Structural Engineer - HV Transmission Lines - Cape Town at AECOM

Job Description

• The Structural Engineer provides senior technical leadership and delivery capability across a broad range of transmission line projects from 132kV to 765kV. This includes greenfield projects, asset upgrades, reconductoring, thermal uprating, foundation and structure strengthening, line cut-ins, and asset renewal schemes. The role involves hands-on design, technical review, and interdisciplinary collaboration across project stages from concept to construction.

Experience relating to OHL design:

• Model towers or poles using PLS-TOWER or PLS-POLE, including strength, stability, and member capacity checks.
• Support or lead foundation assessments and designs (pad, pile, raft, grillage) in collaboration with geotechnical engineers.
• Prepare or review general arrangement drawings, connection details, fabrication drawings, and part lists.
• Assess the structural adequacy of towers/poles for reconductoring, uprating, or retrofit purposes.
• Contribute to constructability assessments including cranage, access, erection sequencing, and outage constraints.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Planning, scheduling, and execution of HV transmission line projects including:
• Prepare cost estimates, project budgets, and resource allocation plans.
• Coordinate with project managers, clients and other stakeholders to ensure project requirements are met.
• Coordination and technical leadership in the delivery of HV transmission line engineering and design projects/packages.  
• Developing transmission line alignments, profiles, and structure spotting using PLS-CADD.
• Performing sag-tension analysis and validating clearances in accordance with relevant standards (e.g. EN 50341, NG TS 2.04).
• Preparing and reviewing design deliverables including plan/profile drawings, stringing charts, structure schedules, and loading reports.
• Assessing tower and pole structure loading and coordinating foundation designs with geotechnical inputs.
• Leading and/or contributing to the following project types:
• New transmission line designs (greenfield)
• Reconductoring and sag-tension recalculations
• Uprating and clearance improvement studies
• Structure/pole strength assessments and retrofits
• Foundation strengthening (e.g., pile extensions, grillage upgrades)
• Line cut-ins, tee-offs, and route deviations
• Tower/pole replacements and asset renewal
• OPGW or earthwire replacement and shielding reviews
• Participating in design reviews, QA/verification processes, and constructability assessments.
• Supporting delivery of construction-ready drawings and material schedules.
• Coordinating with drafting, structural, civil, electrical, and geotechnical teams for integrated design outputs.
• Providing guidance and mentoring to junior engineers and contributing to continuous improvement through lessons learned and design innovation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering (Structural Engineering) is essential.
• A minimum of 8–10 years of relevant experience in HV (132kV+) overhead line transmission design and delivery.
• Chartered or Professional Engineer status (or working towards it) is preferred.
• Demonstrated experience delivering a range of HV OHL projects including new builds, reconductoring, uprating, and asset renewals.
• Proven ability to coordinate across disciplines and review detailed technical outputs to a high standard.
• Software's that are essential: PLS-CADD, PLS-TOWER / PLS-POLE, Microsoft Excel / Office