The Principal Overhead Line (OHL) Engineer provides senior technical leadership and delivery capability across a broad range of transmission line projects from 132kV to 765kV. This includes greenfield projects, asset upgrades, reconductoring, thermal uprating, foundation and structure strengthening, line cut-ins, and asset renewal schemes. The role involves hands-on design, technical review, and interdisciplinary collaboration across project stages from concept to construction. Key responsibilities and activities include:
- Planning, scheduling, and execution of HV transmission line projects including:
- Prepare cost estimates, project budgets, and resource allocation plans.
- Coordinate with project managers, clients and other stakeholders to ensure project requirements are met.
- Coordination and technical leadership in the delivery of HV transmission line engineering and design projects/packages.
- Developing transmission line alignments, profiles, and structure spotting using PLS-CADD.
- Performing sag-tension analysis and validating clearances in accordance with relevant standards (e.g. EN 50341, NG TS 2.04).
- Preparing and reviewing design deliverables including plan/profile drawings, stringing charts, structure schedules, and loading reports.
- Assessing tower and pole structure loading and coordinating foundation designs with geotechnical inputs.
- Leading and/or contributing to the following project types:
- New transmission line designs (greenfield)
- Reconductoring and sag-tension recalculations
- Uprating and clearance improvement studies
- Structure/pole strength assessments and retrofits
- Foundation strengthening (e.g., pile extensions, grillage upgrades)
- Line cut-ins, tee-offs, and route deviations
- Tower/pole replacements and asset renewal
- OPGW or earthwire replacement and shielding reviews
- Participating in design reviews, QA/verification processes, and constructability assessments.
- Supporting delivery of construction-ready drawings and material schedules.
- Coordinating with drafting, structural, civil, electrical, and geotechnical teams for integrated design outputs.
- Providing guidance and mentoring to junior engineers and contributing to continuous improvement through lessons learned and design innovation.
Discipline-Specific Responsibilities
Civil / Structural / Mechanical Focus:
Applicable to applicants with a civil, structural, or mechanical engineering background involved in OHL projects.
- Model towers or poles using PLS-TOWER or PLS-POLE, including strength, stability, and member capacity checks.
- Support or lead foundation assessments and designs (pad, pile, raft, grillage) in collaboration with geotechnical engineers.
- Prepare or review general arrangement drawings, connection details, fabrication drawings, and part lists.
- Assess the structural adequacy of towers/poles for reconductoring, uprating, or retrofit purposes.
- Contribute to constructability assessments including cranage, access, erection sequencing, and outage constraints.
Electrical Focus (Applicable Only to Candidates with an Electrical Engineering Background):
For applicants with an electrical engineering background who possess experience in OHL design:
- Select appropriate conductor types, earthwires, and OPGW based on system requirements and environmental factors.
- Perform insulation coordination studies, including BIL ratings, insulator string design, and strike/arcing distance assessments.
- Review electrical clearances and evaluate thermal ratings of line sections under different loading scenarios.
- Conduct shielding angle analysis, critical span evaluations, and lightning protection adequacy assessments.
- Contribute to EMF, induction, and line loss analysis using applicable software; coordinate termination and bonding interfaces with substation teams.