Lead Electrical Engineer / Subject Matter ExpertMedium & High Voltage | Microgrids | Land-Based Power Systems
Location: Prince Edward Island, Halifax, NS, or Greater Toronto Area
Company: AKA Energy Systems
Position Type: Full-Time | Senior Technical / Leadership Role
The Opportunity
AKA Energy Systems is looking for a highly driven Lead Electrical Engineer / Subject Matter Expert (SME) to help develop and grow our land-based power systems and microgrid business.
This is not a traditional engineering position. We are looking for a senior technical leader who combines deep electrical power-system expertise with strong commercial awareness and the ability to turn customer problems into practical, competitive engineering solutions.
The successful candidate will work closely with Business Development and Sales during the pursuit and proposal stages and will become the technical lead for land-based power projects as they are awarded.
This individual will also play an important role in building AKA's capabilities in this market - helping establish the technical approach, supply chain, engineering standards and ultimately the team required to support the growth of the land-based power segment.
Key Responsibilities
Technical Sales & Proposal Support
Work directly with AKA's Business Development and Sales teams to develop technically sound and commercially competitive solutions.
Responsibilities include:
- Understand customer requirements and identify the underlying technical problem.
- Develop system concepts, architectures and technical solutions.
- Support site assessments and early-stage engineering.
- Develop equipment selections, technical specifications and preliminary designs.
- Support estimating, equipment costing and project quotations.
- Develop technical scopes of work and proposal documentation.
- Identify technical risks, assumptions and opportunities during the bidding process.
- Engage suppliers and OEMs to obtain technical information, pricing and lead times.
- Support customer technical discussions and presentations.
- Help differentiate AKA's solutions through practical engineering and system integration.
Subject Matter Expert – Medium & High Voltage
Act as AKA's internal SME for land-based electrical power systems, with particular expertise in:
- Medium-voltage and high-voltage electrical systems
- MV/HV switchgear and switchboards
- Transformers
- Protection and control
- Power distribution
- Power system studies
- Generator integration
- Utility interconnection
- Microgrids
- Distributed generation
- Energy storage integration
- Power conversion systems
- Electrical balance of plant
- System grounding and protection philosophies
The SME will provide technical guidance to engineering teams and support technical decision-making throughout the project lifecycle.
Lead Engineer – Project Execution
For awarded projects, act as Lead Electrical Engineer and take technical ownership of the electrical scope.
Responsibilities include:
- Establish the overall electrical system architecture and design philosophy.
- Lead electrical engineering activities from concept through detailed design.
- Coordinate multidisciplinary engineering activities.
- Review and approve technical designs and engineering deliverables.
- Lead technical design reviews.
- Manage technical interfaces with customers, utilities, suppliers and subcontractors.
- Resolve technical issues during engineering, manufacturing, installation and commissioning.
- Support factory testing, site installation and commissioning activities.
- Ensure designs meet applicable codes, standards and customer requirements.
- Maintain technical ownership from initial proposal through successful commissioning.
Supply Chain & Technology Development
A critical part of the role is understanding the electrical power equipment marketplace and developing a competitive supply chain for AKA.
The successful candidate will:
- Maintain strong knowledge of major MV/HV equipment manufacturers and technologies.
- Identify qualified suppliers and alternative technologies.
- Evaluate equipment based on performance, cost, availability and lifecycle support.
- Develop relationships with key OEMs and suppliers.
- Understand equipment lead times and supply-chain constraints.
- Identify opportunities for standardized AKA solutions and preferred equipment platforms.
- Support vendor qualification and technical evaluation.
The objective is not simply to specify equipment - it is to develop practical, reliable and commercially competitive power-system solutions.
Build the Capability
This position has the opportunity to become a key technical leader within AKA's growing land-based power business.
As the segment develops, the successful candidate will help:
- Define the technical capabilities required within the organization.
- Establish engineering practices, tools and standards.
- Develop standardized system architectures and solutions.
- Identify future engineering resource requirements.
- Recruit and mentor engineers and technical specialists.
- Build a strong technical team around the land-based power and microgrid business.
- Develop reusable engineering knowledge from completed projects.
We are looking for someone who wants to build something, not simply execute assigned engineering work.
Experience & Qualifications
The ideal candidate will have:
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering.
- Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) designation in Canada, or eligibility to obtain one.
- Significant experience with medium-voltage and/or high-voltage power systems.
- Strong experience with land-based electrical distribution systems.
- Experience with microgrids, distributed generation or power-generation systems.
- Experience specifying MV/HV switchgear, transformers and associated protection systems.
- Working knowledge of power-system studies including load flow, short-circuit, coordination and arc-flash studies.
- Strong understanding of electrical codes, utility requirements and industry standards.
- Experience working with electrical equipment manufacturers and suppliers.
- Experience leading electrical engineering projects.
- Experience supporting proposals, estimating or technical sales is strongly preferred.
- Experience with commissioning and field implementation is an asset.
The Person We Are Looking For
Technical expertise alone is not sufficient for this position.
We are looking for someone who is:
Driven – motivated to win work, solve problems and build a successful business.
Commercially aware – understands that the best engineering solution must also be practical, competitive and deliverable.
A problem solver – capable of taking an unclear customer problem and developing a technically sound solution.
Hands-on – comfortable moving between conceptual engineering, detailed technical discussions, suppliers, project teams and the field.
A strong communicator – able to explain complex electrical systems clearly to customers, sales teams, engineers and management.
A leader – capable of taking technical ownership, making decisions and bringing people together around a solution.
Entrepreneurial – interested in developing new capabilities, suppliers, solutions and ultimately a team around the land-based power segment.
Team oriented – able to work effectively across Business Development, Sales, Engineering, Project Management, Manufacturing and Service.
What Success Looks Like
Success in this position means becoming the technical authority within AKA for land-based power and microgrid opportunities.
You will help AKA:
Identify the problem → Develop the solution → Win the project → Lead the engineering → Deliver the system → Build the capability for the next project.
Over time, the role has the potential to develop from an individual SME and Lead Engineer position into a broader technical leadership role supporting a growing land-based power and microgrid engineering team.
