Protection & Controls Engineer

The Protection & Controls Engineer is responsible for protection schemes, relay settings, and controls design for Hut 8's high-voltage systems across the program. Reporting to the Principal, HV Engineering, this role supports commissioning, coordination studies, and utility acceptance for the substations and interconnections serving our data center campuses. P&C talent is the scarcest discipline in our build program - this seat carries real authority over how our facilities are protected and how fast they energize.

Some of the key responsibilities you should expect are the following:

Protection & Controls Design

Develop and review protection schemes, relay panel arrangements, and control designs for HV substations and interconnection facilities. Produce and review AC/DC schematics, wiring diagrams, and logic diagrams. Specify protective relays (SEL platforms), RTUs, meters, and panel equipment against utility, NERC, IEEE, and ANSI requirements.

Relay Settings & Setting Philosophy

Develop, review, and manage relay settings files and the program's setting philosophy. Own settings version control and the reconciliation between issued settings, as-left settings, and study models - the discipline that prevents mis-operations.

Studies

Perform and validate protection coordination, fault, and arc-flash studies (ASPEN/CAPE), coordinating with the Application Engineer on system models, equipment ratings, and interconnection study requirements.

Utility Coordination & Acceptance

Support interconnection protection requirements, protection review packages, SCADA/RTU point lists, and witness testing with serving utilities. Drive utility comments to resolution through energization and maintain compliance documentation (including NERC PRC-related records where applicable).

Commissioning & Field Support

Support factory and site acceptance testing, relay functional testing, and end-to-end testing with NETA firms during commissioning. Provide field support during construction and energization - troubleshooting protection and controls issues with contractors, testing firms, and utility personnel in real time.

Standards & Program Building

Build Hut 8's P&C standards: templates, panel typicals, settings libraries, and testing requirements. Review vendor drawings for P&C scope across projects and mentor the Project Engineer (HV/MV) on protection fundamentals.

- What we're looking for:

- 5+ years of protection and controls engineering for HV substations, transmission, or utility interconnections (69kV-345kV).

- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering; PE license preferred.

- Strong hands-on depth with protective relaying - SEL platforms strongly preferred - including scheme design, settings development, and event analysis.

- Coordination and fault study fluency in ASPEN or CAPE; comfort defending your settings to a utility.

- Working knowledge of NERC PRC standards and utility interconnection protection processes.

- Commissioning experience: relay functional testing, end-to-end tests, and working alongside NETA field crews.

- SCADA/RTU and communications-assisted protection familiarity (mirrored bits, fiber schemes) a plus.

- Rigorous documentation habits - settings control is a discipline, not a chore.

- Willing to travel for factory tests, energizations, and utility meetings (typically 20-35%).