Principal Electrical Design Engineer

Oxford Instruments EMEAI; Severn Beach; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Private healthcare

Share incentive plan

Defined contribution pension

Job summary

Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology is seeking a Principal Electrical Design Engineer in Bristol to lead the design of electrical control systems for complex machinery. You will act as a technical lead, mentor others, and drive standards across the department to ensure world-class, compliant designs.

You will champion engineering excellence, coordinate with cross-disciplinary teams, and develop modular, scalable designs while supporting supplier engagement and process improvements.

Qualifications

• Degree in Electrical Engineering or a related discipline (postgraduate qualification desirable).

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development, and implementation of electrical control systems for complex machinery, ensuring compliance with EN60204‑33, EN13849, UL, CSA, and CE marking requirements.
• Act as a recognised technical leader and subject‑matter expert within the organisation.
• Champion engineering excellence by ensuring designs meet internal standards and international regulations.
• Provide high‑quality technical input for manuals and supporting documentation.
• Promote and embed professional engineering standards across the department.
• Collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams to ensure specifications are clear and optimised.
• Translate technical requirements into modular designs.
• Support supplier engagement and site visits when required.
• Drive development of design tools, automation, and smarter workflows.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives to enhance departmental processes.
• Support the Electrical Engineering Manager in day-to-day running and strategic development.

Skills

Electrical design

Machine control systems

EN standards

Leadership

MS Office

Education

Degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

AutoCAD Electrical

Job description

Principal Electrical Design Engineer

Date: 17 Sept 2026

Location: Bristol, GB, BS35 4GG

Job Function: Technical

Business Unit: Plasma Technology

Are you an experienced Electrical Design Engineer ready to shape the future of engineering delivery? This is a rare opportunity to step into a Principal-level role where your technical expertise, leadership, and vision will directly influence how electrical engineering is delivered across the business.

As our Principal Electrical Design Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in driving innovation, improving standards, and leading the transition to smarter, more efficient ways of working. Beyond design, you’ll be a technical authority and mentor—raising capability across the team and ensuring our solutions are world‑class, compliant, and right first time.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Lead the design, development, and implementation of electrical control systems for complex machinery, ensuring compliance with EN60204‑33, EN13849, UL, CSA, and CE marking requirements
• Act as a recognised technical leader and subject‑matter expert within the organisation
• Champion engineering excellence by ensuring all designs meet internal standards and relevant international regulations
• Provide high‑quality technical input for manuals and supporting documentation
• Promote and embed professional engineering standards across the department
• Collaborate closely with multi‑disciplinary teams to ensure specifications are clear, complete, and optimised
• Translate technical requirements into structured, modular, and scalable designs
• Support supplier engagement, including subcontractor liaison and site visits when required
• Drive the development of design tools, automation, and smarter workflows
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives to enhance departmental processes
• Support the Electrical Engineering Manager in the day‑to‑day running and strategic development of the department

What You’ll Bring

Qualifications

• Degree in Electrical Engineering or a related discipline (postgraduate qualification desirable)

Technical & Professional Skills

• Proven experience designing machine control systems
• Strong understanding of relevant EN and international standards
• Proficiency in AutoCAD Electrical and strong computer literacy (MS Excel, Word, Outlook)
• Excellent analytical and problem‑solving skills
• Experience in improving processes and developing engineering methodologies
• Natural leadership capability with the confidence to guide and mentor others

Personal Attributes

• A collaborative team player who actively contributes to shared goals
• Passionate about knowledge‑sharing and developing others
• Takes ownership of work and continually seeks improvement
• Energetic, driven, and comfortable delivering challenging technical solutions to tight deadlines
• Commercially aware, understanding the cost and business impact of engineering decisions
• A systems thinker who balances detail with the bigger picture
• Clear, confident communicator at all levels

Why Join Us?

You’ll join a business where your expertise genuinely matters—where you’ll influence strategy, shape standards, and leave a lasting legacy through the engineers you develop. If you’re looking for a role that combines technical challenge, leadership, and long‑term impact, this is the opportunity you’ve been waiting for.

At Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology, we provide tools for the engineering of micro- and nano-structures, with customers using our process solutions to research and produce materials and semiconductors vital for everything from medical devices and diagnostics to electric cars and quantum computers.

Benefits

• competitive starting salary
• structured career development opportunities
• a good work-life balance
• 25 days annual leave
• early finish on Fridays
• private healthcare
• a share incentive plan
• a defined contribution Group Personal Pension Plan
• a flexible benefits package that you can tailor to your own requirements

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or disability. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and would ask you to get in touch if you are concerned about any barriers you feel you may be facing in your application process with us.