Lead Electrical Engineer

Populus Select Ltd; Tees Valley; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Populus Select is supporting a long-established organisation in Teesside with the appointment of a Lead Electrical Engineer. This senior position plays a key role in delivering robust electrical design, ensuring compliance within a high-hazard environment, and providing technical leadership across engineering activities.

The Lead Electrical Engineer will oversee design, provide technical governance, mentor engineers, and drive continuous improvement while ensuring safe, compliant operation on a

Qualifications

• Chartered Engineer status or actively working towards Chartership.
• Experience managing design, installation, commissioning, and maintenance of electrical systems on a COMAH site.
• Significant electrical system design experience including load lists, SLDs, cable sizing, fault level studies, protection grading, motor-starting calculations, and lightning protection calculations.
• Strong experience specifying equipment for hazardous areas.
• Site commissioning and troubleshooting experience.
• Experience acting as a designated competent person under the Electricity at Work Regulations, e.g. Authorised Person or Senior Authorised Person.
• Experience managing ageing electrical assets and implementing improvement strategies.
• Experience training, mentoring, and developing site electricians.
• CompEx Ex01–04 and CompEx Design (Ex12) Parts A & B.
• Working knowledge of BS 7671 and BS EN 60079.

Responsibilities

• Oversee and produce high-quality electrical engineering designs using best-practice methods, engineering first principles, and relevant standards. Ensure all outputs are clearly presented, accurately documented, peer-reviewed, and approved.
• Provide technical leadership, reviewing work from engineers, ensuring consistency of design approach, and maintaining engineering governance.
• Identify gaps in technical knowledge and lead initiatives to close them, updating internal standards, templates, and documentation.
• Build and maintain strong familiarity with existing products, systems, and electrical infrastructure across the site.
• Deliver engineering outputs to agreed quality standards and timelines in line with contractual and regulatory expectations.
• Identify, propose, and escalation technical or project-related risks, ensuring proactive mitigation.
• Lead the preparation, review, and maintenance of product documentation including manuals, bills of materials, and technical specifications.
• Drive the conception, development, and refinement of new designs, ensuring technical robustness and compliance with hazardous-area requirements.
• Specify equipment suitable for installation in hazardous areas, ensuring alignment with relevant standards and certification requirements.
• Oversee product testing, troubleshooting, commissioning, and validation activities.Take ownership of the on-time delivery of assigned designs, engineering outputs, and team deliverables.
• Monitor and assess the performance of existing electrical systems, supporting ageing-asset management strategies.
• Support research and development activities, including exploration of new materials, technologies, and engineering approaches.
• Mentor and support site electricians, contributing to competency development and safe working practices.
• Responsibilities may evolve over time in line with business needs.

Skills

Chartered Engineer

COMAH site experience

Hazardous areas design

Electrical design leadership

Competency development

BS 7671 knowledge

CompEx Ex01-04

Electricity at Work Regulations

Job description

Populus Select is supporting a long‑established organisation in Teesside with the appointment of a Lead Electrical Engineer. This senior position plays a key role in delivering robust electrical design, ensuring compliance within a high‑hazard environment, and providing technical leadership across engineering activities.

Role Summary

• Lead the electrical engineering design function across product development and project delivery.
• Provide technical oversight, mentor engineers, and drive continuous improvement across the electrical discipline.
• Ensure safe, compliant, and efficient engineering practices within a COMAH‑regulated environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee and produce high‑quality electrical engineering designs using best‑practice methods, engineering first principles, and relevant standards. Ensure all outputs are clearly presented, accurately documented, peer‑reviewed, and approved.
• Provide technical leadership, reviewing work from engineers, ensuring consistency of design approach, and maintaining engineering governance.
• Identify gaps in technical knowledge and lead initiatives to close them, updating internal standards, templates, and documentation.
• Build and maintain strong familiarity with existing products, systems, and electrical infrastructure across the site.
• Deliver engineering outputs to agreed quality standards and timelines in line with contractual and regulatory expectations.
• Identify, propose, and escalation technical or project‑related risks, ensuring proactive mitigation.
• Lead the preparation, review, and maintenance of product documentation including manuals, bills of materials, and technical specifications.
• Drive the conception, development, and refinement of new designs, ensuring technical robustness and compliance with hazardous‑area requirements.
• Specify equipment suitable for installation in hazardous areas, ensuring alignment with relevant standards and certification requirements.
• Oversee product testing, troubleshooting, commissioning, and validation activities.Take ownership of the on‑time delivery of assigned designs, engineering outputs, and team deliverables.
• Monitor and assess the performance of existing electrical systems, supporting ageing‑asset management strategies.
• Support research and development activities, including exploration of new materials, technologies, and engineering approaches.
• Mentor and support site electricians, contributing to competency development and safe working practices.
• Responsibilities may evolve over time in line with business needs.

Qualifications & Experience

• Chartered Engineer status or actively working towards Chartership.
• Experience managing design, installation, commissioning, and maintenance of electrical systems on a COMAH site.
• Significant electrical system design experience including load lists, SLDs, cable sizing, fault level studies, protection grading, motor‑starting calculations, and lightning protection calculations.
• Strong experience specifying equipment for hazardous areas.
• Site commissioning and troubleshooting experience.
• Experience acting as a designated competent person under the Electricity at Work Regulations, in roles such as Authorised Person, Senior Authorised Person, Control Engineer, or Authorising Engineer.
• Experience managing ageing electrical assets and implementing improvement strategies.
• Experience training, mentoring, and developing site electricians.
• CompEx Ex01–04 and CompEx Design (Ex12) Parts A & B.
• Working knowledge of relevant codes and standards including BS 7671 and BS EN 60079.