City of Palo Alto

  • Principal Electrical Engineer (Substations)

  • City of Palo Alto
  • Palo Alto, California United States View Map
Description

THE COMMUNITY & CITY OF PALO ALTO
Known as the “Birthplace of Silicon Valley,” Palo Alto is home to 68,000 residents across nearly 26 square miles of land and water. Located between San Francisco and San Jose, it is a global hub for technology, medicine, and green innovation. With more than half of adults holding graduate degrees, Palo Alto is recognized as one of the most educated and engaged communities, offering excellent schools, premium shopping, dining, healthcare, recreation, and a strong sense of environmental stewardship.

With a FY 2027 budget of $1.5 billion and 1,088 full-time staff, the City of Palo Alto provides a full range of services, including police, fire, ambulance, utilities, libraries, parks, community centers, a golf course, airport, zoo, and open space preserves with 41 miles of trails. Palo Alto is a national leader in sustainability, aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions 80% below 1990 levels and reach carbon neutrality by 2030. To reach the 80% goal by 2030, the City’s electric system will need to be reconstructed to increase capacity and provide higher system reliability.

THE DEPARTMENT & DIVISIONS
With over 125 years of public utility operations, the City of Palo Alto Utilities (CPAU) provides electricity, water, wastewater, natural gas, and fiber optics services to the residents and businesses of the city. Nationally recognized for innovation, reliability, safety, sustainability, and workforce development, CPAU delivers safe, reliable services with local decision-making, environmental programs, and customized solutions. The Utility Department emphasizes safety, regulatory compliance, customer service, infrastructure reliability, and cost control, while supporting the City’s sustainability goals through renewable energy, carbon offsets, and programs that help customers reduce their carbon footprint and use resources efficiently. All the above utilities have dedicated enterprise funding to operate, maintain, and improve this infrastructure.

The Electric Division provides 100% carbon neutral power, a standard in Palo Alto since 2013. The Division keeps rates competitive-generally lower than private Bay Area utilities-and offers programs, workshops, and services to help residents and businesses use energy efficiently, lower consumption, and keep bills affordable. Major initiatives for the City’s Electric Division are to expand system capacity to meet near-term building and transportation electrification loads. With facilities aging as far back as the 1950’s, there is a significant number of capital improvement projects that need designed and constructed over the next five years.

ELECTRIC UTILITY SERVICES AT A GLANCE
  • 26,428 residential meters
  • 3,566 commercial meters
  • 938 GWh of energy purchased annually
  • 185 MW peak load
  • 9 Substations
  • 19 miles of 60kV sub-transmission lines
  • 317 miles of distribution lines


Essential Duties

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate is a licensed Electrical Professional Engineer (PE) in the State of California with significant experience in substations and protection systems, ability to lead electric utility capital improvement programs and an ability to mentoring engineering staff. Candidates should possess strong expertise in power systems, utility infrastructure design, construction management, budgeting, and long-range system planning. Successful candidates communicate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders, collaborate across departments and agencies, and apply sound engineering judgment to support reliable, safe, and resilient utility operations.

Principal Electrical Engineer - Substations

This position functions as the City’s technical expert for substation engineering, protection schemes, and control systems. Incumbents independently perform the most complex engineering work, provide technical guidance to other engineering staff, and lead major capital improvement projects. Work requires a high level of judgment, technical competence, and responsibility for decisions affecting the safety and reliable operation of the City’s electric system.

Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:
  • Lead the design, engineering, and analysis of new and existing substation facilities, major system upgrades, and equipment replacement projects within the City’s Electric CIP program.
  • Serve as the subject matter expert on substation equipment including transformers, breakers, switchgear, protective relays, SCADA systems, grounding, and control systems.
  • Conduct complex power system studies, including short circuit, arc flash, relay coordination, and grounding studies.
  • Provide technical oversight during construction, commissioning, testing, and energization of substation facilities.
  • Develop long term substation asset strategies, reliability improvement programs, and lifecycle management plans.
  • Ensure compliance with applicable codes, standards, and regulations including NESC, IEEE, NFPA, OSHA, and City policies.
  • Prepare and present staff reports, technical memoranda, Council communications, and recommendations.
  • Provide mentorship, technical leadership, and training to engineering and technical staff.

For a full Job Description click HERE.

UPCOMING PROJECTS & OPPORTUNITIES
Grid Modernization - Upgrade of distribution lines, substations, and sub-transmission to support building and transportation electrification and improve system reliability.Substation Upgrades - Reconstruct four existing substations with advanced technology to increase system capacity.New Customer Connections - Review existing substation capacity and identify improvements to meet the growing needs of the Community.Automation - Design and install new automation devices to operate electric infrastructure and enhance system reliability.System Protection - Develop engineering standards for various protection schemes and identify advanced protections schemes to improve safety and overall system reliability.

Minimum Qualifications

Sufficient education, training and/or work experience to demonstrate possession of the following knowledge and skills, which would typically be acquired through:
  • BSEE and six years of related experience; or, an equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential duties of the job such as those listed above.

Desirable Qualifications:
  • Master’s degree in electrical engineering, Power Systems, or related field is desirable.
  • Progressively responsible professional electric utility engineering experience, including substantial experience with substation design, protection, and capital project delivery.
  • Progressively responsible engineering experience in electric utility T&D planning, system modeling, or system engineering.
  • Experience in a municipal utility or public sector environment is desirable.

CERTIFICATION & LICENSING REQUIREMENTS
  • Registration as a Professional Engineer in the State of California (Electric preferred)
  • Project Management Professional (PMP) certification (preferred but not required)


SALARY AND BENEFITS

Annual Salaries: $198,682 - $264,909 DOE/DOQ
*Effective July 11, 2026, per the UMPAPA MOA, there will be a 3% cost-of-living adjustment. The new salary range will be $204,651 to $272,876.*

PLUS , all positions will receive a benefits package that includes:
  • Retirement: CalPERS 2% @ 60 formula for Classic employees; 2% @ 62 formula for New Members
  • Medical Plan: Plan options available.
  • Dental and Vision Plans: Fully paid.
  • Life and AD&D Insurance: Fully paid up to annual salary.
  • Flexible Spending Accounts: Daycare and Health Care.
  • Deferred Compensation Plan: 457 Plan available.
  • Leave: Includes Vacation, Holidays, Management, Sick, and Paid Parental.
  • Annual Day of Recognition: Floating holiday which can be used for individual days of cultural significance.
  • Flexible Work Schedule: 9/80 work schedule available.
  • Additional Benefits: Commuter Benefits, Gold Standard EAP Program
  • Childcare & Educational Benefits: Up to $10,000 for childcare at eligible facilities in Palo Alto. Employees may also apply for their children to attend Palo Alto Unified Schools.

For more information about our benefits, click HERE.

This position is represented by Utilities Management and Professional Association of Palo Alto (UMPAPA).

The City of Palo Alto is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City will provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the employer.

See our Benefits at a Glance Bookletfor more details.
Learn more about our Memorandum of Agreements (MOAs) between the City and its bargaining units, by clicking HERE.

Closing Date/Time: 7/31/2026 11:59 PM Pacific
City of Palo Alto

City of Palo Alto

650-329-2376

The Community


The birthplace of Silicon Valley, Palo Alto, is a community of approximately 68,000 residents and nearly 100,000 jobs. Located on the mid-Peninsula between San Francisco and San Jose, Palo Alto is recognized worldwide as a leader in cutting-edge technology, medicine, and green innovation. The community's treelined streets and historic buildings reflect its California heritage, and, at the same time, many world-class businesses maintain or started offices here, such as Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Amazon, Broadcom, Hewlett-Packard, Houzz, Rivian, SAP and SAP Ariba, Tesla, and Varian Medical Systems. Numerous start-ups are also at home in Palo Alto, arguably making it the start-up capital of the world. Stanford University is foundational to the history and prestige of Palo Alto, reflected in the community's dedication to lifelong learning. Stanford's cultural and educational offerings are integral to the vibrancy and charm of Palo Alto, while the City's exceptional K-12 school district ranks among the top public-school systems in the country. With more than 50% of adult residents holding a graduate degree or higher, Palo Alto is frequently listed as one of the most educated cities in the nation. Palo Alto boasts a genuine sense of community and an active citizenry with strong environmental values. Beautiful neighborhoods are complemented by vibrant commercial corridors and a bustling economy featuring premium shopping and dining options. Excellent healthcare facilities, performing arts, and diverse recreational opportunities are some of the community's incredibly desirable and cherished amenities. To learn more, visit https://www.paloalto.gov/Departments/City-Manager/Latest-News

City Government

Palo Alto is a full-service charter city with a council-manager form of government. The seven-member City Council is elected at large, and the City Council annually selects the Mayor and Vice Mayor from among its members. The Mayor and City Council appoint the City Manager, City Attorney, City Clerk, and City Auditor. The City Manager is responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day operations of the City. Palo Alto is organized into 15 departments/offices with 1,093.10 authorized positions in FY 2025. There is also a FY 2025 capital budget of $316.2 million. Palo Alto owns and operates its own utilities, including electricity (carbon-neutral), gas, water, wastewater, and an expanding fiber network. This dynamic municipal environment ensures an ever-engaging platform for unique problem-solving and advances new initiatives, including sustainability, broadband, and effective service delivery. Community assets also include five libraries, 36 parks, five community centers, a museum and zoo, youth centers, a general aviation airport, an 18-hole golf course, a regional water treatment plant, and wildland open space preserves at the San Francisco Bay and in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains offering 41 miles of walking/biking trails in addition to its police, fire, and ambulance services. Palo Alto has long been a leader in sustainability, and the City's ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goals are part of what sets it apart. Since the City's first Climate Protection Plan was passed in 2007, Palo Alto has set goals that exceed State and Federal targets. Today, the City's goal to reduce emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2030 (the "80x30" goal) and achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 guides sustainability efforts. An award-winning City, Palo Alto is recognized nationally as innovative and well-managed. City services and performance also receive impressive marks from community members in the Palo Alto Community Survey.

Many of those ratings put City programs and services in the highest percentiles among the hundreds of benchmark cities. Palo Alto makes decisions through comprehensive processes and proactively seeks to involve its extremely informed, educated, and engaged residents. Projects are naturally a cooperative effort among the City Council, Boards, Commissions, Committees, engaged residents, neighborhoods, businesses, property owners, and staff.

Join an Award Winning Team 

Palo Alto is an award-winning City recognized nationwide as innovative and well-managed. Palo Alto is one of a small number of California cities with a AAA bond rating. Recently, Palo Alto became one of the most livable cities in the U.S. by Livability.com. It's the only city to receive the Platinum Beacon Award in sustainability best practices by California’s Institute for Local Government. We offer a variety of career paths that relate to building and improving communities. The City has fourteen departments employing 1,000 full-time staff. Police officers, fire fighters, paramedics, and building inspectors keep us safe. Engineers and public works staff build and re-build the physical infrastructure. City planners help envision and shape future community growth. Recreation, arts and library professionals enhance community life. Utilities provides electric, gas, water, sewer and other services. Internal services departments help manage, staff, and protect the City.

Want to learn more about our benefits? Learn more by reviewing our "Benefits at a Glance Booklet."

Contact Us

Phone: 650-329-2376   

Email: Recruit@paloalto.gov   

Location: City Hall, 1st Floor | 250 Hamilton Ave 94301 | View Map

 

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