Commissioning Engineer — Nationwide

Job Summary

We deliver protective and relay engineering scopes that culminate in owner witness testing. The commissioning engineer is responsible for verifying that protection systems and automation logic perform as designed on Tier III/IV data center power systems. This is a field‑heavy role requiring nationwide travel to project sites.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute FAT, SAT and IST test procedures for protection relays, generator controllers, ATS and SCADA systems.
• Perform functional performance testing: protection scheme verification, trip coordination and interlock validation.
• Plan staged commissioning: board‑by‑board or zone‑by‑zone cutover with deterministic rollback.
• Execute transfer testing: open‑transition and closed‑transition sequences, re‑transfer with time delay.
• Lead black‑start drill execution and verify automatic recovery sequencing.
• Manage punch‑lists through close‑out and owner acceptance.
• Prepare commissioning records, as‑built documentation, and O&M manuals for turnover.

Systems & Platforms

Vendor platforms: SEL, Woodward, CAT (Caterpillar), Omicron, Doble.

Software tools: AcSELerator QuickSet, AcSELerator RTAC.

Standards & Compliance

NFPA 70E, IEEE 1584.

Test Phases

• Factory Acceptance Test (FAT)
• Site Acceptance Test (SAT)
• Secondary injection testing
• Functional performance testing
• Witness testing
• Staged commissioning / cutover

Site Activities

• Automatic mode transitions
• Automatic black‑start sequencing
• ATS control (open/closed transition)

Success Milestones

First 90 Days

• Complete commissioning or witness testing on at least one active project site.
• Develop FAT or SAT test procedures for a protection relay or controller scope.
• Demonstrate familiarity with firm‑specific commissioning documents and turnover requirements.

First 180 Days

• Lead commissioning execution on a data center project – writing test procedures, executing tests, managing punch lists.
• Conduct witness testing sessions independently with owner representatives present.
• Contribute to staged cutover planning for live‑site commissioning.

Required Background

• 5+ years commissioning experience on medium‑voltage critical power systems (data centers, substations, industrial).
• Experience developing and executing FAT/SAT procedures for protection relays and generator controllers.
• Secondary injection testing with Omicron or Doble test sets.
• Transfer testing experience: ATS open/closed transition, generator paralleling, load bank testing.
• NFPA 70E compliance: arc‑flash PPE, approach boundaries, LOTO procedures on energized equipment.
• Punch‑list management and turnover documentation experience.

Preferred Background

• NETA Level III or IV certification.
• SEL relay commissioning (QuickSet, 751/700G/2440 families).
• Woodward generator controller commissioning (easYgen 3400, LS‑6, DTSC‑200).
• Staged commissioning on live critical infrastructure with rollback planning.
• IEC 61850 GOOSE verification and PRP network failover testing.

Field Expectations

Travel 60–80 % during active commissioning, nationwide deployment. Site hours include early starts, weekend milestones, and off‑hours energization windows; scheduling is flexible across projects. The role is documentation‑heavy, requiring creation of test procedures, commissioning records, punch lists, as‑built documentation and turnover packages.

Field safety: NFPA 70E compliance mandatory – arc‑flash PPE (Cat 2+ typical for MV), approach boundaries, daily safety briefings, LOTO management.