Substation Electrical Design Engineer

About Us

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.

National Grid employs over 29,000 people worldwide. We are building an inclusive workplace, a place to actively celebrate the cultures, personalities and preferences of our colleagues – who in turn help to build the success of our business and reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. 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 that are renewable, low carbon, and improve efficiency to meet demand.

Job Introduction

The Engineering Design Team prepare electrical, protection/control, mechanical and civil designs for schemes to construct, extend or modify electricity substations energised at up to 132,000 volts. Our primary outputs consist of detailed engineering drawings to facilitate the real world build of conceptual network changes, and the calculation and issuing of protection settings. Across the business we handle in excess of 500 active design commissions at any time ranging in capital value from £50k to over £35m.

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 based at our offices in Bristol, to help us rise to the challenge.

Although mainly office based, we are regularly mobile throughout the area and engineers have autonomy to arrange whatever meetings/site inspections/surveying they feel are required to complete their assigned work. Transport provisions such as hire vehicles/mileage allowances are available as appropriate, as is accommodation in instances where travel time is particularly significant.

*Please note the successful candidate may initially be appointed at a lower salary until all relevant courses and training are complete.

Evidence of your stated qualifications may be required prior to appointment.

Main Responsibilities

• Physical design of indoor and open-terminal substations (preparation of substation layouts 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.
• 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. 
• The modelling of clearance enquiries associated with tower line asset using proprietary software (training provided)
• 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.
• Potential scope to also work on Protection and Control Panel & Scheme Designs for a willing and capable candidate.

Our Work

Primary Electrical Design

Primary Electrical Design work involves establishing the physical arrangement of plant, equipment and structures to meet site constraints and statutory clearance limits, as well as selection of specification of conductors and connectors. Existing site conditions are established from a combination of archived records, site surveying and previous standards. We then modify this to include any new/replacement equipment.

Secondary Electrical Design

Secondary electrical design work involves the specification of plant and equipment, the production/adaption of schematics, wiring diagrams and schedules, and the maintenance of operational drawings. We work from agreed protection standards based on policy and adapt to suit the site conditions. Many of the challenges of this work surround interfacing new equipment with existing which is something we do regularly. This can involve a good degree of ‘detective work’ and problem solving to ensure the schemes will function correctly. 

We are a growing team with a culture of support, progress and continuous improvement. We are looking for individuals 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.

The Ideal Candidate

Candidates should ideally be qualified to a national certificate level or equivalent in an Electrical 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. Applicants should hold a full UK driving licence.

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 may initially be appointed on a designate basis on a lower grade until set criteria can demonstrated.

As part of our hybrid working approach this role offers a mix of three days in the office and two days home working. Hybrid working shall only be considered once your initial training is complete and subject to business need.

Please note, interviews are proposed to be held in person at our Avonbank office in Bristol.

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.

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About The Company

Joining the UK’s leading electricity distribution business means plenty of career opportunities and well-deserved recognition. We reward hard work and encourage ambition. So, as well as a competitive salary, you will also benefit from:

• 26 days paid leave plus 8 bank holidays, up to 28 days with continuous service
• Competitive contributory pension scheme (we double match your contributions up to a maximum of 12%)
• Annual Share Save plan
• Contributory private healthcare scheme for you and your family
• Support via our Employee Assistance Programme, including musculoskeletal and physiotherapy services
• Free on-site parking at all our main sites

Things you need to know

As an equal opportunities employer who is committed to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, we celebrate individual difference and are actively bringing in more employees from diverse backgrounds to build on our inclusive culture. We anonymise all applications in our recruitment system so we can eliminate unconscious bias and be a workplace that reflects the community we serve. Hiring managers only have access to necessary information at interview stage. If you require additional support to complete your online application, please email nged.recruitment@nationalgrid.co.uk

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

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early should sufficient numbers of suitable applications be received, so it would be best to apply as soon as you can.