Principal Design Engineer

Posted 10 September 2026
LocationManchester
Discipline Engineering and Renewables

Job description

​The Role

A leading engineering and consultancy business is looking for a Principal Consultant to join its Power Systems Engineering team in Manchester.

You’ll act as a technical lead across substation engineering projects, supporting both project delivery and tenders for utility, industrial and commercial clients.

Key Responsibilities

  • Lead substation engineering projects from

    11kV up to 400kV.

  • Take technical ownership of

    primary/physical design, Protection & Control and SCADA

    deliverables.

  • Produce and review electrical designs, calculations, specifications and technical reports.

  • Lead or support

    FEED, concept and tender-stage engineering.

  • Review supplier designs and documentation and support FAT/SAT activities.

  • Ensure designs comply with relevant

    UK, IEC, ENA, BS, IEEE and ANSI standards.

  • Provide technical input into project budgets, programmes, risks and change management.

  • Lead client meetings, technical workshops and multidisciplinary design activities.

  • Work closely with Protection & Control, Civil/Structural and other engineering disciplines.

  • Provide technical mentoring and guidance to junior engineers and consultants.

  • Support continuous improvement of engineering standards, processes and tools.

​

What We're Looking For

  • 15+ years’ experience

    in transmission/distribution engineering, or

    10+ years with a relevant Master's/PhD.

  • Strong substation engineering experience, ideally across

    132kV–400kV.

  • Experience in one or more of:

  • Primary/physical substation design

  • Protection & Control

  • SCADA

  • Strong knowledge of UK electrical standards, regulations and utility environments.

  • Experience with:

  • Single-line diagrams and substation layouts

  • CT/VT selection and calculations

  • AC/DC auxiliary systems

  • Power cable systems

  • Protection & Control / secondary systems

  • Strong client-facing, technical leadership and communication skills.

  • Experience mentoring engineers and leading technical teams.

  • AutoCAD and MicroStation

    experience required.

Desirable

  • Chartered Engineer (CEng)

    or IEng.

  • Substation safety/access authorisations.

  • CDM and construction safety knowledge.

  • Experience with installation and commissioning.

  • Previous consulting or business development experience.