substation engineer
Substation engineers design medium and high voltage substations used for the transmission, distribution, and generation of electrical energy. They develop methods for the efficient operation of the energy process, and ensure compliance to safety and environmental standards.
substation engineer substation engineers design medium and high voltage substations used for the transmission, distribution, and generation of electrical energy. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include electricity principles, engineering principles, electricity consumption, electrical engineering, electrical discharge.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £60,303 a year for Electrical engineers (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
Middle half of full-time jobs: £43,003 to £73,899 a year
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 2123). ONS rates this estimate reasonably precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Professionals” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only substation engineer, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 2. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Engineering and Technology
- Computers and Electronics
- Design
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Production and Processing
- Mechanical
What you'd actually do
- Design, implement, maintain, or improve electrical instruments, equipment, facilities, components, products, or systems for commercial, industrial, or domestic purposes.
- Oversee project production efforts to assure projects are completed on time and within budget.
- Direct or coordinate manufacturing, construction, installation, maintenance, support, documentation, or testing activities to ensure compliance with specifications, codes, or customer requirements.
- Perform detailed calculations to compute and establish manufacturing, construction, or installation standards or specifications.
- Operate computer-assisted engineering or design software or equipment to perform engineering tasks.
- Confer with engineers, customers, or others to discuss existing or potential engineering projects or products.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does substation engineer do?
Substation engineers design medium and high voltage substations used for the transmission, distribution, and generation of electrical energy. They develop methods for the efficient operation of the energy process, and ensure compliance to safety and environmental standards.
What skills does substation engineer need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include electricity principles, engineering principles, electricity consumption, electrical engineering, electrical discharge, electric current. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace substation engineer?
Our AI-durability model gives substation engineer a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.