Substation Electrical Design Engineer

Job Description

We’re National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED), the owner and operator behind the electricity distribution systems for the Midlands, the Southwest of England and South Wales. Serving communities of more than 8 million people, our expert teams deliver heat, light and power for homes and businesses, working outdoors with underground cables, overhead lines and substations that operate between 230 and 132,000 volts.

National Grid employs over 29,000 people worldwide. Our vision is to be at the heart of a clean, fair and affordable energy future and we are doing this in a fast-moving industry with an increasing focus on tackling climate change, exploring new energy sources which are renewable, low carbon, and improve efficiency to meet demand. If this appeals to you too, you could soon work in a supportive, rewarding and friendly environment that empowers everyone to succeed.

We are an equal opportunities employer. Our desire is to bring in more employees from diverse backgrounds to build further on our inclusive culture. We value and celebrate individual difference and we believe that an inclusive culture will help the business grow as a positive, strong and innovative company.

Job Introduction

An exciting opportunity is now available for an enthusiastic and skilled Electrical Design Engineer to join our expanding Engineering Design team based in Bristol. The successful candidate will have the chance to work on a wide variety of EHV substation design aspects, primarily focused on physical arrangements of plant and equipment. Our project program facilitates the rollout of substation construction works from 11kV up to 132kV, along with providing support for increasing customer connection activity.

Engineering Design are the conduit through which conceptual network designs become buildable solutions, for the replacement and reinforcement of our substation assets. With the urgent need to achieve carbon neutrality across the country, having robust and reliable network assets is critical. We have an accelerating workload to meet this demand and require additional, talented engineers to help us rise to the challenge.

We are a growing team with a culture of support, progress and continuous improvement. We are looking for an individual who can join us in expanding and developing our outputs, who is committed to the success of the team, and is able to take ownership and personal responsibility for their workload.

As part of our hybrid working approach and in line with our policy, this role allows you to apply for a mix of office and home working. Hybrid working can only be considered once your initial training is complete and subject to business need.

Evidence of your qualifications will be required prior to appointment.

Depending on experience, you may initially be appointed at a lower salary until all relevant courses and training are complete or set criteria can be demonstrated.

Main Responsibilities

• Physical design of indoor and open-terminal substations (preparation of substation layouts/earthing and associated detailed mechanical drawings/ schedules under the supervision of senior engineers).
• Preparation of detailed engineering drawings in an AutoCAD environment; specifically 2D wireframe but 3D skills may prove useful
• Responding flexibly to the changing needs of design workload.
• Ensuring compliance of design output with NGED policy.
• Considering the safety implications of decisions made at design stage on the constructability, operation, maintenance and final decommissioning of substation asset.
• Under technical supervision, the modelling of clearance enquiries associated with tower line asset.
• Updating and archival of records based upon as-built data received from site.
• Contribution to the standardisation of substation design and general upkeep of drawing archives etc as necessary.
• Opportunity to work on Protection and Control Panel & Scheme Designs for a willing and capable candidate.

The Ideal Candidate

Candidates should ideally be qualified to a national certificate level or equivalent in an appropriate engineering discipline.

We would like applicants to 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.

Candidates will further be expected to demonstrate customer focus, flexibility, good communication skills and an ability to manage a number of design commissions.

The successful candidate will need a full UK driving licence.

National Grid Electricity Distribution is committed to safeguarding the interests of the Company, colleagues and customers.

This role is subject to a satisfactory Barring Service (DBS) check. Depending on the role, different levels of screening and vetting are required. Some roles require a triannual check.

Closing Date 01/01/2025:

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early should sufficient numbers of suitable applications be received. We recommend that you submit your application as soon as possible.

Recruitment correspondence is usually sent by email, so please do check your email account including spam/junk folders regularly after the closing date.