Principal Control and Instrumentation Engineer

Cavendish Nuclear; Hull and East Yorkshire; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous holiday allowance

Matched pension & life assurance

Digital GP & health checks

Employee share scheme

Be Kind Day

Job summary

Cavendish Nuclear is seeking a Principal Control and Instrumentation Engineer to lead C&I design across defence, energy and critical national infrastructure projects. Location options include Grimsby or Hessle, with hybrid working patterns and travel as needed.

The role focuses on technical leadership for safety-critical C&I deliverables, managing interfaces and adherence to nuclear safety standards throughout the lifecycle from concept to commissioning.

Qualifications

• Experience leading C&I design and delivery in nuclear/regulated industries.
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Strong knowledge of functional safety and IEC 61508/61511.
• Experience from concept through commissioning and decommissioning.
• Expert knowledge of PLCs, SCADA, DCS and field instrumentation.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development, integration and assurance of C&I systems.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to meet safety and interface requirements.
• Act as technical authority ensuring regulatory and nuclear safety standards.
• Direct testing, commissioning and system acceptance activities.
• Engage clients, regulators and suppliers to support project delivery.

Skills

C&I systems design

Regulated industries

Functional safety

Project leadership

Interfaces management

Education

Electrical/Control/Instrumentation Engineering degree

Chartered Engineer

Tools

PLC systems

SCADA systems

DCS systems

Field instrumentation

Job description

Job Title: Principal Control and Instrumentation Engineer

Location: North-East Lincolnshire or Hull + Hybrid Working Arrangements

Compensation: Attractive Salary + Benefits

Role Type: Full time / Permanent

Role ID: SF 75855

Lead innovative engineering solutions that power the future of defence, clean energy and critical national infrastructure

At Cavendish Nuclear we’re working to create a safe and secure world, together. If you join us, you can play your part as a Principal Control and Instrumentation Engineer at our Grimsby office or Hessle office, near Grimsby, Lincolnshire.

The role

As a Principal Control and Instrumentation Engineer, you will provide technical leadership across complex, safety-critical engineering projects that support national defence, clean energy generation and vital infrastructure.

This role is full time working 37 hours per week and can be based at our Grimsby office in North East Lincolnshire or our Hessle office in Hull. Hybrid working patterns are available, and occasional travel to other business and customer sites may be required.

Day-to-day, You’ll Be Required To

• Leading the design, development, integration and assurance of control and instrumentation systems across complex engineering projects.
• Collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to ensure seamless integration with mechanical, electrical, process, civil and safety requirements.
• Acting as the technical authority for engineering deliverables, ensuring compliance with regulatory, quality and nuclear safety standards.
• Directing testing, commissioning and system acceptance activities to achieve safe, reliable and compliant operational performance.
• Engaging with clients, regulators, suppliers and senior stakeholders to provide technical leadership and support successful project delivery.

Essential Experience Of The Principal Control And Instrumentation Engineer

• Experience leading the design and delivery of control and instrumentation systems within nuclear, defence, energy, process or other highly regulated industries.
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary engineering teams and managing complex technical interfaces.
• Strong understanding of functional safety, safety cases and relevant industry standards including IEC 61508 and IEC 61511.
• Experience managing the full engineering lifecycle from concept and design through to commissioning, operation and decommissioning.
• Expert knowledge of programmable logic controllers, supervisory control and data acquisition systems, distributed control systems and field instrumentation technologies.

Qualifications For The Principal Control And Instrumentation Engineer

• Degree in Electrical Engineering, Control Engineering, Instrumentation Engineering or a related discipline.
• Chartered Engineer status with a recognised professional institution, or the ability to achieve Chartered status.

Security Clearance

The successful candidate must be able to achieve and maintain Security Check (SC) security clearance for this role. Further details are available at United Kingdom Security Vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

What We Offer

• Generous holiday allowance
• Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance
• Access to a Digital GP, annual health check, and nutritional consultations through Aviva DigiCare+
• Employee share scheme
• Employee shopping savings portal
• Payment of Professional Fees
• Reservists in the armed forces receive 10-days special paid leave
• Holiday Trading is a benefit that allows UK Cavendish employees to buy additional leave or to sell up to one working week of annual leave from their annual entitlement. This Window opens February through to March annually.
• ‘Be Kind Day’ enables employees to take one working day's paid leave a year (or equivalent hours) to undertake volunteering work with their chosen organisation or registered charity
• Excellent development opportunities and benefits package including an employee assistance programme supporting physical, mental and financial wellbeing.

Cavendish

We’re Cavendish Nuclear — a team of c5,000 specialists and a core part of Babcock International Group.

Here, you’ll be part of something bigger. Across clean energy, defence, and civil decommissioning, your work will contribute to projects that are critical to energy security and national protection. Together, we’re shaping a future that lasts — not only through the impact we make, but through meaningful careers that respect your work-life balance.

Join us and discover how far we can go, together.

We are a disability confident committed employer. If you have a disability or need any reasonable adjustments during the application and selection stages, please email [e-mail] with the subject header ‘Reasonable adjustments requirement’. We’re committed to building an inclusive culture where everyone’s free to thrive. We are happy to talk about flexible working – please ask about alternative patterns of work at interview.

Closing date: 28/10/2026

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