be substituted for the preferred discipline(s) listed above.

Other:
Electrical/Electronics Technology/Instrumentation

Licenses, Certifications, or Quals Description

Due to equipment weight limits, individuals in this role have a weight restriction of 290 pounds.

Working Conditions

Other Working Conditions

Test Description

No Testing Required