Principal Hardware Engineer

Insignis Talent; Southampton; On-site; GBP 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading talent consultancy is seeking a Principal Hardware Engineer located in Southampton, UK. This senior role involves hands-on management of infrastructure across data centres, with a focus on leadership, risk management, and engineering standards. Candidates should have over 5 years of experience, strong technical skills in hardware, and the ability to coordinate various engineering functions. The position offers an opportunity to lead critical infrastructure projects and mentor junior engineers.

Qualifications

• 5+ years’ experience in data centre operations or infrastructure engineering.
• Strong knowledge of compute, storage, and networking hardware.
• Solid understanding of data centre best practice.

Responsibilities

• Lead physical build, installation, relocation, and decommissioning of hardware.
• Own rack layouts, structured cabling, and cable management standards.
• Coordinate power, cooling, and space planning.

Skills

Data centre operations

Infrastructure engineering

Structured cabling knowledge

Risk management

Mentoring

Job description

Principal Hardware Engineer

Senior, hands‑on role responsible for the physical delivery and lifecycle management of infrastructure across data centres, build labs, and office environments.

This position combines deep technical expertise with on‑site leadership, risk ownership, and accountability for engineering standards in critical environments.

What you’ll be doing

• Leading physical build, installation, relocation, and decommissioning of servers, storage, and network hardware
• Owning rack layouts, structured cabling, patching, labelling, and cable management standards
• Coordinating power, cooling, and space planning with facilities and design teams
• Producing and maintaining RAMS and operating within formal Change Management processes
• Identifying operational risks and enforcing health and safety standards
• Acting as senior technical authority and escalation point for physical infrastructure
• Mentoring field engineers and allocating work based on capability and project needs
• Supporting data centre migrations, expansions, and refresh programmes

What you’ll need

• 5+ years’ experience in data centre operations or infrastructure engineering
• Strong knowledge of compute, storage, and networking hardware
• Solid understanding of data centre best practice
• Experience working to RAMS in critical environments
• Structured cabling knowledge (Cat6/6a, OM3/OM4, fibre)
• Working knowledge of power distribution, PDUs, and load balancing
• Proven experience operating as a senior or lead engineer

Practical requirements

• Clean manual driving licence and valid passport
• Able to pass BS7858 vetting
• Eligible for UK SC clearance (5 years UK residency)
• Willing to travel and work out of hours when required