Steel Designer High-Voltage Substations

Role: Steel Designer – High-Voltage Substations
Location: Alexandria, Louisiana.
Job Description

Design the Structures Behind the Power Grid
We are seeking an Experienced Steel Designer to join our engineering and design team. This position is ideal for a detail-oriented designer with experience in structural steel, CAD drafting, and engineering drawings who is interested in specialized electrical utility projects.

The successful candidate will be comfortable translating engineering concepts and design information into accurate, detailed drawings and will take pride in producing quality work that meets project requirements and deadlines.

What You'll Do
As a Steel Designer, you will work closely with engineers and other designers to develop detailed drawings and documentation for high-voltage substation and switchyard projects.

Responsibilities Include

• Develop detailed CAD drawings for high-voltage substation steel structures and related components.

• Create drawings for structural steel, foundations, platforms, supports, and other substation structures based on engineering design information.

• Develop general arrangement drawings, including plan and elevation views.

• Prepare steel framing, structural layout, and detail drawings.

• Create grounding plans and conduit layout drawings as required by project scope.

• Develop fabrication and connection detail drawings.

• Interpret engineering plans, specifications, sketches, calculations, and design information.

• Apply proper dimensions, elevations, details, notes, and drawing standards.

• Assist with determining material quantities and preparing information needed for material procurement.

• Review drawings for accuracy, completeness, consistency, and compliance with project requirements.

• Coordinate with engineers and other design team members to resolve drawing and design issues.

• Make revisions and incorporate engineering comments and project changes.

• Maintain organized drawing files and project documentation.

• Meet established project schedules and deadlines.

• Assist with other drafting, detailing, and design tasks as assigned.

About the Role
This is a specialized structural design position supporting high-voltage electrical substation and switchyard projects.

You will work with engineers to develop the steel structures and detailed drawings required to physically build substation facilities. The work requires an understanding of structural geometry, dimensions, elevations, layouts, connections, and how individual components fit together within a larger engineered system.

Experience with substation design is valuable, but we are also interested in designers with strong structural steel and detailing experience who can learn the specialized aspects of substation design.

Required Qualifications

• Certificate, diploma, Associate degree, or other formal education in Drafting, Design, CAD, or a related field.

• At least 1 year of AutoCAD experience.

• Experience with structural steel design or detailing.

• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings and design documents.

• Strong understanding of structural detailing, layout, geometry, and dimensions.

• Working knowledge of algebra, geometry, and trigonometry.

• Strong attention to detail and accuracy.

• Ability to organize and manage multiple drawing assignments and deadlines.

• Strong communication skills and ability to work effectively with engineers and other designers.

• Ability to work independently while also contributing to a collaborative project team.

• Willingness to learn company standards, procedures, and specialized substation design practices.

Preferred Qualifications

• 3+ years of CAD drafting or design experience.

• Experience with structural steel design or detailing.

• Experience creating engineering, fabrication, or structural detail drawings.

• Experience with physical electrical substation or switchyard design.

• Experience developing steel framing and connection details.

• Experience with foundation and structural layout drawings.

• Experience working in an engineering or utility design environment.

Skills That Will Help You Succeed

The ideal candidate is:

• Detail-oriented and quality-focused.

• Comfortable working with measurements, dimensions, angles, elevations, and geometry.

• Able to visualize how steel components and structures fit together.

• Comfortable working from engineering direction while also recognizing potential drawing issues.

• Organized and able to keep track of multiple projects and revisions.

• A strong problem solver who asks questions when something doesn't make sense.

• Dependable and able to meet project deadlines.

• Willing to learn and develop new technical skills.

• Comfortable working as part of an engineering and design team.