Technical Lead Jobs in Chicago, IL

At Stantec, we’re leading the energy transition. How? By combining the strength of a large company with the agility of specialized teams to think big and tackle the hardest challenges. Join us, and you’ll be at the forefront of an evolving industry creating renewable energy solutions, modernizing the electric grid, and developing natural gas infrastructure.

And as part of one of the world’s top design firms, you’ll have the chance to create connections and grow professionally while building our clean energy future. #FeelingEnergized

Your Opportunity

Join Stantec's Substation Engineering team as a Senior Project Technical Leader, where you will provide overall technical leadership for complex substation projects from pursuit through design, construction, and commissioning.

This is a senior seller-doer role for an experienced substation protection and control engineer who enjoys leading people, solving complex technical challenges, working directly with clients, and developing successful project approaches. You will lead multidisciplinary design teams while partnering closely with Project Managers to deliver safe, high-quality, constructible solutions that meet client expectations.

You will also play a key role in winning work by leading the technical development of proposals, scopes of work, engineering estimates, schedules, staffing plans, and project budgets.

If you are looking for an opportunity to lead the technical direction of major substation projects, influence how the work is won and delivered, and develop the next generation of technical leaders, we would like to hear from you.

Your Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the overall technical leader for assigned substation projects and pursuits.
• Lead protection and control designs for AIS and GIS substations, including greenfield installations, relay replacements, expansions, and brownfield modifications.
• Lead protection and control designs for voltage classes ranging from distribution/sub-transmission through 230 kV, 345 kV, 500 kV, and 765 kV, as applicable to project requirements.
• Lead multidisciplinary design teams that may include protection and control, substation physical, civil, structural, geotechnical, SCADA/telecom, and other disciplines.
• Establish the project's technical approach, design basis, discipline interfaces, deliverable strategy, and execution plan.
• Lead design coordination meetings, technical workshops, interdisciplinary reviews, constructability reviews, and resolution of complex technical issues.
• Ensure designs are coordinated, constructible, technically sound, and compliant with applicable client requirements, codes, and industry standards.
• Provide technical leadership throughout planning, detailed design, procurement support, construction, testing, energization, and commissioning.
• Partner with Project Managers to align technical execution with project scope, schedule, budget, quality, risk, and client expectations.
• Lead the technical development of proposals and pursuits for new and existing clients.
• Translate client requirements into clear and executable scopes of work, deliverable lists, work plans, schedules, and staffing strategies.
• Develop and validate engineering labor estimates and project budgets, including assumptions, exclusions, dependencies, and technical risks.
• Coordinate proposal inputs across disciplines to ensure the proposed scope, execution approach, schedule, staffing, and fee are aligned.
• Identify scope gaps and project risks during pursuits and develop appropriate assumptions and qualifications.
• Collaborate with Project Managers, account leaders, and technical teams on proposal strategy, client presentations, and interviews.
• Support effective transition from pursuit to project execution so that commitments, assumptions, budgets, and client expectations are understood by the delivery team.
• Serve as a senior technical representative in client meetings, design workshops, proposal interviews, and project reviews.
• Build trusted client relationships through strong technical judgment, responsiveness, and an understanding of client needs.
• Mentor and develop engineers and designers, including emerging discipline and technical leaders.
• Support resource planning, recruiting, knowledge sharing, and development of the broader substation team.
• Promote a collaborative culture focused on safety, accountability, technical excellence, and client service.

Working Environment

This position will primarily involve an office or hybrid work environment with collaboration across multidisciplinary and geographically distributed project teams. Field assignments may include visits to substations, construction sites, and other utility facilities. Travel will be required periodically to support client meetings, pursuits, project development, site investigations, design reviews, construction, and commissioning.

Your Capabilities and Credentials

• Demonstrated experience leading complex substation engineering and design projects.
• Strong technical expertise in high-voltage substation engineering, with significant experience in protection and control design including P&C one-line diagrams, AC/DC Schematics, Elementary diagrams, Three-line diagrams, Relay functional diagrams, Trip and close circuits, Breaker and disconnect switch control circuits, Annunciator/alarm diagrams, Panel layout and elevations, Wiring diagrams, Cable schedules, Input/Output lists, SCADA point assignment lists, Relay application and settings coordination, and Bill of materials.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and coordinate multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Experience developing engineering scopes of work, deliverable plans, labor estimates, schedules, staffing plans, and project budgets.
• Experience leading or making significant contributions to RFQ, RFP, and other competitive project pursuits.
• Strong understanding of substation constructability, brownfield interfaces, outage constraints, construction sequencing, and commissioning considerations.
• Knowledge of applicable substation codes, standards, and utility design requirements.
• Ability to identify technical and project risks, make sound engineering decisions, and communicate those decisions effectively.
• Strong client-facing, leadership, presentation, and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated commitment to mentoring and developing engineers and designers.
• Ability to travel as needed to support clients, projects, site investigations, construction, and commissioning.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related engineering discipline.
• Professional Engineer (PE) registration is required or must be obtainable as appropriate for the position.
• Minimum 15 years of progressively responsible substation engineering experience, including experience leading complex projects and design teams.
• Experience with new substations, expansions, retrofits, or brownfield modifications is preferred.

This description is not a comprehensive listing of responsibilities that may be required of the employee and other duties, responsibilities and activities may be assigned or may be changed at any time with or without notice.

Stantec is a place where the best and brightest come to build on each other's talents, do exciting work, and make an impact on the world around us. Join us and redefine your personal best. #EnergyAccelerated

Pay Range:

• Locations in MN, OH, VT, & Various CA, ME, NY, VA Areas-$110,300.00 - $165,500.00 Annually

• Locations in CO, HI, IL, MD & Various CA, CT, NJ, VA Areas-$121,300.00 - $182,100.00 Annually

• Locations in WA, DC & Various CA, MA, VA Areas-$130,200.00 - $195,300.00 Annually

Primary Location: United States | IL | Chicago

Other Locations: United States | TN | Nashville

Organization: BC-2241 E&R-US East

Employee Status: Regular

Management Level: Individual contributor

Business Justification: New Position

Travel: Yes

Schedule: Full time

Job Posting: 06/11/2026 01:11:03

Req ID: 1008740

Stantec provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified employees and applicants for future and current employment and prohibit discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, genetic information, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. We prohibit discrimination in decisions concerning recruitment, hiring, referral, promotion, compensation, fringe benefits, job training, terminations or any other condition of employment. Stantec is in compliance with laws and regulations and ensures equitable opportunities in all aspects of employment. At Stantec we are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is accessible to all. If you require reasonable adjustments to be made during the recruitment process then please inform a member of our Talent Acquisition team.