Lead Technical Engineer

Smsenergy; Cardiff; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Holiday entitlement: 25 days + 8 bank/

Employee participation scheme

Parental leave enhancements

Employee assistance program

Healthcare: Simplyhealth plan

Life Insurance (4x salary)

Pension matching (up to 5%)

Professional development & training

Job summary

Smsenergy is seeking a senior technical leader to define and govern multi-utility design strategies across Gas, Electricity, Water and Telecoms. You will mentor engineers, support professional registration, and drive high-quality feasibility outputs while ensuring safety and governance standards.

You will manage a small team, contribute to procurement inputs, and promote continuous improvement within a hybrid work environment.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in multi-utility design, feasibility, and strategic engineering roles.
• Demonstrable mentoring experience and capability to develop engineers for Chartered status.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with formal technical reporting.
• Strong commercial awareness and risk-based decision making.
• Ability to translate complex technical issues into clear client-ready recommendations.

Responsibilities

• Lead and own multi-utility technical strategy across Gas, Electricity, Water and Telecoms.
• Set and maintain design and feasibility standards, templates, and governance for the Engineering team.
• Mentor and develop Project Engineers towards Incorporated or Chartered Engineer status.
• Act as senior technical authority for high-risk sites and developments.
• Oversee feasibility studies covering routes, capacity, costs, risks, and programme impacts.
• Provide input to procurement strategy and engagement with utility providers.

Skills

Multi-utility design

Mentoring engineers

Technical leadership

Client-ready communication

Coaching & development

Strategic engineering

Education

HNC Level 5 in engineering/utilities/construction

Job description

Why choose us?

Choosing to work for SMS means choosing to make a difference.

We are changing how businesses and consumers use energy for the better, helping achieve a greener, sustainable, and more affordable energy system for everyone. Through our range of innovative energy solutions, we are delivering the future of smart energy – working closely with private and public sector partners we are playing a critical role in transforming and decarbonising the UK economy by 2050.

What's in it for you?

• 25 personal holiday days per year (with additional 8 public holidays) increasing to 30 personal days after 5 years of service (includes options to buy and sell)
• Hybrid working options.
• Automatic enrolment into our Employee Participation Scheme.
• Enhanced Maternity leave. Paternity and Adoption leave.
• 24/7 free and confidential employee assistance service.
• Simplyhealth plan offers a wide variety of benefits from cashback on everyday healthcare treatments like optical, dental and physio treatments. Discounted gym memberships and free 24/7 online GP.
• Life Insurance (4 x annual salary)
• Pension matching scheme (up to 5% of salary)
• Developing our people is important to us - we support and encourage development by offering internal and external accredited courses, secondments and study support.

What's the role?

This role is a senior technical leadership role within the Engineering function, responsible for defining, governing, and delivering multi-utility design and strategy across Gas, Electricity, Water and Telecoms projects. A core element of the role is providing technical leadership and professional development support to circa 5-10 engineers, including acting as a mentor to support engineers progressing towards Incorporated and Chartered Engineer status. The role strengthens early-stage technical capability, ensuring high-quality utility plan provision, feasibility studies, and strategy outputs that reduce risk, improve commercial outcomes, and support successful procurement and construction delivery.

This role is offered on a 40 hour contract, Monday to Friday, and hybrid working is available (2 days in office 3 days at home on average).

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and own multi-utility technical strategy across Gas, Electricity, Water and Telecoms.
• Set and maintain design and feasibility standards, templates, and governance across the Engineering team.
• Lead, mentor, and technically develop a team of Project Engineers, including supporting and mentoring individuals working towards Incorporated or Chartered Engineer status.
• Act as a senior technical authority and escalation point for complex or high-risk sites and developments.
• Oversee preparation of feasibility studies including routes, capacity, costs, risks, and programme impacts.
• Provide technical input to procurement strategy including scope definition, quotation reviews, and engagement with utility providers and delivery partners.
• Provide senior technical leadership during delivery for selected projects through construction, technical issue resolution, and close-out.
• Support professional development planning, competence assessment, and evidence-building for engineers seeking professional registration.
• Build capability within the team and embed a culture of continuous improvement, knowledge sharing, and technical excellence.
• Ensure compliance with safety, quality, technical governance, and data management requirements.
• Undertake any other duties as required.

To be considered for this role we would love you to have/be:

• HNC Level 5 (or equivalent) in an engineering, utilities, or construction-related discipline.
• Extensive experience in multi-utility design, feasibility, and strategic engineering roles.
• Demonstrable experience mentoring engineers and supporting professional development.
• Experience acting as a formal mentor or advisor for professional registration. Recognized technical authority with credibility across multiple utility disciplines. Strong coaching and mentoring capability with a commitment to developing others.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including formal technical reporting.
• Commercial awareness with a practical, risk-based approach to decision making.
• The ability to translate complex technical issues into clear, client-ready recommendations.

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