Company Description: Tier Power Systems designs and manufactures custom low-voltage switchgear, switchboards, panelboards, industrial control panels, and electrical enclosures that support mission-critical power infrastructure. We are growing rapidly and are looking for a Electrical Design Engineer who enjoys solving complex engineering challenges, turning concepts into detailed 3D models while working closely with manufacturing to deliver high-quality products.
Job Summary: The Electrical Engineer owns the complete Electrical design lifecycle for custom electrical equipment—from customer specifications through Electrical Schematics, BOM Creation, Testing & Programming in compliance with UL, IEEE and NFPA standards. This role is partnering closely with mechanical engineering, manufacturing, and production to develop scalable, manufacturable solutions.
This is a hands-on engineering role with approximately 70% office-based design work and 30% Panel shop and Testing support, ensuring designs transition successfully from design to production.
Job Responsibilities/Duties:
- Lead the electrical design and development of low-voltage and medium-voltage switchgear, switchboards, and power distribution equipment, from initial customer requirements through manufacturing release and project completion.
- Develop and review electrical system documentation, including single-line diagrams, three-line diagrams, control schematics, wiring diagrams, interconnection drawings, and other electrical design documentation required for manufacturing and customer approval.
- Select and specify major electrical components, including circuit breakers, protective devices, bus systems, metering, transformers, control power equipment, and related components, based on project requirements and applicable electrical standards.
- Ensure equipment designs comply with applicable industry standards and codes, including UL 891, UL 1558, UL 857, UL 67, NFPA 70 (NEC), and applicable IEEE C37 standards, as required by the product and application.
- Determine appropriate equipment voltage ratings, continuous-current ratings, interrupting ratings, and short-circuit withstand ratings based on system requirements and available fault-current information.
- Develop and review grounding and bonding requirements for switchgear and switchboard assemblies in accordance with applicable NEC, UL, IEEE, and customer requirements.
- Develop electrical protection strategies and coordinate the application of circuit breakers, protective relays, trip units, fuses, and other protective devices to provide appropriate system protection and coordination.
- Design and review control and interlock schemes, including electrical and mechanical interlocks, permissives, trip circuits, emergency power-off (EPO), alarms, status indication, and other control functions.
- Engineer and integrate automatic and manual transfer schemes, including transfer switches and breaker-based transfer systems, where required by the application.
- Develop and review auxiliary power systems, including AC and DC control power, control power transformers, battery systems, panelboards, receptacles, lighting, heaters, and other auxiliary electrical loads incorporated into equipment designs.
- Coordinate electrical interfaces with PLC/control systems, building management systems (BMS), generator controls, UPS systems, HVAC equipment, fire alarm systems, and other external systems as required by the project.
- Review customer specifications, drawings, and technical requirements to identify design requirements, exceptions, potential conflicts, and compliance concerns before equipment is released for manufacturing.
- Provide technical leadership during customer drawing reviews, design reviews, and engineering discussions, and communicate technical solutions clearly to customers, project managers, vendors, and internal teams.
- Create, review, and maintain accurate Bills of Materials (BOMs), ensuring electrical components and quantities are consistent with approved drawings, engineering requirements, and manufacturing needs.
- Work closely with Mechanical Engineering, Project Management, Procurement, Production, and Quality to resolve technical issues and ensure projects are successfully transitioned from engineering into manufacturing.
- Provide engineering support to manufacturing by resolving design questions, component substitutions, wiring issues, assembly concerns, and nonconformances encountered during production.
- Evaluate alternate components and manufacturers when necessary due to availability, lead time, cost, obsolescence, or customer requirements, while maintaining electrical performance, safety, and regulatory compliance.
- Support and participate in First Article Inspections (FAI), Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), functional testing, and other product verification activities.
- Provide technical support for commissioning, startup, and field troubleshooting, including investigation and resolution of electrical equipment issues when required.
- Support UL/NRTL certification and listing activities, including interpretation of applicable standards, design reviews, documentation, testing, and resolution of compliance issues.
- Participate in the development and continuous improvement of engineering standards, design practices, drawing templates, component standards, BOM structures, and engineering processes.
- Identify opportunities to improve product reliability, manufacturability, standardization, cost, and engineering efficiency while maintaining safety and compliance requirements.
- Serve as a technical resource and mentor for junior electrical engineers, designers, and other engineering personnel, providing design guidance and reviewing engineering work as appropriate.
- Perform other engineering and job-related duties as assigned.
Qualifications:
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from an accredited college or university, or equivalent combination of education and directly relevant electrical power distribution experience.
- Minimum of 7 years of progressive electrical engineering experience, with significant experience in power distribution equipment, switchgear, switchboards, or related electrical equipment.
- Demonstrated experience designing and engineering low-voltage power distribution equipment, including switchboards and/or switchgear.
- Working knowledge of applicable electrical codes and industry standards, including NFPA 70 (NEC), UL 891, UL 1558, and applicable IEEE standards.
- Experience developing and reviewing electrical documentation, including single-line diagrams, three-line diagrams, control schematics, wiring diagrams, interconnection drawings, and equipment specifications.
- Strong understanding of three-phase power distribution systems, including voltage, current, power, power factor, grounding, and system configuration.
- Demonstrated knowledge of short-circuit current, interrupting ratings, short-time withstand ratings, and equipment application requirements.
- Experience selecting and applying low-voltage power circuit breakers, molded-case circuit breakers, insulated-case circuit breakers, protective devices, metering equipment, control power components, and related switchgear components.
- Understanding of protective device coordination and protection principles, including breaker trip units, protective relays, fuses, and system protection schemes.
- Experience developing or reviewing control circuits, breaker interlocks, transfer schemes, permissives, trip circuits, alarms, and equipment status/indication circuits.
- Ability to interpret customer specifications, electrical drawings, engineering studies, and project requirements and translate those requirements into manufacturable electrical equipment designs.
- Experience developing, reviewing, and maintaining Bills of Materials (BOMs) and ensuring consistency between engineering drawings, component selections, and manufacturing requirements.
- Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot electrical equipment and resolve technical issues encountered during manufacturing, testing, commissioning, or field operation.
- Strong technical communication skills with the ability to communicate engineering concepts and design decisions to customers, vendors, manufacturing personnel, and other engineers.
- Ability to independently manage engineering responsibilities across multiple projects while maintaining technical accuracy, quality, and project schedules.
- Demonstrated ability to review engineering work and provide technical guidance or mentorship to less-experienced engineers and designers.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience designing or engineering medium-voltage switchgear and power distribution systems, particularly equipment in the 5 kV through 35 kV class.
- Working knowledge of UL 857 and applicable IEEE C37 standards, including standards associated with metal-clad and metal-enclosed medium-voltage switchgear.
- Experience with equipment utilizing major circuit breaker manufacturers such as ABB, Eaton, Schneider Electric/Square D, and Siemens.
- Experience with automatic transfer systems, generator paralleling or generator distribution systems, UPS systems, and redundant power distribution architectures.
- Familiarity with protective relays, power meters, communication networks, and intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) used in modern switchgear and power distribution systems.
- Experience with electrical communication protocols such as Modbus RTU/TCP, Ethernet/IP, BACnet, or other industrial communication protocols used for equipment monitoring and system integration.
- Experience supporting UL/NRTL certification, product testing, Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), or other regulatory compliance activities.
- Familiarity with arc-flash, short-circuit, and protective device coordination studies, including the ability to interpret study results and apply them to equipment design.
- Experience with power-system analysis software such as ETAP, SKM PowerTools, EasyPower, or equivalent software.
- Experience working within an engineered-to-order (ETO) or configure-to-order manufacturing environment, particularly for electrical distribution equipment.
- Experience with ERP, PLM, or engineering document-control systems for managing BOMs, drawings, revisions, and product configuration.
- Familiarity with AutoCAD, AutoCAD Electrical, or similar electrical drafting/design software.
- Professional Engineer (PE) license or Engineer-in-Training (EIT) certification is beneficial but not required.
- Previous experience providing technical leadership, design reviews, engineering standardization, or mentorship within an electrical engineering team.
- Experience supporting data center, industrial, commercial, utility, or mission-critical power distribution applications is preferred.
Physical Requirements:
- Must be able to lift up to 50lbs.
- Must be able to handle exposure to moderate noise, dust, vibration and temperature variations typical to a manufacturing environment.
- Ability to bend, stoop, kneel, crouch, reach, and climb ladders or stairs when inspecting equipment or supporting production.
- Computer operation, CAD modeling, measuring equipment, and handling engineering tools and components.
Tier Power Systems, Inc., is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing a workplace free from discrimination and harassment. We make employment decisions based on qualifications, merit, skills, experience, and business needs without regard to race color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws. We are dedicated to fostering a respectful and inclusive work environment where all individuals are treated with dignity and respect.
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Retirement plan
- Vision insurance
Education:
- High school or equivalent (Preferred)
Ability to Commute:
- Tempe, AZ 85282 (Preferred)
Work Location: In person
