Senior System Application Engineer

HCL is a $11 billion leading global technology enterprise consisting of over 200,000 professionals operating from 52 countries. Founded in 1976, HCL is one of India's original IT garage start-ups. For more on HCL, please visit www.hcl.com

Job Role -

Job Title: Lead Control & Protection System Application Engineer

Experience: 10-15+ Years

Work Location: Stafford, UK

Employment Type: 6 Months Contract and Permanent

Job Description-

Job Description-

• The lead Control & Protection System Application Engineer is responsible for the requirement definition, design, studies, validation, and commissioning of Control & Protection Systems for VSC based HVDC transmission schemes, including MMC converter technology.
• This role provides technical leadership across the full project lifecycle, ensuring compliance with applicable standards and delivering reliable, safe, and high-performance HVDC systems.
• Key responsibilities include Team development, engineering governance, technical oversight, implementation of lessons learned, and strong adherence to Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost (SQDC) principles.

Roles and Responsibilities-

1. Technical Leadership

• Oversee the overall technical solution, ensuring customer requirements are met based on reference solutions.

• Lead requirements gathering, system design, implementation, and development of HVDC Control & Protection systems.

• Lead the HVDC control and protection system design for LCC and/or VSC HVDC schemes.

• Act as the technical authority for controls and protection within the project team.

• Review and approve technical documents, including control/protection settings, control philosophies, protection logic, and system architecture, test plans, and test procedures.

• Serve as the primary customer interface for technical discussions, training, and requirement

clarification.

2. Control System & Protection Design

• Define control philosophies, protection and interlocking logics, and data exchange configurations.

• Lead and participate in engineering design processes, including design reviews and approval cycles.

• Ensure that all design outputs comply with industry standards, system requirements, and quality procedures.

3. Advanced Modelling & Simulation

• Conduct Electromagnetic Transient (EMT) studies using PSCAD, EMTP-RV, and model control/protection functions in MATLAB/Simulink.

• Perform network conversion, modelling, tuning, and verification using PSSE, PSCAD, MATLAB and RSCAD.

• Develop full plant/system models and lead end-to-end validation across multiple simulation platforms.

• Lead Control System Studies & Testing, including:

o Software-in-the-Loop (SIL)

o Dynamic performance studies

o Protection coordination

o Overall system integration

4. System Testing & Commissioning

• Conduct Integration System Test (IST), Functional System Test (FST), Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT), Site Acceptance Tests (SAT), and system commissioning at customer sites.

• Lead root cause analysis and troubleshooting of complex VSC control and protection issues.

5. Process Improvement & Operational Excellence

• Identify and implement improvements in engineering tools, processes, systems, and technical solutions to enhance customer value and operational efficiency.

• Make informed decisions regarding work processes, schedules, priorities, and operational plans to achieve departmental objectives.

• Uphold and promote SQDC principles across teams.

Required Qualifications & Skills-

• Education: Degree in Electronics/Electrical Engineering or equivalent proven experience in HVDC systems.

• Experience: Minimum 7 years in HVDC control and protection system design.

Technical Expertise:

• HVDC Control, Protection, and Sequencing strategies.

• Dynamic performance studies and system modelling for VSC-HVDC schemes.

• Proficiency in PSCAD and MATLAB/Simulink.

• Leadership & Communication:

• Strong technical leadership experience.

• Ownership of technical discussions and ability to develop strong client relationships.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Active participation in cross-functional leadership teams.

• Makes independent decisions while engaging subject-matter experts as needed.