Primary Sub Station Layout Engineer

Electricity North West Ltd; Tees Valley; On-site; GBP 60,000 - GBP 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading energy infrastructure company is seeking a Primary Sub Station Layout Engineer to join their team in the UK. This role involves designing and managing substation projects, from concept to delivery, ensuring compliance with various standards. The candidate should have a strong background in electrical engineering, experience in substation design, proficiency in AutoCAD, and the ability to work collaboratively within a team. This position offers an excellent benefits package including an annual bonus and professional development opportunities.

Benefits

Annual bonus scheme

25 days annual leave

Car allowance or Company Vehicle

Private Healthcare

Employee rewards portal

Market-leading pension scheme

Employee assistance programme

Qualifications

• Proven experience in electrical design and specification of substations.
• Ability to assess and solve engineering issues.
• In-depth knowledge of National Grid and European Standards.

Responsibilities

• Lead preparation of substation designs from concept to construction.
• Produce detailed designs for indoor and outdoor substations.
• Manage health & safety risks encountered during projects.

Skills

Electrical design expertise

Problem-solving skills

Knowledge of ENA Standards

CAD proficiency (e.g., AutoCAD)

Education

HNC in Electrical Engineering

Tools

AutoCAD

Job description

Overview

Electricity North West Construction & Maintenance Limited (ENWCML) is the specialist engineering arm of the Electricity North West Group. We deliver high and low voltage infrastructure services across the UK, operating independently from the regulated network business. Our expertise spans the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of private electrical networks for commercial and industrial clients.

With a growing national footprint and a reputation for technical excellence, ENWCML plays a vital role in supporting the UK’s energy transition and infrastructure resilience. Now part of the Iberdrola and ScottishPower group, we’re building smarter, greener electricity networks to help Britain grow—investing in a better future, faster.

A Fantastic Opportunity: Primary Sub Station Layout Engineer

To enable us to fully deliver our projects we are looking for an innovative and passionate Primary Substation Layout Engineer to work client side on projects from initial concept and feasibility through to procurement specification, construction and commissioning. The successful candidates will have the chance to work on a wide variety of EHV (upto 132kV) substation design aspects and our project program facilitates the roll-out of substation construction works from 11kV up to 132kV, along with providing support for increasing customer connection activity.

Are you ready to turn customer concepts into fully developed, compliant substation design packs? In this role, you’ll lead the preparation of concept substation designs at pre sanction stage, evaluating alternative scheme options and their engineering merits. You’ll work collaboratively with Engineering Designers and cross functional teams, managing your own workload while guiding team members on project specific design tasks. You’ll play a key part throughout the project lifecycle—from responding swiftly to construction phase site queries to ensuring all outputs adhere to DNO policies and safety requirements. Your responsibilities will include producing detailed physical designs for indoor and open terminal substations, delivering Protection & Control panel and scheme designs from 11kV to 132kV, and developing comprehensive drawing suites for Grid and Primary substations. You’ll prepare technical specifications, feasibility reports, layouts, and plant specifications, while reviewing supplier and client designs for compliance.

As a technical specialist, you’ll help identify and manage H&S risks, attend site meetings to support design changes, and ensure all design work aligns with programme schedules and quality standards. You’ll also write and maintain technical specifications and guidance notes covering substation design, transmission interfaces, auxiliary systems, and earthing systems, keeping them up to date with new technologies.

What We’re Looking For

We welcome applications from individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences who meet the following criteria:

• HNC in Electrical Engineering or a related engineering discipline.
• Proven experience in electrical design, specification, and application of transmission voltage substations.
• Ability to technically assess and solve issues, with a thorough understanding of the technical requirements for the design, planning, operation, and development of the transmission substations.
• In-depth knowledge of ENA Standards, National Grid, British and European Standards for substation design
• Experience in the design, manufacturing, testing, installation, or maintenance of transmission voltage plant and equipment is advantageous.
• Ideally you will have experience in preparing and manipulating engineering drawings, using computer-aided design tools (e.g. AutoCAD) as this is the main tool we use; however for a promising candidate who is able and willing to gain these skills rapidly, this may not be a barrier.

Applicants should hold a full UK driving licence and be willing to travel and participate in site meetings throughout the UK when necessary.

What We’re Offering

We value your expertise. In return, you’ll receive:

• An annual bonus scheme
• 25 days annual leave increasing with length of service
• Car allowance or Company Vehicle
• Private Healthcare
• An employee rewards portal offering discounts on several well-known brands
• A market-leading contributory pension scheme
• Employee assistance programme
• Opportunity for professional development through our L&D function.

Our Commitment to Inclusion

We’re proud to foster a workplace where everyone can thrive. We celebrate diversity and are committed to building a team that reflects the communities we serve. We believe that embracing our differences makes us stronger.

If you need any adjustments or support during the application process, please contact our Recruitment Team at [e-mail] or call 0845 366 0092 (option 2).

Any offer made will remain conditional until pre-employment checks are complete to a level deemed satisfactory by SP Electricity North West. Due to the of this role, the following pre-employment checks will be required; references from previous employers, a Medical Appointment, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), and a Drug & Alcohol test.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early.

We don’t accept speculative CVs from agencies. Any received we will assert ownership of the candidate and no fee will be payable.