Principal Engineer

Sunbelt Solomon is one of North America's largest and most trusted providers of electrical power solutions, serving utilities, industrial facilities, and commercial operations with a commitment to reliability, innovation, and customer partnership. With decades of industry leadership, we specialize in transformer manufacturing, remanufacturing, field services, and power distribution solutions that keep critical infrastructure running safely and efficiently. As we continue to grow, we're looking for a Principal Engineer to join our Engineering team and help shape the next generation of transformer design at Sunbelt Solomon.

About the Role

The Principal Engineerrole offers the opportunity to lead complex transformer design projects from concept through production, working at the intersection of engineering innovation, manufacturing excellence, and customer-driven solutions. You'll develop custom designs for distribution-class and power-class transformers, ensuring they meet customer specifications, industry standards, and internal engineering requirements. You'll play a key role across the full engineering lifecycle-design, documentation, manufacturing support, testing, optimization, and continuous improvement-while serving as a technical leader and problem-solver for cross-functional teams.

This is an onsite position, and the ideal candidate will be within commuting distance of one of our three primary facilities located in Temple, TX; Solomon, KS; Sharon, PA or Spokane, WA. Business travel for this role is expected to be 30% to our various manufacturing facilities across the US.

What You'll Do

• Develop custom designs for distribution and power-class transformers that meet customer requirements, IEEE/ANSI standards, and internal engineering procedures.
• Prepare engineering documentation, including Bills of Materials (BOMs), drawings, and material quotations for Purchasing, Sales, Manufacturing, and Test teams.
• Support manufacturing and testing activities by responding to production questions, customer service inquiries, and factory test follow-ups.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives, including design optimization and aluminum-conductor strategies (such as transitioning to aluminum round wire).
• Lead the development and implementation of Large Power Class Substation Transformers (138 kV, 650 BIL).
• Analyze new proposals, specifications, and product concepts to determine feasibility and engineering requirements.
• Apply advanced engineering principles to plan, coordinate, and recommend solutions for complex technical challenges.
• Monitor production schedules and manage engineering workload to ensure deadlines are met.
• Evaluate and process engineering change requests; revise and reissue production files as needed.
• Support inventory reduction efforts by ensuring proper use of surplus or obsolete materials.
• Review and approve new vendors based on technical suitability and product quality.
• Provide engineered solutions, assist with troubleshooting, and summarize findings for root-cause investigations.
• Promote and uphold safe engineering and manufacturing practices across all processes.

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering.
• 5+ years of experience for Principal Engineer level (advanced degrees count as one additional year).
• Proven design experience with distribution or power transformers.
• Experience with industrial power products and helical power designs.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and AutoCAD.
• Ability to read drawings, technical documents, and detailed instructions.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for small-group or one-on-one settings.
• Ability to apply sound engineering judgment to solve problems with concrete variables in standardized situations.