Principal Electrical Engineer

Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Limited; Port Glasgow; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Limited seeks a Principal Electrical Engineer to act as the shipyard's technical authority for electrical, automation, control and navigation systems across vessel projects. You will ensure safe, compliant and integrated outputs from internal teams and external design houses, guiding production readiness and handover.

You will lead design governance, review complex electrical designs, and coordinate with Class, Flag and clients while mentoring the engineering team

Qualifications

• Degree, HND or HNC in Electrical Engineering or related discipline.
• Significant senior-level experience in shipyard/marine or complex industrial build environments.
• Strong practical understanding of marine electrical systems (generation, distribution, automation, PMS, safety).
• Proven experience leading design teams and managing outsourced vendors/design houses.

Responsibilities

• Act as shipyard technical authority for electrical and integrated platform systems across projects.
• Own electrical strategy, standards, governance and resource planning.
• Review outsourced electrical design outputs for compliance, safety, and buildability.
• Lead design gate reviews, maturity reviews and production readiness reviews prior to release to build.
• Ensure compliance with Classification Society rules, Flag State, SOLAS, IMO, and marine standards.
• Interface with Class, Flag, clients, design houses and major vendors on electrical matters.
• Oversee electrical schematics, diagrams, layouts and interface control documents.
• Drive integration with mechanical, piping, HVAC, safety and production disciplines.
• Provide senior support during installation, commissioning and trials.
• Manage electrical risk, design changes, vendor delays and safety-critical interfaces.
• Support procurement with technical specifications and FAT/SAT requirements.
• Define FAT/HAT/SAT and trial requirements for electrical and safety systems.
• Ensure handover documentation and as-built drawings are complete and controlled.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Stakeholder management

Decision making

Commercial awareness

Problem solving

Team management

Education

Electrical Engineering degree

Chartered Engineer status

Tools

AVEVA Marine

Ship Constructor

AutoCAD Electrical

EPLAN

Job description

The Principal Electrical Engineer acts as the shipyard technical authority and discipline lead for electrical, automation, control, navigation/communication and integration-related systems across assigned vessel projects.

The role is accountable for ensuring that electrical design outputs, including those produced by external design houses and equipment vendors, are compliant, safe, buildable, cost-controlled and aligned with customer, Class, Flag and shipyard production requirements.

The role provides senior leadership across design, production, procurement, testing, commissioning, harbour trials, sea trials and handover, ensuring that electrical systems are fully integrated with mechanical, piping, outfit, HVAC, structural and safety disciplines.

Key Responsibilities:

• Act as the shipyard technical authority for electrical, automation, control, navigation, communication, alarm, monitoring and integrated platform systems across assigned projects and programmes.
• Own electrical engineering strategy, discipline standards, resource planning, technical governance and performance for the shipyard electrical engineering function.
• Review, challenge and approve outsourced electrical design outputs for compliance, safety, buildability, maintainability, material availability and fitness for shipyard production.
• Lead electrical input into design gate reviews, design maturity reviews, constructability reviews and production readiness reviews before release to build.
• Ensure compliance with applicable Classification Society rules, Flag State requirements, SOLAS, IMO requirements, IEC/marine electrical standards, customer specifications and shipyard QA procedures.
• Act as the primary technical interface with Class, Flag, client representatives, design houses and major vendors for electrical and automation matters.
• Lead review of single line diagrams, load balance, short-circuit/coordination studies, cable schedules, cable routing, penetration/MCT arrangements, electrical equipment layouts, schematics, termination details and interface control documents.
• Ensure electrical integration with mechanical, piping, HVAC, safety, outfit, structural and production disciplines, including space reservation, access, maintainability and installation sequence.
• Provide senior support to production during cable pulling, termination, equipment installation, setting-to-work, fault finding and commissioning, resolving technical queries, non-conformances and design clarifications.
• Control electrical technical risk during build, including late design change, vendor information delay, equipment substitution, cable route congestion, EMC/earthing risk, heat load, access/maintenance restrictions and safety-critical system interfaces.
• Assess and approve the electrical impact of design changes, concessions, deviations and production modifications, including cost, schedule, safety, Class/Flag and commissioning impact.
• Support procurement with technical specifications, vendor document review, bid evaluation, long-lead equipment identification, FAT requirements and technical acceptance of major electrical equipment.
• Define and support FAT, HAT, SAT, harbour trial and sea trial requirements for electrical, automation and safety-critical systems.
• Ensure test packs, inspection records, commissioning procedures, punch lists, as-built drawings and handover documentation are complete, controlled and acceptable to the client, Class and Flag as applicable.
• Capture lessons learned from production, commissioning and vessel delivery and feed them back into design standards and future project planning to reduce rework.
• Manage electrical engineering budgets, manhour planning, workload priorities, technical deliverables, engineering KPIs and resource utilisation.
• Lead recruitment, mentoring, competence development and performance management of the shipyard electrical engineering team.
• Maintain a capable electrical engineering function aligned with project demands, safety expectations, delivery milestones and shipyard priorities.

Required Qualifications & Experience:

• Degree, HND or HNC in Electrical Engineering, Marine Electrical Engineering, Marine Engineering (Electrical) or a related discipline.
• Significant senior-level experience in a shipyard, marine new-build, vessel retrofit, offshore, naval, ferry, commercial vessel or complex industrial build environment.
• Strong practical understanding of marine electrical systems, including generation, main and emergency distribution, switchboards, transformers, UPS, batteries, shore supply, propulsion drives, motors, automation, PMS, alarm/monitoring, navigation/communication and safety-critical systems.
• Proven experience supporting vessel build, electrical installation, integration, testing, commissioning, harbour trials, sea trials and delivery.
• Working knowledge of marine regulatory frameworks, including Classification Society rules, Flag State requirements, SOLAS, IMO and relevant IEC/marine electrical standards.
• Ability to review and interpret electrical schematics, single line diagrams, load studies, cable schedules, termination drawings, equipment layouts, system diagrams, specifications and vendor documentation.
• Experience managing outsourced design houses, vendor deliverables, technical queries, design reviews and Class/Flag comments through to close-out.
• Experience leading engineering teams, setting priorities, managing technical resources and supporting production under live shipyard delivery pressure.
• Strong communication, leadership, stakeholder-management, commercial awareness and decision-making skills.
• Chartered Engineer status or active progression toward professional registration.
• Experience with Lloyds Register, DNV, ABS, BV or equivalent Class approval processes and surveyor engagement during build.
• Experience with ferries, passenger vessels, naval/support vessels, offshore vessels, LNG/methanol-ready vessels or hybrid/electric propulsion systems.
• Experience using or reviewing outputs from AVEVA Marine, Ship Constructor, AutoCAD Electrical, EPLAN or other ship design / electrical CAD tools.
• Exposure to procurement support, vendor technical bid evaluation, equipment FAT, SAT and commissioning acceptance.
• Knowledge of hazardous areas, battery systems, shore charging, alternative fuel interfaces, integrated automation systems, cybersecurity for control systems or condition monitoring would be beneficial.
• Ability to build discipline procedures, checklists, design review templates and lessons-learned processes for a growing shipyard engineering function.