Protection Planning Engineer

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks; Portsmouth; Hybrid; GBP 64,000 - 77,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private healthcare

Gym membership discounts

Cycle to Work

Parental leave

Job summary

SSE is seeking a Protection Planning Engineer to join the In-House Delivery and System Modelling team, supporting the Southern Distribution Network.

You will work on protecting coordination across 6.6kV to 132kV levels, developing relay settings and providing technical guidance to internal and external stakeholders. Regular travel is required; base locations include Portsmouth.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent.
• Experience with load flow, short circuit and protection coordination.
• Knowledge of 11kV, 33kV and 132kV networks.
• Experience configuring protection relay calculations and settings files.
• Strong commitment to safety, quality and engineering excellence.

Responsibilities

• Carry out protection coordination and relay setting studies.
• Analyse faults and disturbances; review event records for improvement.
• Provide technical support on protection settings and performance.
• Produce high-quality protection study reports and documentation.
• Review detailed designs including protection philosophies and relay configurations.

Skills

Protection planning

Protection coordination

Relay settings

Power systems

DIgSILENT

Electrical engineering

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

DIgSILENT

Job description

Base Location: You'll be expected to spend 50% of your working week in one of the following locations: Melksham, Thatcham, Oxford, Reading, Slough or Portsmouth

Salary: £64,085 - £76,581 + a range of benefits to support your finances, wellbeing and family.

Working Pattern: Permanent | Full Time | Flexible First options available

The role

We're looking for a talented Protection Planning Engineer to join our In-House Delivery and System Modelling team, supporting the Southern Distribution Network.

This is an exciting opportunity to work on a diverse portfolio of projects across voltage levels from 6.6kV to 132kV, helping to ensure the safe, reliable and resilient operation of our electricity network. You'll play a key role in carrying out protection coordination studies, developing relay settings and providing technical expertise to both internal and external stakeholders.

You will

• Carry out protection coordination and relay setting studies using industry-leading power system modelling tools.
• Analyse network faults and disturbances, reviewing event and disturbance records to identify issues and support continuous improvement.
• Provide technical support and guidance to internal and external customers on protection settings and network performance.
• Produce high‑quality protection study reports, recommendations and technical documentation.
• Review and assure detailed designs, including protection philosophies, AC/DC schematics and relay configurations, ensuring compliance with engineering standards.

You have

• A Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering (or equivalent experience) and a strong technical understanding of power systems.
• Experience carrying out load flow, short circuit and protection coordination studies, ideally using DIgSILENT or a similar power system analysis package.
• Knowledge of Protection and Control design, ideally across 11kV, 33kV and 132kV networks.
• Experience developing protection relay calculations and configuring relay settings files.
• A good understanding of UK electrical engineering standards, with a strong commitment to safety, quality and engineering excellence.

Regular travel is required and as a result we can only accept applications from candidates that hold a current driving licence.

About SSE

SSE’s purpose is to be restless every day until we make electricity clean, affordable and available for all.

We do this by developing, building, operating and investing in electricity infrastructure and businesses needed in the energy transition. This includes electricity transmission and distribution networks, onshore and offshore wind farms, hydro‑electric power and flexible thermal generation. We also provide products and services for businesses and other customers.

Our investment plan will see SSE invest £33bn in critical electricity infrastructure to 2030.

SSEN Distribution, part of the wider SSE group, powers 3.9 million UK homes and businesses. Our team of more than 4,200 skilled engineers, customer service advisors and technical specialists keep customers connected to a safe, reliable supply of electricity while investing in and developing the flexible networks needed for our low carbon future.

Flexible Benefits To Fit Your Life

Enjoy discounts on private healthcare and gym memberships. Wellbeing benefits like a free online GP and 24/7 counselling service. Interest‑free loans on tech and transport season tickets, or a new bike with our Cycle to Work scheme. As well as generous family entitlements such as maternity and adoption pay, and paternity leave.

Work with an equal opportunity employer

SSE will make any reasonable adjustments you need to ensure that your application and experience with us is positive. Please contact [e-mail] / 01738 341814 to discuss how we can support you.

We're dedicated to fostering an open and inclusive workplace where people from all backgrounds can thrive. We create equal opportunities for everyone to succeed and especially welcome applications from those who may not be well represented in our workforce or industry.