Lead Electrical Commissioning Engineer
Overwatch · United States
About Overwatch Mission Critical Overwatch is a service-disabled Veteran-owned small business (SDVOB) certified through the National Veterans Business Development Council (NVBDC), offering construction professional services, talent acquisition, and general contractor support for the mission-critical infrastructure industry. Our mission is the construction and management of state-of-the-art data centers with the precision and reliability this industry demands. From high-end engineers to seasoned professionals, we deploy the people you need to get your data center off the ground. At Overwatch, it's more than a job. Its purpose.
Position Overview
The Lead Electrical Commissioning Engineer is a critical leadership role responsible for directing the electrical validation and power reliability program for large-scale, mission-critical data center construction projects. Acting as the ultimate technical authority for the power infrastructure, this role manages the end-to-end commissioning process across Levels 1 through 5 (L1–L5).
The successful candidate will provide technical oversight to Electrical Cx Engineers, field technicians, and electrical contractors. They bridge the gap between complex electrical designs and real-world field conditions, ensuring that medium-voltage power distribution, backup systems, and emergency topologies deliver non-negotiable 100% uptime during grid disruptions and concurrent maintenance scenarios.
Key Responsibilities
Phase Leadership & Execution (L1–L5)- Full Lifecycle Management: Direct the electrical commissioning sequence from factory acceptance testing (FAT/L1) to final Integrated Systems Testing (IST/L5) and ultimate turnover to Operations.
- L2–L3 Inspection: Oversee Level 2 documentation verification, on-site installation and construction-readiness checks and Level 3 equipment startup and vendor startup validation.
- L4 Functional Testing: Lead Level 4 functional performance testing, executing strict component-level testing including breaker coordination, insulation resistance, and component failovers.
- L5 Integrated Systems Testing (IST): Design, coordinate, and command the execution of L5 pull-the-plug heat-load and electrical fault testing using load banks to validate system redundancy, concurrent maintainability, transient behaviors, and automated throwover schemes (ATS).
Technical Quality & Electrical Safety- Document Review: Critique complex electrical design packages, single-line diagrams (SLDs), protection settings, breaker coordination studies, arc flash evaluations, and engineering submittals for risk and commissionability.
- Scripts & Procedures: Author and approve site-specific, rigorous test scripts, Method Statements (MOPs), Energization Plans, and pre-functional checklists.
- Complex Troubleshooting: Root-cause analyze complex electrical faults, protection trip events, harmonic distortion issues, and transient power abnormalities discovered during high-stress testing environments.
- Deficiency Tracking: Own the electrical project issue log, ensuring electrical discrepancies and safety gaps are categorized by risk, tracked, and remediated by appropriate vendors without impacting the master schedule.
Team Management & Stakeholder Alignment- Field Direction: Manage and prioritize work assignments for a team of internal field electrical commissioning engineers and third-party NETA technicians.
- Interface Point: Serve as the unified electrical voice and primary point of contact connecting the client, general contractors, electrical sub-contractors, equipment vendors, and utility representatives.
- Meeting Leadership: Represent the electrical commissioning discipline in high-voltage energization coordination, master schedule reviews, construction coordination meetings, and client-facing performance updates.
Technical Domain ExpertiseThe Lead Engineer must possess deep hands-on expertise validating the installation, protection tuning, and failure modes of the following critical systems:
- Medium & Low Voltage Distribution: Substations, transformers, medium-voltage switchgear, switchboards, and busway systems.
- Emergency Power Generation: Multi-megawatt diesel generator systems, fuel delivery control panels, master control panels (GCP), and load shedding schemes.
- Power Continuity Systems: Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems (both static and rotary flywheels), central battery systems, and Energy Storage Systems (ESS).
- Switching & Controls: Automatic Transfer Switches (ATS), Static Transfer Switches (STS), Power Management Systems (EPMS), and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems.
- Protection & Grounding: Protective relay programming, ground fault protection systems, lightning protection, and overall facility grounding grids.
Job Qualifications
Required- Education: Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Power Systems Engineering, Construction Management, or equivalent technical field experience.
- Experience: Minimum 3+ years of direct electrical commissioning, engineering, or mission-critical facilities construction experience.
- Data Center Focus: Minimum 2+ years of dedicated data center project experience, with demonstrated experience leading L1–L5 programs on hyperscale, colocation, or enterprise builds.
- Drawings/Diagrams: Advanced capacity to read and interpret complex single-line diagrams (SLDs), three-line diagrams, schematic diagrams, control wiring diagrams, and time-current coordination curves.
Physical & Travel Requirements- This position is heavily tied to deployment sites. It may require traveling 50% to 65% of the time.
- Ability to navigate construction sites, climb ladders, and lift up to 30 lbs.
Benefits Overwatch Construction offers a competitive salary and benefits package, including health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, life insurance, 401(k) retirement plan, paid time off, and relocation assistance available.
OVERWATCH is committed to creating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. OVERWATCH considers candidates regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.