Sr Manager, Substation Maintenance

RWE · Austin

RWE Americas, LLC
To start as soon as possible, full time, permanent

Functional area: Operations & Maintenance
Remuneration: Exempt

The Sr Manager, Substation Maintenance leads the maintenance, reliability, and compliance programs for substation assets across RWE Americas' generation fleet (wind, solar, storage, and gas facilities). This role builds and leads a high-performing team of substation technicians, ensures safe and reliable operation of high-voltage substation equipment, and drives continuous improvement in maintenance strategy, budget performance, and regulatory compliance.

The role provides the leadership necessary to develop and maintain a culture of operational excellence and innovation while driving continuous improvement in maintenance strategy, budget performance, and regulatory compliance, and reducing costs.

This role will include Travel to sites across regions up to 50% of the time.

Role Responsibilities:

Manages the maintenance and performance of the substation, collection system, and transmission system across the fleet
Leads, develops, and manages a team of Substation Maintenance technicians, engineers, and/or supervisors across multiple sites
Owns the preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance program for substation assets, including transformers, circuit breakers, switchgear, protective relays, and SCADA/RTU equipment; provides oversight of all scheduled substation and BoP electrical maintenance
Develops, updates, and manages all substation and BoP Electrical Maintenance processes and procedures, and continually improve the reactive, scheduled, and predictive maintenance process and associated inspections and condition monitoring, with support from Engineering, Operations Support Services, and Regional Operations
Develops and maintains the substation and BoP Electrical maintenance planning schedule for each site, including all scheduled maintenance performed by internal teams and contractors
Manages maintenance and switch training in accordance with Operations requirements, and develops and implements substation and BoP electrical maintenance training programs for technicians, with support from the Training Manager
Develops, manages, and maintains the technical competency qualification system for employees and contractor personnel performing maintenance work on substations and BoP electrical systems
Ensures compliance with NERC/FERC, OSHA, NESC, and other applicable regulatory and safety standards, maintaining audit-ready documentation
Develops and manages the annual substation maintenance budget, including labor, contractor spend, and capital replacement planning
Works with Engineering in root-cause analyses and corrective actions for substation equipment failures and forced outages, tracking reliability metrics such as availability, MTTR, and MTBF
Supports Regional Operations in the specification and evaluation of substation and BoP electrical maintenance contract services, and reviews and comments on scope of work for related maintenance contracts on new projects
Sources and manages laboratory analyses and inspection services for substation and BoP electrical equipment across all regions
Manages third-party contractors and vendors performing substation maintenance, testing, and construction work, including scope development, bidding, and quality oversight
Establishes and maintains a strong safety culture, including job hazard analyses, arc-flash and switching procedures, and incident investigations

Job Requirements and Experience:

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Engineering Technology, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience
Minimum 9 years of experience in substation maintenance, high-voltage electrical systems, or utility operations, including transformers, breakers, protective relaying, and SCADA systems
Minimum 3 years of direct people-management experience, including leading technical or field-based teams
Working knowledge of NERC/FERC compliance requirements, NESC, and OSHA electrical safety standards
Demonstrated experience managing maintenance budgets, contractors, and vendor relationships
Proven ability to develop and manage people for performance, effectively leading teams through change
Excellent proficiency with Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook) and Teams
Strong leadership and communication, and ability to meet deadlines
Strong organization skills and ability to coordinate multiple tasks and deliverables
Ability to multi-task, while working independently and as part of a team
Motivated self-starter, goal-oriented, and strong problem-solving abilities
Proven ability to empathize, build relationships, and effectively communicate with people from a diverse set of backgrounds
Responds well to direction, is easy to challenge and develop, and is coachable
Is detail-oriented, has strong business acumen, and a sound understanding of business concepts
Willingness to travel 50%

Leadership Behavior:

Team Leadership: Ability to lead, inspire, manage, and delegate effectively across geographies
People Development: Ability to develop themselves and their people to their full potential
Performance Orientation: Self-motivated to drive the business, increase performance, and deliver results
Strategic Thinking: Pushes the boundaries to grow the business
Continuous Improvement: Constantly optimizes the business
Integration Management: Ability to lead teams through change processes
Working Together: Ability to collaborate globally in cross-functional teams
Communication Skills: Ability to effectively communicate internally and externally
Open Mindset: Self-reflective personality, able to learn and act on feedback
Hands-On Mentality: Actively involves him-/herself, with a pragmatic and fact-focused attitude

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

This position combines office-based work with regular travel to generation sites across the fleet, including outdoor substation environments. The employee must be able to sit, walk, or stand for long durations of time, and must be willing to respond to after-hours emergencies as needed.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States. RWE Americas is unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment visas at this time.

Benefits offered: Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Short-Term Disability, Long-Term Disability, 401(k) match, Flexible Spending Accounts, EAP, Education Assistance, Parental Leave, Paid time off, and Holidays. Eligible employees also participate in short-term incentives, in addition to salary.

Apply with just a few clicks: ad code 93632. Any questions? Contact HR: rwe_americas_recruiting@rwe.com

We look forward to meeting you. Of course, you can find us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Xing, too.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, or other legally protected status.

RWE Americas, a subsidiary of RWE, is a US-based energy company that is helping to meet the growing demand for energy across the United States. Backed by RWE’s 125-year global legacy of managing diverse power assets, RWE Americas operates approximately 13 GW of power projects across 27 states. With a talented workforce of 2,000 employees, RWE Americas develops, constructs and operates wind, solar and battery storage projects, along with natural gas-powered generation, that safely deliver affordable, reliable electricity to our customers. Committed to responsible development, RWE Americas invests in local and rural communities, creating jobs and partnering with stakeholders to support and strengthen the places where we live and work. This is complemented by RWE’s energy trading business. RWE is also a major offtaker of American liquified natural gas (LNG). Learn more about how RWE Americas is generating impact at americas.rwe.com.

At RWE Americas, we foster a culture defined by our Essential Behaviors - Have Courage, Create Impact and Actively Collaborate. We encourage bold thinking and continuous learning, and we value ownership, resilience and inclusion in everything we do. When you join us, you become part of a team that supports your development, respects your contributions and celebrates shared success. This is a place where you can grow your career and make a meaningful difference.

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