Posted July 30, 2026
Principal Electrical Engineer
System One
Colonial Heights, VA, US
Full Time
Job Description
Job Description
Job Title: Principal Electrical Engineer Location: Colonial Heights, VA, United States Overview The Principal Electrical Engineer is responsible for troubleshooting and improving electrical and instrumentation systems using reliability-centered maintenance and process control technologies while serving as the primary point of contact for E&I issues, leading diagnostics, maintenance activities, and cross-functional collaboration to support plant operations. The position also drives continuous improvement through data analysis, standardization, and support of capital projects and maintenance initiatives. Responsibilities:
- Solve Electrical and Instrumentation problems through design, redesign, application, and reliability centered maintenance techniques.
- Familiar with all instrumentation devices such as transmitters, controllers, transducers, signal conditioners, valves, limit and proximity switches.
- Perform E/I loop checks, calibrations, and interlock testing.
- Serve as the primary point of contact for all E&I related issues during normal working hours and during off hours.
- Develop Electrical & Instrumentation (E&I) guidelines, inspection/test/work procedures, standards, documentation methods, and policies to achieve world-class level.
- Provide troubleshooting flow charts and standard works to improve troubleshooting techniques and reduce troubleshooting time.
- Lead troubleshooting and problem-solving activities on E&I related issues.
- Support, plan, and coordinate E&I work during outages.
- Interact effectively with Planners, Operators, Shift Leaders, and Production Engineers to resolve day-to-day E&I maintenance and minor mechanical issues.
- Assist in the implementation of capital projects and maintenance process improvements to maximize manufacturing rates, yields, and efficiencies.
- Provide short-term and long-term improvements in process control using PLC, HMI Programming, AC/DC Inverter Drives, Motor Controls, Experion DCS, and electrical power distribution.
- Utilize SAP, MS Project, and MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) for planning and reporting.
- Use various test and inspection instruments, including NDT and PdM technologies, to assess equipment condition and repair requirements.
- Apply statistical tools to track, analyze trend data, perform calculations, communicate performance, and predict remaining life and failure expectancy to improve MTBF.
- Investigate incidents related to equipment failure, perform root cause analysis, and develop follow-up recommendations.
- Collaborate with maintenance, stores, suppliers, and purchasing on spare parts and equipment opportunities.
- Track plant downtime and OEE, prepare monthly reports, and report benefits from reliability centered maintenance.
- Support MOC programs for changes in reliability databases and maintenance excellence efforts.
- Associates Degree in Electrical Engineering or Electrical Engineering Technology
- Minimum 6 months of experience in controls, instrumentation, computer programming, hardware design, manufacturing, project design, reliability engineering, maintenance, or production engineering
- Proficiency in MS PowerPoint, Access, Excel, Outlook, Word, Visio, Project, Adobe Acrobat, and ERP systems
- Ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously in a high-stress environment
- Willingness to lead process development and improvements
- Effective collaboration skills across all organizational levels
- Hands-on proactive problem solving with strong judgment
- Excellent interpersonal, organizational, and detail-oriented skills
- Strong problem solving, self-motivation, and innovation capabilities
- Ability to influence organizational change and link business objectives with employee development
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including presentation abilities
