Job Summary
The Panel Manufacturing Support Engineer/Specialist serves as the key interface between engineering design and the manufacturing shop for protection, SCADA, and telecom panels.
This role is responsible for reviewing and validating complete panel design packages—including enclosure design, panel layouts, schematics, wiring drawings, and wire lists—to ensure technical accuracy, manufacturability, safety, and compliance prior to release to manufacturing.
Key Responsibilities
- Design Package Review & Approval
- Review enclosure designs for correct size, type, IP/NEMA rating, mounting, cable gland provisions, thermal considerations, and compliance with standards and customer specifications.
- Verify panel layouts for component fit, spacing, segregation (power/control/communication), accessibility, serviceability, and logical wiring routes.
- Validate schematics and elementary diagrams for accuracy, completeness, device tagging consistency, and integrity of protection/control logic and SCADA/telecom signals.
- Review wiring diagrams to ensure connections are clearly defined, traceable, and aligned with schematics and field requirements.
- Validate wire lists and wire length lists for correct types, sizes, coding, terminations, and manufacturability.
- Coordination with Enclosure Supplier
- Coordinate mechanical design requirements for protection, SCADA, and telecom panels.
- Enclosure Drilling Patterns & Mechanical Interfaces:
- Define and validate drilling and cut-out patterns for:
- Door-mounted devices (HMIs, switches, relays, lamps)
- Cable entries (glands, connectors, ventilation)
- Internal mounting (DIN rails, brackets, busbars)
- Review drilling drawings, DXF files, and templates for:
- Accurate dimensions and tolerances
- Compliance with IP/NEMA, safety, and mechanical standards
- Ensure alignment between enclosure supplier drawings and internal panel layouts before manufacturing release.
- Manufacturability & Standardization
- Ensure panel designs are practical for manufacturing, assembly, maintenance, and testing.
- Minimize rework, complexity, and wiring errors.
- Promote standardization in layouts, wiring, and labeling.
- Identify and implement improvements in Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and Design for Test (DFT).
- Engineering–Manufacturing Interface
- Act as the primary technical liaison between engineering and manufacturing teams.
- Clarify design intent and resolve technical queries during production.
- Address non-conformities and redlines identified during assembly/testing.
- Coordinate with Quality, Testing, and Commissioning teams to support FAT, SAT, and field activities.
- Quality, Compliance & Continuous Improvement
- Ensure compliance with applicable standards (safety, grounding, EMC, etc.) and customer specifications.
- Lead root-cause analysis for recurring issues and implement corrective actions.
- Develop and maintain design checklists, work instructions, and best practices.
Key Deliverables
- Approved panel design packages ready for manufacturing
- Consolidated review comments and redlines
- Updated standards, checklists, and lessons learned
- Reduced manufacturing defects, rework, and cycle time
- Coordinated enclosure drilling patterns with suppliers
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering
- Minimum 5 years of experience in design and manufacturing of protection and control panels
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in protection and control panel manufacturing
- Knowledge of metal fabrication and AutoCAD design
- Familiarity with electrical utility standards and documentation
- Interdisciplinary experience (metering, communications, substation automation)
- Ability to deliver training and write technical documentation
- Experience with third-party protection relay products
- Working knowledge of AutoCAD panel design tools
- Understanding of CSA, UL, and CE standards
- Lean / Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification (preferred)
- P.Eng certification is an asset