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What does a protection engineer do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read

Protection engineers supervise the maintenance of protection equipment of an electric power distribution system to reduce interruption to service. They coordinate the repair, tests, and installation of equipment. Protection engineers study new development to determine the suitable application to the protection system. These engineers may direct computer analysis of system operating characteristics like the voltage, system stability, and load limitations. They update and maintain documentation about the backup and recovery of various environments. Also, part of their job is to create software solutions to improve decision making and laboratory efficiency.

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Protection engineer responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real protection engineer resumes:

  • Manage Jenkins security by providing specific access to authorize developers/testers using project base matrix authorization strategy.
  • Shell scripting, cron, SAN and NAS environment synchronization.
  • Provide advice and devise methods for shielding and M/REM reduction and site ALARA program improvements, procedure review, plant inspections.
  • Skil at providing file, folder, disk and system restores.
  • Trouble shooting DS0 and DS1 data circuits, and relate CPE.
  • Create and troubleshot relay test plan by following integrate scheme testing requirement.
  • Provision and test PVC assignments according to customer end to end d-marc request.
  • Define protective relay and metering schemes, equipment specification, and smart grid applications.
  • Develop managerial reports to review all backup SLA's are met and provide metrics reports to review performance.
  • Perform point by point checkouts of all SCADA points to appropriate control units with the design engineering group.
  • Design schematic and wiring diagrams for SCADA operation, control, and status to interconnect with both new and existing equipment.
  • Monitor disk and tape capacity and utilization.
  • Improve NetWorker performance by updating dynamic port limit and correcting peer authentication issues.
  • Conduct geotechnical and environmental subsurface investigations.
  • Review FSAR, USAR, station emergency plan, procedures, and plant training records.

Protection engineer skills and personality traits

We calculated that 10% of Protection Engineers are proficient in Scheme, AC, and SCADA. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Creativity, and Problem-solving skills.

We break down the percentage of Protection Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Scheme, 10%

    Created and troubleshot relay test plan by following integrated scheme testing requirement.

  • AC, 8%

    Design AC panels, DC panels and annunciator as per specification.

  • SCADA, 7%

    Designed schematic and wiring diagrams for SCADA operation, control, and status to interconnect with both new and existing equipment.

  • Project Management, 6%

    Provided Project Management/Engineering expertise to Government Clients with liaison to Lockheed Martin Engineering agents, naval laboratories, and field activities.

  • Windows, 6%

    Install, License and configure Net-vault servers / clients on a range on Windows and Linux hosts in Yahoo environment.

  • NERC, 6%

    Developed Settings for Transmission Lines & Substation relays using SEL 5030 AcSELerator in compliance with NERC standards.

Most protection engineers use their skills in "scheme," "ac," and "scada" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential protection engineer responsibilities here:

Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a protection engineer to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "health and safety engineers must be able to interpret federal and state regulations and their intent so that they can propose proper designs for specific work environments." Protection engineers often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "designed java client and server communication interface with rmi. "

Creativity. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling protection engineer duties is creativity. The role rewards competence in this skill because "health and safety engineers produce designs showing potential problems and remedies for them." According to a protection engineer resume, here's how protection engineers can utilize creativity in their job responsibilities: "maintain and improve cad skills (inventor 2015) participate in customer, internal and global team meetings as required. "

Problem-solving skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of protection engineers is problem-solving skills. This skill is critical to many everyday protection engineer duties, as "in designing solutions for entire organizational operations, health and safety engineers must take into account processes from more than one system at the same time." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "worked with senior project managers and business analysts to design complex data management solutions for business units involving emc storage. "

Most common protection engineer skills

The three companies that hire the most protection engineers are:

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Compare different protection engineers

Protection engineer vs. Fire sprinkler designer

A fire sprinkler designer is in charge of designing and developing sprinkler systems to prevent or aid fire. Their responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis, utilizing feedback from customers and other experts, producing prototypes or samples, and coordinating with engineers and technicians. Furthermore, a fire sprinkler designer may design upgrades and enhancements, create testing structures, take part in installing and repairing systems, and conduct regular maintenance checks to ensure the fire sprinkler systems' quality and efficiency.

The annual salary of fire sprinkler designers is $42,246 lower than the average salary of protection engineers.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, protection engineer responsibilities require skills like "scheme," "ac," "scada," and "project management." Meanwhile a typical fire sprinkler designer has skills in areas such as "fire protection," "nicet," "nfpa," and "hydraulic calculations." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Fire sprinkler designers earn the highest salaries when working in the government industry, with an average yearly salary of $84,788. On the other hand, protection engineers are paid more in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $109,691.On average, fire sprinkler designers reach lower levels of education than protection engineers. Fire sprinkler designers are 24.9% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Protection engineer vs. Fire protection specialist

Fire Protection Specialists are the people who work on implementing systems for the protection of the people, buildings, wildlife, and environment from the effects of fire. A fire protection specialist inspects buildings, homes, and other places to assess the different fire hazards and how to prevent them. To be a fire protection specialist, many start by working or volunteering as a firefighter; some study fire science, fire safety, or any related programs. Adequate knowledge about fire safety, fire regulation, fire hazards are just some of the skills you must have to become a Fire Protection Specialist.

A career as a fire protection specialist brings a lower average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a protection engineer. In fact, fire protection specialists salary is $45,363 lower than the salary of protection engineers per year.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that protection engineer responsibilities requires skills like "scheme," "ac," "scada," and "project management." But a fire protection specialist might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "fire protection," "nfpa," "fire suppression," and "api."

In general, fire protection specialists achieve lower levels of education than protection engineers. They're 21.3% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Protection engineer vs. Engineer

Engineers are highly trained professionals who determine the feasibility of various projects, usually related to the construction industry. They are considered experts in mathematics and science, two disciplines that they need to use in designing and coming up with plans for projects. They should also be well-versed in different construction or industrial materials, and they ensure that appropriate materials are used for the project. They also ensure that the projects meet the requirements of the groups that hired them. They create spaces that would both address the needs of the end-users and the industry standards. They also ensure that the projects they make would stand the test of time.

An average engineer eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of protection engineers. The difference in salaries amounts to engineers earning a $8,555 lower average salary than protection engineers.By looking over several protection engineers and engineers resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "project management," "windows," and "troubleshoot." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a protection engineer is likely to be skilled in "scheme," "ac," "scada," and "nerc," while a typical engineer is skilled in "python," "cloud," "c++," and "c #."

Engineers earn the highest salary when working in the automotive industry, where they receive an average salary of $97,672. Comparatively, protection engineers have the highest earning potential in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $109,691.When it comes to education, engineers tend to earn lower degree levels compared to protection engineers. In fact, they're 13.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Protection engineer vs. Lead engineer

A lead engineer's duties vary on their line of work or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities will revolve around overseeing the progress of operations and performance of the workforce, ensuring that everything is running smoothly. They are also responsible for addressing issues and concerns, assessing risks, monitoring the budget, coordinating with clients and architects, and even training workers. Furthermore, as a lead engineer, it is crucial to conduct regular inspections to ensure the quality of work and maintain a safe environment for all workers.

Lead engineers average a lower salary than the annual salary of protection engineers. The difference is about $15,705 per year.While their salaries may vary, protection engineers and lead engineers both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "project management," "windows," and "dod. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "scheme," "ac," "scada," and "nerc" are skills that commonly show up on protection engineer resumes. On the other hand, lead engineers use skills like java, python, architecture, and c++ on their resumes.lead engineers enjoy the best pay in the automotive industry, with an average salary of $110,872. For comparison, protection engineers earn the highest salary in the manufacturing industry.lead engineers reach lower levels of education compared to protection engineers, in general. The difference is that they're 8.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of protection engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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