Principal Engineer - Electrical

Job Title: Principal - Electrical Engineer

Location: Rochester, NY

Work Type: Office

Salary: Base range $128,000 – $160,400 (dependent on experience and location)

Benefits: Sign‑on bonus and comprehensive benefits

The engineer will lead teams and projects that solve unique and complex problems with broad business impact. The work supports the development and execution of departmental or divisional strategy, represents UI on industry associations, mentors other employees and maintains expertise in distributed generation and related disciplines. The role requires strong communication skills, both oral and written, to regulatory and public entities, and leadership in facilitating and mentoring teams.

• Proactively identify and perform special projects and studies that innovate and solve unique & complex problems with broad impact to the business, developing alternate methods or design concepts to resolve issues or improve processes/services.
• Resolve distributed generation (DG) interconnection problems, including customer generators, photovoltaic systems, and fuel cells.
• Approve, maintain, and understand drawings (e.g., schematics, one‑line diagrams) and assemble documents required for complex assignments.
• Act as a recognized expert in generator interconnections; interpret business issues and recommend best practices or process improvements.
• Lead teams, act as facilitator and mentor, develop innovative services, technologies, and make stakeholder‑centered recommendations, and present to regulatory or public entities when required.
• Facilitate DG interconnection project teams, provide direction for resources beyond the department, and offer technical leadership on complex projects with wide business impact.
• Design systems that resolve overly complex problems in non‑standard situations, applying design standards, industry codes, criteria, guidelines, and UI policies.
• Develop business cases and manage divisional and company‑wide projects/processes/initiatives, participating in strategy and execution.
• Forecast, plan, schedule, monitor, and control budgets, estimates, and construction plans, and manage resource allocations.
• Influence and guide department engineers using knowledge and experience.
• Mentor, develop, and support team technical skills; serve as SME for the team.
• Liaise with and direct contractors on company policy, standards, and best practices.
• Work independently with little supervision.

• Education, Experience and Training:
  • Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering (required)
  • 10+ years of relevant experience
  • Professional Engineering License (required)
  • Strong theoretical engineering knowledge in planning, operations, design, modeling, and business analysis.
  • Practical engineering experience in planning, operations, design, construction, and economic analysis of engineering alternatives.
  • Ability to document and interpret engineering documentation.
  • Ability to review and approve work to ensure compliance with standards, specifications, and contract requirements.
  • Knowledge of regulatory and compliance environment – local, state and federal standards.

• Master’s Degree (preferred)
• Professional Engineering license from the State of Connecticut (preferred)

• Excellent diagnostic and problem‑solving skills for complex technical and analytical problems.
• Proven project leadership and management experience.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills for articulating technical concepts.
• Leadership and change‑driving ability in adopting new technologies.
• Regulatory environment knowledge and incentive mechanisms.
• Contract, commercial and regulatory awareness to balance customer service and project delivery for maximum ROI.
• Stakeholder and customer engagement and management experience.
• Effective communication and presentation at all levels.
• Prioritization using engineering and financial judgment to deliver optimal solutions.
• Awareness of key business drivers and ability to devise solutions for common and complex challenges.
• Technical and operational experience in a utility engineering role (where applicable).
• Knowledge of construction and maintenance standards,…