AECOM is seeking an experienced Distribution System Planner to support a diverse range of clients, including electric utilities, developers, government agencies, and other infrastructure stakeholders in planning safe, reliable, resilient, and future-ready energy and distribution systems.
This is a hands-on technical position focused on electric distribution system planning, grid modernization, and infrastructure analysis. Responsibilities include load forecasting, capacity and infrastructure planning, system performance and reliability assessments, distributed energy resource (DER) integration, transportation and building electrification studies, microgrid and resilience planning, non-wires alternatives evaluations, and development of capital investment strategies. The role may also support broader energy transition initiatives, including decarbonization planning, renewable energy integration, and long-range infrastructure planning.
The successful candidate will be capable of independently performing technical analyses and planning studies, developing actionable infrastructure and investment recommendations, and collaborating directly with client planning, engineering, operations, sustainability, and asset management teams. The ideal candidate will combine strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to communicate complex technical findings to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, helping organizations make informed decisions about future energy and infrastructure investments.
The job responsibilities for the position will include but are not limited to:
- Perform near-term and long-range distribution system and energy infrastructure planning studies
- Develop, maintain, and validate distribution network and energy system planning models
- Evaluate electrical distribution assets, including feeders, transformers, substations, and customer-owned infrastructure, for capacity, performance, and future growth requirements
- Perform distribution load flow, voltage, thermal loading, contingency, and related system analyses
- Identify existing and future infrastructure constraints, operational challenges, and capacity limitations
- Develop and evaluate technically viable infrastructure alternatives to support reliability, growth, electrification, and decarbonization objectives
- Evaluate feeder reinforcement, reconductoring, new feeders, substation expansion, voltage improvements, switching/configuration changes, and other distribution system solutions
- Support development of multi-year capital improvement, infrastructure investment, and asset management plan
- Develop and evaluate load and energy forecasts at the distribution level
- Assess impacts of customer growth, transportation electrification, building electrification, data centers and other large loads, distributed generation, and energy storage
- Translate load forecasts into feeder and substation capacity requirements
- Perform scenario and sensitivity analyses to address uncertainty in future load growth
- Evaluate the impacts and opportunities associated with DERs, distributed generation, renewable energy, and energy storage technologies
- Perform or support hosting capacity, interconnection, and grid integration studies
- Evaluate battery storage, EV charging, microgrids, and other distributed technologies
- Support Integrated Distribution Planning and evaluation of traditional infrastructure and non-wires alternatives
- Evaluate reliability, resilience, and operational performance of electric distribution and energy delivery systems
- Identify opportunities to improve system sectionalization, redundancy, transfer capability, and operational flexibility
- Support distribution resilience, wildfire mitigation, undergrounding, and system-hardening planning where applicable
- Coordinate planning recommendations with distribution operations, protection, engineering, asset management, and field organizations
- Develop project need statements and technical justifications for distribution capital projects
- Develop conceptual alternatives, planning-level cost estimates, and investment recommendations
- Support capital prioritization and risk-based investment planning
- Prepare technical reports, presentations, planning studies, and recommendations
- Participate in technical discussions and workshops with utility clients
- Support technical proposals and scopes of work
- Coordinate with other AECOM engineering, advisory, program management, environmental, and digital disciplines as required