Associate Director

AECOM; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Career development

Volunteer days

AECOM University

Job summary

AECOM is seeking an Associate Director to lead HV substation design, shaping energy infrastructure from concept through energisation. Based in the UK or Ireland, you will manage client relationships and drive delivery on grid-scale projects while mentoring engineers and coordinating with multidisciplinary teams.

You’ll apply lifecycle design expertise to meet power density and availability targets, oversee interfaces with HV infrastructure, and support proposals with strong cost awareness.

Qualifications

• Experience leading HV substation design delivery from concept to energisation.
• Strong client facing and stakeholder management skills.
• Proven ability to lead multi-disciplinary teams and mentor junior engineers.

Responsibilities

• Lead HV substation technical discussions with clients and teams.
• Oversee technical delivery of substation design across major projects.
• Apply lifecycle design expertise from grid studies to detailed design.
• Coordinate with project management for resources and schedules.
• Demonstrate commercial awareness in proposals and cost tracking.
• Build relationships with grid operators and developers.
• Champion safety in design across all deliverables.
• Mentor and develop junior engineers in HV design.

Skills

HV substation design

Client management

Lead multi-disciplinary teams

Proposal development

Cost monitoring

Tools

AIS/GIS knowledge

Job description

Are you ready to shape the future of energy infrastructure and be at the heart of a varied portfolio of groundbreaking projects? After an exciting period of growth, we are looking to hire an experienced and ambitious Associate Director who can be based in either the UK or Ireland. As Associate Director, you will be leading end-to-end HV substation design, shaping grid-scale power infrastructure from concept through to energisation on projects that few engineers get the opportunity to be involved in. Your work will be varied, and you'll be using your expertise to contribute to the success of major projects such as;

Projects

• National Grid's 'Great Grid Upgrade'
• Working with the world's leading Hyperscalers and Data Centre Operators on forward-thinking, revolutionary projects.
• EirGrid

Start here. Grow here.

Here's what you'll do:

• Lead HV substation technical discussions with clients and multi-disciplinary teams - establishing scopes, defining interfaces between HV infrastructure and ensuring coordinated delivery.
• Direct the technical delivery of substation design major projects, agreeing approach with engineering teams, monitoring progress, and quality-checking deliverables prior to client issue.
• Apply lifecycle expertise - from grid connection studies and concept design through FEED and detailed design in order to deliver HV substation schemes that meet the power density and availability.
• Liaise with project management teams to develop resourcing forecasts and programmes aligned to construction schedules and critical path milestones
• Demonstrate commercial awareness through proposal development, project cost monitoring, and identifying opportunities to expand HV scope on frameworks.
• Build trusted relationships with cleints, understanding their grid connection strategies and availability requirements.
• Champion safety in design principles across all HV substation deliverables, ensuring compliance with relevant standards and the specific operational safety requirements.
• Mentor and develop junior engineers, building team capability in HV substation design over the medium and long term.

Enjoy the Perks. At AECOM, you'll enjoy a range of core and personalised benefits designed to support your future and well-being, customised to fit your lifestyle. Take advantage of career development opportunities, our flexible hybrid working model to ensure a work-life balance that suits your lifestyle, technical practice networks, AECOM University, and volunteering days.

Ready to push the limits of what's possible? Here's what we're looking for:

• Previous experience with consultancy, contractor, or utility in the energy sector. Client experience with National Grid, SHET, SSE, SPT or any other transmission utility or developer in UK or Ireland
• Proven experience delivering HV infrastructure design at concept, FEED, and detailed design stages.
• Strong understanding of electrical AC HV plant and equipment - both AIS and GIS - including switchgear, busbars, cabling, earthing, and civil interfaces
• Working knowledge of National Grid standards and specifications
• Proposal and bid development experience, including leading multi-discipline submissions for Data Centre, HV infrastructure or grid connection projects
• Experience of design management and site construction review; primary plant focus is essential, with secondary systems knowledge (protection, control, SCADA) advantageous.
• Familiarity with Control systems, transformers, HVDC systems, interconnectors, HV Protection & Control knowledge and experience would be advantageous
• Ideally CDAE / LCDAE approval

Work with Us. Change the World.

At AECOM, we're delivering a better world. Whether improving your commute, keeping the lights on, providing access to clean water, or transforming skylines, our work helps people and communities thrive. We are the world's trusted infrastructure consulting firm, partnering with clients to solve the world's most complex challenges and build legacies for future generations. There has never been a better time to be at AECOM. With accelerating infrastructure investment worldwide, our services are in great demand. We invite you to bring your bold ideas and big dreams and become part of a global team of over 50,000 planners, designers, engineers, scientists, digital innovators, program and construction managers and other professionals delivering projects that create a positive and tangible impact around the world. We're one global team driven by our common purpose to deliver a better world. Join us., Interested in the role or curious about life at AECOM? Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to explore our AECOM voices, employee stories, latest projects, and much more! At AECOM, we are committed to maintaining a secure and trustworthy recruitment process and take any fraudulent hiring activity seriously. To support this commitment, all newly hired employees are required to attend an in-person Day 1 onboarding at an AECOM office location as a condition of employment. About AECOM AECOM is the world's trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle - from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, new energy and the environment, our public- and private-sector clients trust us to solve their most complex challenges. Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivaled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of $16.1 billion in fiscal year 2025. See how we are delivering sustainable legacies for generations to come at aecom.com and @AECOM. Freedom to Grow in a World of Opportunity You will have the flexibility you need to do your best work with hybrid work options. Whether you're working from an AECOM office, remote location or at a client site, you will be working in a dynamic environment where your integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and pioneering mindset are championed. You will help us foster a safe and respectful workplace, where we invite everyone to bring their whole selves to work using their unique talents, backgrounds and expertise to create transformational outcomes for our clients. AECOM provides a wide array of compensation, benefits and well-being programs to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. We're the world's trusted global infrastructure firm, and we're in this together - your growth and success are ours too. Join us, and you'll get all the benefits of being a part of a global, publicly traded firm - access to industry-leading technology and thinking and transformational work with big impact and work flexibility. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person's potential, and we'll help you reach yours.