Design QA/QC Lead

Job Title Design QA/QC Lead
Location: Detroit MI 48226
Contract 24 month contract
Schedule: Hybrid - 3 days onsite
Pay: $91-95 per hour

Design QA/QC Lead - Overhead Distribution Job Summary

The Design QA/QC Lead - Overhead Distribution serves as the first-line independent technical reviewer for overhead conversion and distribution work packages. This role performs structured 30%, 60%, and 90% design reviews of work submitted by external design service providers to ensure designs comply with applicable distribution standards, are constructible and safe, and are substantially free of defects before advancing toward scheduling and construction.

The position provides an independent quality review layer within the existing engineering process rather than redesigning that process. The Design QA/QC Lead will also engage during the 0-30% project development phase to help establish project scope, design criteria, and expectations before formal design begins.

This position reports to the QA/QC Engineering Supervisor, who retains final review authority and sign-off. This is an individual contributor role with no direct supervisory responsibility.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct structured 30%, 60%, and 90% design reviews of overhead conversion and distribution work packages.
• Evaluate designs for compliance with applicable distribution standards, construction details, and engineering criteria.
• Review conductor sizing and ampacity, clearances, grounding, pole class and loading, and armless versus crossarm construction.
• Review conversion-specific design requirements, including insulation levels, arrester and cutout ratings, and secondary impacts associated with 4.8kV-to-13.2kV conversion.
• Evaluate constructability and safety considerations, including tree trimming requirements, joint-use coordination, top-cut sequencing, and construction-list completeness.
• Participate in field site visits as needed to verify existing conditions, constructability, and design accuracy.
• Identify, document, and track standards exceptions and non-standard designs; coordinate deviations with the appropriate Standards group.
• Maintain accurate records of findings, RFIs, review outcomes, exceptions, and corrective actions.
• Identify recurring design defects and quality trends and contribute to lessons-learned activities, checklist improvements, standards clarifications, and reviewer training.
• Provide feedback on external design service provider performance, including design accuracy, completeness, and rework frequency, to support vendor scorecards and quality metrics.
• Partner with the QA/QC Engineering Supervisor to validate and improve AI-assisted tools used to support overhead conversion and distribution design reviews.
• Manage multiple design packages and review cycles while meeting established quality and schedule requirements.

Technical Review Scope

The Design QA/QC Lead will independently evaluate design packages across areas including:

• Conductor loading, ampacity, and approved conductor sizes for new construction.
• Voltage drop and voltage regulation for new overhead laterals.
• Transformer sizing and loading, including identification of potentially oversized or undersized transformers.
• Fuse sizing and coordination with upstream protective devices.
• Vertical and horizontal clearance requirements over roadways, driveways, structures, and other applicable areas.
• Pole loading analysis triggers, wind and ice loading requirements, and pole class selection.
• Grounding and neutral continuity requirements, including ground rod spacing.
• 4.8kV-to-13.2kV conversion-specific equipment and design requirements.
• Standards exceptions and non-standard design documentation.
• Armless versus crossarm construction requirements.
• Span length and sag/tension table verification.
• Construction and material list completeness, including accuracy of CU text.
• Stakeholder and permitting review status, including Real Estate, Environmental, Construction, Forestry, and Project Management coordination.

Minimum Education & Experience Senior Level

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Engineering Technology, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 6 years of relevant experience in overhead distribution design, engineering, or construction.

Advanced Level

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Engineering Technology, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 8 years of relevant experience, including demonstrated independent technical review or design QA/QC experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Working knowledge of utility overhead distribution standards, construction details, and design requirements.
• Experience with DTE distribution design standards or comparable utility standards.
• Direct experience with 4.8kV-to-13.2kV conversion projects or comparable distribution voltage-conversion programs.
• Experience with staged 30/60/90% design review processes.
• Experience with sag/tension analysis, pole loading analysis, or related engineering verification tools.
• Familiarity with Maximo, Documentum, and Bluebeam or similar utility design/work-management and document-review platforms.
• Experience identifying, documenting, and resolving standards exceptions and design deviations.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license preferred but not required.

Required Competencies

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to independently determine whether a design is technically adequate, beyond basic checklist compliance.
• Strong attention to detail and documentation discipline.
• Ability to clearly identify findings by work location and trace them to the applicable standard, design requirement, or engineering criterion.
• Ability to independently manage multiple design packages and review cycles.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to provide direct, technically defensible feedback to external design service providers.
• Ability to identify issues, recommend corrective action, and appropriately escalate unresolved technical concerns.
• Proficiency with computer applications, document markup, and technical review tools.
• Ability to work effectively with engineering, standards, project management, construction, and external design teams.