OT Controls Engineer: Substation Automation & Cybersecurity

Sword Group; Glasgow; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Competitive salary & benefits

Career development

Job summary

Sword Group is seeking an OT Controls Engineer in Scotland to shape standardised, secure control system solutions for substations and energy infrastructure. You will define policies, build repeatable RTU configurations, and ensure regulatory compliance across multiple sites.

You will evaluate vendor solutions, design test plans, create schematics with AutoCAD, and collaborate with cyber security and operations teams to deliver practical, scalable architectures in a digitising energy network.

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent in Electrical Engineering, Control Systems, or related discipline.
• Familiarity with OT cyber security frameworks such as IEC 62443 is preferred.
• Industry certifications such as CCNA, CompTIA Security+ or vendor RTU/SCADA certifications are a plus.

Responsibilities

• Develop, review and maintain engineering standards for substation control systems, including RTUs, telecontrol and automation equipment.
• Produce detailed technical specifications for control system components and ensure alignment with operational and regulatory requirements.
• Design and implement structured test plans to validate equipment against defined specifications.
• Carry out technical evaluation and assurance of vendor solutions prior to deployment.
• Develop, configure and test standardised RTU builds and control system configurations to ensure repeatability across sites.
• Produce engineering schematics, control cabinet layouts and wiring diagrams using AutoCAD.
• Support the development of standardised substation control system designs and architectures.
• Work with industrial communication protocols including DNP3 (essential) and IEC 61850 (desirable).
• Contribute to secure-by-design principles within OT environments, including segmentation and access control.
• Collaborate with engineering, cyber security and operational teams to ensure solutions are practical, deployable and standards-compliant.
• Support wider digitisation of control systems to be scalable and future-ready.

Skills

OT controls engineering

RTU configuration

DNP3 protocol

IEC 61850

Substation control systems

Cyber security awareness

Technical documentation

Stakeholder communication

Education

Electrical Engineering / Control Systems degree

Tools

AutoCAD

Job description

Sword Group is seeking an OT Controls Engineer in Scotland to shape standardised, secure control system solutions for substations and energy infrastructure. You will define policies, build repeatable RTU configurations, and ensure regulatory compliance across multiple sites.

You will evaluate vendor solutions, design test plans, create schematics with AutoCAD, and collaborate with cyber security and operations teams to deliver practical, scalable architectures in a digitising energy network.