Engineer IV - Telecommunications RFI

Duquesne Light Company•Pittsburgh, PA

19h•Hybrid

About The Position

Duquesne Light Company, headquartered in downtown Pittsburgh, is a leader in providing electric energy and has been in the forefront of the electric energy market, with a history rooted in technological innovation and superior customer service. Today, the company continues its role as a leader in the transmission and distribution of electric energy, providing a secure supply of reliable power to more than half a million customers in southwestern Pennsylvania. Duquesne Light Company is committed to creating a culture of inclusion. We value and respect the unique differences and experiences of our employees. We believe that our differences lead to better collaboration, innovation and outcomes. We want you to join our team! Summary: The Operations Technical Services Telecommunications Engineer develops and evaluates requirements for telecommunications and related protection and controls equipment. This role maintains accurate engineering maintenance plans, manages various equipment types, and provides field support with limited supervision. The engineer assesses current assets and system architecture, identifies improvement opportunities based on standards and industry best practices, and prepares business cases for upgrades and replacements. The position is also responsible for creating 5‑ and 10-year asset upgrade forecasts, developing detailed project scopes that support effective design and construction, and establishing processes and testing procedures for all telecommunications devices. Creative, well‑reasoned solutions are encouraged.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering degree (BSEE) from an ABET-Accredited Institution
5+ years of utility or related experience required
Combination of field and office experience is preferable
Regular reporting location includes both a regular office/work-from-home environment with desk and computer duties, and utility substation and underground environment with various fieldwork duties related to technical services including inspection, testing, and commissioning
Irregular evening and weekend work may be required
Must be capable and confident driving in inclement weather
Must participate in a rotating on call support for emergency service restorations during storm events
May be required to travel to various company substations, facilities, underground locations, and right-of-way locations to inspect company assists during storm events
Must be able to work in various substation facility conditions (including uneven ground, energized equipment, construction vehicles, underground vaults, etc.) typical of utility facilities.
Must possess valid driver’s license for reporting to various company locations

Nice To Haves

Infrared Certifications
EIT/FE is preferable but not required

Responsibilities

Evaluate current telecommunication assets such as SONET devices, existing copper and fiber circuits and locations, network devices, SCADA systems, and land mobile radio developing a 5 year forecast for maintenance and programmatic upgrades of various pieces of equipment.
Develop a business plan and business cases to secure funding for inspection, maintenance, and capital replacement programs, managing the budget of each program year to year.
Develop transition plan templates to transition telecommunications and network equipment, while keeping essential protection and supervision schemes in service without jeopardizing substation or SCADA system functionality.
Coordinate the construction and removal of telecommunications and network equipment for multiphase projects with bargaining unit employees.
Develop a power and communication cable pull plan templates and processes for installations utilizing new cables.
Coordinate cable pull plan with bargaining unit employees.
Develop telecommunication and network standards and specifications to be utilize in substations as well as throughout the organization at various locations.
Documentation of current devices and configurations in substations and throughout the company and updating work management system accordingly.
Develop and review Asset Management scopes of work, interpret and evaluate the recommendations, contributing to scopes with Telecommunications requirements when required.
Review Protection relay and equipment protection recommendations, interpret and evaluate the recommendations, contributing to recommendations with Telecommunications requirements when required.
Review Engineering designs of various protective relay device replacements, upgrades, modifications, new installations, etc. of drawing lists, bill of materials, AC and DC schematics, panel front views, panel and equipment wiring diagrams, annunciator diagrams, SCADA communication diagrams and point lists, circuit maps, and various other diagrams developed by Engineering, for completeness, ensuring Telecommunications prints are updated to reflect these changes.
Mark-up corrections as needed and tracking implementation of changes with bargaining unit employees in the field.
Review IT and Telecommunication design developed by telecommunication techs including various network and telecommunication devices channels, as well as the interfaces with protective relay devices for replacements, upgrades, modifications, new installations, etc. including drawing lists, bill of materials, AC and DC schematics, panel front views, panel and equipment wiring diagrams, annunciator diagrams, SCADA communication diagrams and point lists, circuit maps, plan views, layout views, elevation views, and various other diagram and drawings, for completeness, correctness, and cohesion.
Mark-up corrections as needed and tracking implementation of changes with bargaining unit employees in the field.
Collaborate with bargaining unit employees to supervise testing, and review telecommunication equipment test results, as well as troubleshooting and retesting for failed test results.
Coordinate the testing of various IT and telecommunication devices for multiphase projects with bargaining unit employees.
Document, review, interpret, comprehend, organize, and retain results from testing telecommunication and network equipment.
Performing technical calculations and studies when required.
Prepare test reports with conclusions and recommendations as required.
Test and track, identify, and resolve Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) sources within the DLC territory, to minimize the impact of our RFI contribution and to troubleshoot RFI challenges outside of the DLC organization
Test, analyze, and resolve issues various locations in the DLC territory for single strength of UHF/VHF/CDMA/4G/WiFi/etc. regarding the communications of various substations and pole top devices
Optimize the use of network resources and optimize bandwidth utilization by performing periodic communication channel loading analysis, eliminating the overloading of route nodes.
Identifying and documenting sources of data to be communicated, identification of sinks of data, identify message lengths and frequency of transmission, identification of data delay requirements, and calculate link load or bit rate (bps). Studies may prompt alternative solutions to current configurations (e.g. channel and communication medium segregation, alternative communication technologies, etc.)
Perform signal propagation analysis of various transmitter/receiver locations.
Studies may prompt alternative solutions to current configurations (e.g. transmitter/receiver type, configuration, location, etc.)
Investigates new equipment, devices, testing apparatus, and methodologies to further enhance knowledge and resources within the Operations Technical Services group.
Perform network analysis of existing SONET network, ensuring protection and control functions have optimized functionality, minimizing latency, and maximum reliability.
Provides engineering guidance, technical guidance, and support to other engineers and field operations personnel to help fulfill group goals and objectives.
Consults with more experienced peers and vendors to become thoroughly familiar with an assignment and to obtain necessary scoping information.
Provides mentorship, coaching, training, and technical support for less experienced peers and field operations personnel during normal and emergency conditions.
Develop and host educational sessions for less experienced engineers.
Attend networking and professional development seminars such as ReliabilityFirst, IEEE, Engineering Association of Pennsylvania (EAP), Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Doble, etc.
Reviews and keeps informed of codes, regulations standards, and safety practices affecting company resources.
Develop updates to engineering standards, specifications, and procedures based on field observations of engineers and field techs.
Storm roles as appropriate to the role and skillset
Other duties as assigned
Perform other job-related duties as assigned
Storm role duties as assigned