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Power Systems Engineer

Handshake • United States

Education

Master

Type

Hourly

Pay Rate

$120/hr

Listed

7d ago

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About this role

From the Handshake listing

Qualifications

Ideal candidates meet all three of the following:

Industry experience — 2+ years of hands-on power systems engineering experience

Degree — MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Power Engineering, or a closely related field. A BS in Electrical Engineering also qualifies when paired with strong industry experience

Power systems expertise — demonstrated depth in one or more of the following areas:

Transmission or distribution systems

Microgrids and distributed energy resources

High-voltage equipment and substations

Protection, control, and relay coordination

Power-flow, short-circuit, stability, or contingency analysis

Grid integration of renewable energy and battery storage

Power quality, grounding, or arc-flash analysis

Utility operations, commissioning, or field engineering

Additional Qualifications

These are not required but will strengthen your application:

Professional Engineer (PE) license or comparable professional certification

Experience applying relevant IEEE, IEC, NERC, NFPA, or utility standards

Proficiency with power-system tools such as ETAP, PSS®E, PSCAD, PowerWorld, DIgSILENT PowerFactory, SKM PowerTools, CYME, MATLAB/Simulink, Python, or comparable simulation and analysis environments

Experience with protective-relay platforms and software from SEL, GE Vernova, Siemens, ABB, or comparable providers

Experience at an electric utility, grid operator, engineering consultancy, EPC firm, power-equipment manufacturer, renewable-energy developer, or recognized employer such as GE Vernova, Siemens Energy, Hitachi Energy, Schneider Electric, Eaton, or Burns & McDonnell

Required for All Applicants

Based in the United States

Strong written communication and attention to detail

Ability to explain complex power-engineering concepts clearly

Ability to work independently in a remote, asynchronous environment

Work authorization information

F-1 students who are eligible for CPT or OPT may be eligible for projects on Handshake AI. Work with your Designated School Official to determine your eligibility.  If your school requires a CPT course, Handshake AI may not meet your school’s requirements. STEM OPT is not supported. See our Help Center article for more information on what types of work authorizations are supported on Handshake AI.

The application process

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Interview Prep

Sample questions for a Systems Engineer role, written in-house to help you prepare.

How do you decide between round-robin and least-connections load balancing for a given service?

I use round-robin when requests are roughly uniform in processing time, and least-connections when request duration varies significantly, since round-robin can overload a server handling several slow requests while it keeps receiving new ones at the same rate as faster servers.

What's your process for diagnosing intermittent network latency that only occurs under peak load?

I check for saturation on specific links or interfaces during the peak window using monitoring data, rather than testing during off-peak hours when the issue won't reproduce. I also look at whether the latency correlates with a specific service or is spread across the network, which points to either an application issue or a capacity issue.

How do you approach capacity planning for network infrastructure that needs to support future growth?

I project growth based on historical trend data combined with known upcoming initiatives, and I build in headroom above the projection since infrastructure upgrades often have long lead times. I avoid provisioning purely for current load, since that leaves no margin for unexpected spikes or faster-than-projected growth.

What steps do you take to ensure a load balancer configuration change doesn't cause an outage during deployment?

I test the configuration change in a staging environment that mirrors production traffic patterns first, and I roll out changes gradually, shifting a small percentage of traffic before a full cutover. I also keep the previous configuration ready to roll back to quickly if something unexpected happens.

See all 10 questions for this role →

This listing calls for this tool directly. Prep for the technical screen:

Why this role

This Power Systems Engineer role pays $120/hr like specialized consulting, minus the client overhead. You set the hours, and the assignments draw directly on your Software Engineering background.

Skills and categories

Explore other opportunities in related specializations:

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Common questions

Can I use Handshake if I graduated years ago?

Probably not a good fit. Handshake's AI Fellowship roles target current university students and early talent within about 1-2 years of graduation. Experienced professionals typically find faster approval and better rates on Outlier or Mercor.

Is Handshake itself the employer for AI training roles?

For the AI Fellowship roles specifically, yes, Handshake acts as the employer of record. That's different from the rest of the site, which functions as a job board listing openings for other companies.

What does the day-to-day workload look like for elite-expert AI training roles?

Slow and deep, not fast and repetitive. A single task can take 45-60 minutes of researching citations or verifying complex calculations. Quality is what's being measured here, not throughput.

Is AI training work the same as traditional consulting?

No. Instead of client deliverables, you're given complex scenarios to evaluate: grading the AI's logic, correcting its hallucinations, and supplying expert-level reasoning it doesn't have on its own. The job is closer to teaching than consulting.

What does Software Engineering work look like for a Power Systems Engineer?

Tasks here are scoped to Software Engineering, not generic labeling. As a Power Systems Engineer, expect to draw on real domain judgment (evaluating outputs, correcting errors, or providing expert reasoning specific to Software Engineering) rather than following a one-size-fits-all rubric. If you don't have hands-on Software Engineering background, this is likely not the right listing to start with.

What specific skills does this listing call for?

Coding, MATLAB, and Python are named directly in the listing. If you don't have hands-on experience with these, expect the screening process to test for them directly rather than accepting adjacent experience as a substitute.

How much does this specific role pay?

This listing is posted at $120/hr, an hourly rate. Pay can change between when we last checked the listing and when you apply, so confirm the current number on the platform's own application page before committing time.

What happens when I click Apply on this listing?

You'll be taken to Handshake's external site to complete your application there. This listing links through a referral, but the process is identical to applying directly; the link just routes you correctly. Create an account on their site and follow their onboarding steps.

Do I need a Master's to qualify?

This role lists a master's degree as a requirement. In practice, the domain assessment is the real gate. If you can pass it, the degree is usually secondary. However, some platforms verify credentials formally, so list your actual qualifications accurately on your profile.

Can I apply from outside the United States?

This specific role is open only to people based in the United States. If you are somewhere else, applying is unlikely to lead to an offer even if you pass the assessment, because the restriction is usually about where the work can legally be contracted rather than your skills. Read the full description for any tax-residency or right-to-work caveats before you apply.

Are Handshake AI training listings internships?

Some are, some aren't. Handshake lists both standard internships and separate "AI Trainer" fellowships. Check the job description for "1099" or "Contract" language: that signals a freelance role, not W-2 employment.