Major Project Civil Engineer (Staff, Senior, or Principal)

About the role

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a leading energy provider and Fortune 500 company, dedicated to serving millions of electricity and natural gas customers across eight states: Minnesota, Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Mexico and Texas. We make energy work better for our customers, helping them thrive every day. That means always raising the bar - delivering better service and providing more reliable, resilient, and sustainable energy.

Xcel Energy is a place where you’ll have opportunities to grow, expand your skills, and help lead the clean energy transition. We offer meaningful rewards, recognition, and support to help you build your career and make an impact - both on the job and beyond. Most importantly, it means you’ll be joining a company that knows employees are the driving force behind its success and is committed to helping you be your best.

Xcel Energy supports a hybrid work model to enable collaboration and flexibility. Many roles are expected to work onsite three days per week (Tuesday–Thursday); however, work location expectations vary based on role, team, and business needs.

This position offers an exciting opportunity to join the Xcel Energy team in constructing new electric generation stations around Colorado. The role involves active participation in the design and construction phases of utility-scale renewable and dispatchable generation. It is an excellent chance to develop engineering and operational skills within a rapidly expanding generation portfolio.

The successful candidate will work closely with the EPC contractor, equipment suppliers, Operations, construction team, and Company engineers to achieve top-quartile facility performance. Candidate should expect to be on-site at least three days a week until the end of site commissioning. Following this period, a hybrid work arrangement at the office will be anticipated.

Strong communication skills, a proactive approach to problem-solving, and the ability to work independently with limited supervision are essential for success in this role.

The job summary below and responsibilities reflect the staff engineer level role. The successfully chosen candidate will be placed at a level that is commensurate with their skills and experience as different skills and/or experience will be required at the senior and princiapl engineer levels.

Position Summary

Under general direction, demonstrates complete understanding & wide application of engineering technical principle, theories, & concepts in the field. Independently determines & develops approaches to solutions. Receives technical guidance on complex problems; completed work reviewed for adequacy in meeting objectives.

May lead small-medium non-critical projects or critical projects under direction of higher level engineer/supervisor. May provide work direction to other professionals &/or staff. Represents the organization in providing solutions to difficult technical issues associated with specific projects. Frequent inter-organizational & outside customer contact.

Demonstrates a broad knowledge & proficiency of precedents in the specialty area, a good knowledge of related specialties, & general knowledge of other related disciplines.

Essential Responsibilities

• Uses & applies technical standards, principles, theories, concepts, & techniques to perform activities/assignments that may include a variety of complex features such as conflicting design requirements, unsuitability of conventional materials or methods & difficult coordination requirements.
• Supports the development of technical documentation (including but not limited to designs, testing, calculations, reports, standards, etc.) Utilizes & may assist with the development of procedures requiring a broad knowledge & proficiency in a specialty area & has a general knowledge of related disciplines.
• Works under the general direction of a higher level engineer or supervisor for routine engineering projects. Provide ongoing technical support for project activities within areas such as Operations, Maintenance, testing/diagnostics & Regulatory. May provide field engineering oversight &/or direction for activities such as commissioning, testing, inspections, etc.
• May lead small-medium, non-critical projects. Coordinate/leads critical projects or portions of projects (including phases such as research, design, equipment selection, procurement support, installation & commissioning), under the direction of a higher level engineer or supervisor. Work reviewed upon completion for adequacy in meeting objectives.
• Under the direction of a higher level engineer/supervisor supports bid/evaluation processes including preparation of bid documents, completion of technical evaluations for proposals; provide recommendations for selection, etc. Partners & communicates with areas such as Supply Chain & Legal following appropriate processes.
• Frequently exchanges information in all formats, on matters having a wide range of importance & complexity both inter-organizationally & with outside customers.
• May assign tasks & coordinate work of interns, drafters, technicians, craft personnel &/or others. Provide guidance & mentoring to less experienced engineers. Responsible for continuous self-development of technical skills & competencies.
• Performs activities such as budgeting, estimating, forecasting, accounting, work order management, in support of engineering projects.

Pay and benefits

Staff Engineer Level (Salary Range: $81,000 - $106,267)

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering from ABET accredited, civil engineering degree preferred. - 2+year's relevant engineering experience. Demonstrated broad knowledge & proficiency in specialty area, knowledge of related specialties, & general knowledge of other related disciplines.
• Ability to demonstrate the unique technical skills & core competencies for this engineering level established & documented by the organization.
• EIT/FE (Engineer in Training/Fundamentals of Engineering) strongly preferred.

Pay and benefits

Senior Engineer Level (Salary Range: $97,000-$129,267)

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering from ABET accredited, civil engineering degree preferred. - 5+ years relevant engineering experience with EIT/FE (Engineer in Training/Fundamentals of Engineering) required; 7+ years relevant engineering experience without EIT/FE.
• Ability to demonstrate the unique technical skills and core competencies for this engineering level established & documented by the organization.
• Preferred PE (Professional Engineer) registration may be required depending on business need.

Pay and benefits

Principal Engineer (Salary Range: $112,000-$156,600)

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering from ABET accredited, civil engineering degree preferred. - 9+ years relevant engineering experience with PE (Professional Engineer) registration required; 15+ years relevant engineering experience without PE.

Preferred Experience & Skills

• Experience in utility-scale projects, particularly in renewable such as wind, solar, or battery storage projects, with design experience in these areas being particularly valuable.
• Experience in utility-scale combustion turbine and/or reciprocating engines is an acceptable alternative to renewable facilities.
• Experience designing facilities such as sizing foundations and understanding geotechnical reporting, will be preferred.
• Experience overseeing construction and commissioning of utility equipment.

Additional information

Our culture is grounded in shared values and employee commitments that guide how we work, support one another, and grow together.

Our Employee Commitments

• Work that makes a difference
• A team you can count of
• Opportunities to grow
• Rewards that help you thrive

Non-Bargaining

The anticipated starting base pay for this position is: $81,000.00 to $156,600.00 per year

Benefits

This position is eligible for the following benefits:

Annual Incentive Program, Medical/Pharmacy Plan, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account, Health Care Flexible Spending Account, Health Savings Account (HSA) (if enrolled in eligible health plan), Limited-Purpose FSA (if enrolled in eligible health plan and HSA), Transportation Reimbursement Account, Short-term disability (STD), Long-term disability (LTD), Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Fitness Center Reimbursement (if enrolled in eligible health plan), Tuition reimbursement, Transit programs, Employee recognition program, Pension, 401(k) plan, Paid time off (PTO), Holidays, Volunteer Paid Time Off (VPTO), Parental Leave

• Benefit plans are subject to change and Xcel Energy has the right to end, suspend, or amend any of its plans, at any time, in whole or in part.
• In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information including but not limited to dates of school attendance and graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

Deadline to Apply: 10/26/26

All Xcel Energy employees and contractors share responsibility for protecting the company's information and systems by adhering to cybersecurity policies, standards, and best practices, recognizing that cybersecurity is everyone's responsibility.

Accessibility Statement

• Xcel Energy endeavors to make and accessible to any and all users.
• If you are in need of an accommodation to complete the application process, now or at any time in the future, please complete the Applicant Accommodation Request Form.
• For any other application related questions, including application follow-ups or technical issues, please use our Recruiting Assistance, Electra, for assistance.
• Electra can be found in the lower right-hand corner of our Xcel Energy Careers site.