Principal Substation Electrical Engineer

Microsoft Cloud Operations and Innovation (CO&I) is the team behind the cloud.  Within CO&I, the Regional Datacenter Engineering (RDCE) team is responsible for delivering core datacenter infrastructure for Microsoft’s cloud business. The MS portfolio consists of complex, multi-disciplinary, large scale, multi-year datacenter construction and lease projects. We are looking for a passionate, high-energy individual to help build the cloud datacenters that power the world’s largest online services. 

In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.

We are looking for a Principal Substation Electrical Engineer to act as a subject matter expert. The Principal Substation Electrical Engineer role provides key input to other organizations and stakeholders. The successful candidate will be an electrical engineer with capability of achieving PE licensure and detailed understanding of datacenter electrical engineering, electrical power monitoring systems, datacenter controls, datacenter operational and overall critical environment network topology. 

The Principal Substation Electrical Engineer role is responsible for the oversight of specification and drawing development detailing all electrical systems, power distribution systems, backup power systems, electrical power monitoring systems, the control diagrams, sequence of operation for the electrical controls systems, overall network architecture and communication protocols required. Additionally, the Principal Substation Electrical Engineer role will be responsible for managing our consultants making sure they engineer and design to Microsoft technical standards. Finally, the Principal Substation Electrical Engineer role will also work with stakeholders for testing and commissioning of datacenters for compliance with Microsoft requirements. The position requires occasional travel to sites, to “Factory Witness Testing”, vendor interaction in the design process, as well as final commissioning of the installed systems.

• Collaborate with Microsoft’s Global Datacenter Engineering (GDCE) team to understand and develop the datacenter (DC) electrical High Voltage Substation designs from Basis of Design (BOD) to Issue for Constructions (IFC) for new DC project buildouts and retrofit projects 

• Lead and direct A/E consultants in the design and coordination of the High Voltage Substation Electrical/SCADA systems with other disciplines, associated controls and overall electrical distribution and topology for datacenter High Voltage Substations and retrofits 

• Collaborate closely with the utility providers and internal energy team to validate utility interconnection requirements. 

• Manage all Electrical Substation and SCADA system designs during the design stages, equipment procurement, bidding, manufacturing, delivery and installation on site. Identify and resolve issues raised by the construction teams and various stakeholders 

• Interface closely with internal procurement team, manufacturers and the global and local engineering teams to deliver the Electrical Substation and SCADA solutions needed for each project  

• Responsible for the oversight of specification and drawing development, detailing the sequence of operation for the Electrical systems and overall drawings and specifications for our Electrical Substation topology 

• Technical review and analysis of the lease and colocation datacenter space from external providers for compliance with Microsoft Substation requirements  

• Assist the Operations teams with Electrical Substation and SCADA system and equipment strategic improvements, working closely with equipment vendors and suppliers.  

• PSCAD Modeling support and review for Utility Grid and Data Center builds 

Required/minimum qualifications

Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field AND 3+ years technical engineering experience OR Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field AND 6+ years technical engineering experience OR Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience OR equivalent experience.

Background Check Requirements: 

Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to the following specialized secur