Principal Engineer - Transmission Planning Carolinas
Charlotte, NC, USA · Raleigh, NC, USA
Important Application Submission Information
In order to ensure your application is successfully received before the job posting expires, please submit your application by 11:59 PM on Sunday, June 21, 2026More than a career - a chance to make a difference in people's lives.
Build an exciting, rewarding career with us – help us make a difference for millions of people every day. Consider joining the Duke Energy team, where you'll find a friendly work environment, opportunities for growth and development, recognition for your work, and competitive pay and benefits.
Position Summary
The Principal Engineer position is the expert level of the Engineering classification hierarchy. Employees at this level solve the most complex problems, manage work and provide oversight in engineering areas of specialization, with wide latitude for un-reviewed work. Assignments at this level require the highest level of critical thinking to resolve high-impact, complex and /or cross functional problems. The Principal Engineer is expected to have advanced skills, work independently and is considered an industry expert in their discipline or in a particular field. Employees in the Principal Engineer position consult on strategic and highly complex work.
The Principal Engineer will increase external industry engagement with federal and state regulations, specifically those associated with large loads and inverter-based resource penetration, and influence development of industry standards. This role will actively participate in SERC Engineering and Technical meetings, NERC workshops, and a variety of industry forums including NATF, EEI, EIPC, EPRI, IEEE and local/regional planning organizations - CTPC and SERTP. The role will support drafting of industry or NERC standards or compliance filings for FERC Orders. The role will help evolve planning in use of probabilistic, scenario-based approaches and multi-value benefits justification for projects, latest technology trends, study methodologies, and modeling practices. The role will use out-of-the-box thinking, work with other grid planning NERC standards SMEs and Industry topic SMEs to educate organization of strong technical understanding and develop new processes. The role will use critical evaluation to provide technical leadership and guidance to enable planning engineers to comply with NERC standards, regulations and internal processes. The role would support organization in performing transmission studies if needed, develop transmission solutions and interface with other groups and Duke Energy customers.
Responsibilities
- Provides engineering/technical expertise and guidance in the identification, analysis and resolution of high impact, complex and/or cross-functional problems at a corporate or industry level in their area of expertise,
- Ensures accomplishment of business goals and objectives through effective planning, organizing, estimating, scheduling and monitoring of work activities where little to no standardization exists; handles unique situations Prepares thorough and accurate technical reports, correspondence, documentation, calculations and sketches with the ability to conduct analysis and recommend process enhancements and standards relative to a corporate or industry level in their field of expertise,
- Prepares thorough and accurate technical reports, correspondence, documentation, calculations and sketches with the ability to conduct analysis and recommend process enhancements and standards relative to a corporate or industry level in their field of expertise,
- Conducts engineering and related studies with full technical responsibility for planning and coordinating high-impact complex projects,
- Applies extensive technical expertise to manage projects and disseminate knowledge to enhance the company's competitive position,
- Possesses expert knowledge of the organization,
- Demonstrates a mastery of existing and emerging organizational technologies, issues, processes and practices’
- Develops positive working relationships to effectively coordinate work activities,
- Demonstrates effective verbal and written communication skills,
- Maintains accurate records and files,
- Supports the company’s goals and represents the company positively and professionally,
- Coaches and mentors other engineering and non-degreed engineering professionals, and
- Provides technical leadership and direction on a corporate or industry level in their field of expertise
Basic/Required Qualifications
- Must have obtained Bachelor of Science in Engineering from an ABET accredited program AND PE AND 12 years minimum engineering experience
- A Master's degree in Engineering will be considered in lieu of the B.S. Engineering degree
- Nuclear may require additional requirements, such as either Professional Engineer registration, a Masters Degree in a technical discipline, SRO certification, an RO or SRO license, or Technical Nuclear certification
- Power Generation Operations may substitute an applicable PhD
Additional Preferred Qualifications
- Masters or PhD in Electric Power Systems
- Extensive transmission planning experience
- Experience with transmission planning analysis software such as PSSE, TARA, PSCAD applications supporting the advanced functions.
- Experience pertinent to jurisdictional Transmission Planning processes, and associated FERC Orders and NERC Standard RequirementsExperience with developing new corporate or industry standards and compliance filings
- Experience working in the Electric Utility power transmission systems and understanding of Transmission work processes
- Have working knowledge of NERC Reliability Standards, FERC Orders and Tariff
- Understanding of Energy Control Center and Grid Management processes
- Understanding EMS/SCADA substation and field device operations characteristics
- Must be able to collaborate with external organizations and across multiple internal departments
- Demonstrated advance knowledge and aptitude in applicable computer systems
- Demonstrated effective communication skills with ability to relate to all types of people including state regulators and large stakeholder groups
- Demonstrated effective conflict management skills
- Demonstrated champion for working safely in an injury free culture
- Demonstrated effective interpersonal skills
- Processes Core business process understanding and process development experience
- Demonstrated ability to implement and lead others through change
- Mastery of existing and emerging organizational technologies, issues, processes and practices.
- Demonstrated leadership within Duke Energy and in the Industry.
- Skilled in principles of project management.
- Department specific experience applicable to the hiring department.
Working Conditions
- Some business units may require visits to field sites and/or plants
- Hybrid Mobility Classification – Work will be performed from both remote and onsite locations after the onboarding period. However, hybrid employees should live within a reasonable daily commute to the designated Duke Energy facility.
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Travel Requirements
5-15%
