Lead Telecom Specialist

About Us National Grid is hiring a Lead Telecom Specialist for our NY Telecom Engineering department in Syracuse, NY.

Every day we deliver safe and secure energy to homes, communities, and businesses. We are there when people need us the most. We connect people to the energy they need for the lives they live.

The pace of change in society and our industry is accelerating and our expertise and track record puts us in an unparalleled position to shape the sustainable future of our industry. To be successful we must anticipate the needs of our customers, reducing the cost of energy delivery today and pioneering the flexible energy systems of tomorrow. This requires us to deliver on our promises and always look for new opportunities to grow, both ourselves and our business.

Job Purpose

Primary areas of responsibility include: evaluation of emerging technologies; participation in equipment specification and selection; performing end-to-end solution design including validation and testing of advanced communications systems. As a senior team member, you will be expected to guide and mentor other members of the department and lead in the development and execution of complex strategic programs and initiatives.

You will work closely with our Substation Engineering, Protection Engineering, Distribution Control & Instrumentation Engineering, Meter Engineering, and other departments to provide communications solutions for projects assigned to those groups. In addition, you will be responsible for the development of long-term strategies for telecom networks supporting substations, distribution system controls, meters and other fixed and mobile devices.

Key Accountabilities

- Support the Capital Delivery Construction process involving new and existing substation projects.

- Support Company initiatives for innovation and modernization of our energy delivery infrastructure.

- Create and obtain approval for special projects, engineering design, analysis and investigations, and training to deploy new technologies and work practices.

- Support development and ongoing maintenance of all transmission and distribution communications technologies.

- Support Company Automated Meter Infrastructure (AMI) initiatives in the NY jurisdiction including the design and deployment of Field Area Networks (FAN) and their monitoring and control systems.

- Actively engage our IT and external communications partners in the development of end to end communications solutions for substation SCADA, metering, Volt Var Optimization (VVO) and other active and future projects.

- Be part of the team that will upgrade our SONET fiber core network to a new system and expand the network to reach more substations and company facilities.

- Develop documentation and provide technical guidance, support and coaching to others in order to share knowledge and develop technical understanding within the department.

- Build and nurture relationships with industry peers and other external industry influencers to keep abreast of technical innovations and their potential benefits.

- Support storm restoration efforts in addition to normal job duties.

Supervisory/Interpersonal- Experience Required

- Actively builds and maintains a network of relationships, outside of normal business contacts.

- Effectively lead committees and/or teams.

Qualifications

- A bachelor's degree with at least 10 years of related experience in a number of technical roles. An associates degree is acceptable with an additional 2 years of relevant experience.

- Experience creating new ways to plan and operate communication systems using advanced analytics and emerging technologies and industry trends.

- Expertise in some or all of the following communications technologies:

- RF data communication systems including point to point, point to multipoint and mesh topologies.

- Private and public LTE networks

- Fiber optic and microwave transport systems

- Leased wired and wireless services

- Computer network routing/switching, cloud services

- Demonstrated capability to independently develop and direct small teams with regard to project tasks and technical requirements.

- Solid understanding and use of financial terms along with budgeting principles and practices.

- Skilled in programming, configuration, testing, and troubleshooting communications hardware.

- Demonstrated strong influencing skills with the ability to make persuasive presentations to small and large audiences.

- Must be able to work overtime and/or holidays, nights, weekends as needed.

- Must be able to travel overnight outside the normal work area

More Information

Salary: $121,000 - $142,000

This position has a career path which provides for advancement opportunities within and across bands as you develop and evolve in the position; gaining experience, expertise and acquiring and applying technical skills. Internal candidates will be assessed and provided offers against the minimum qualifications of this role and their individual experience.

National Grid is an equal opportunity employer that values a broad diversity of talent, knowledge, experience and expertise. We foster a culture of inclusion that drives employee engagement to deliver superior performance to the communities we serve. National Grid is proud to be an affirmative action employer. We encourage minorities, women, individuals with disabilities and protected veterans to join the National Grid team.