Regional SCADA Engineer

idibu; England; Hybrid; GBP 47,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

A major UK utility company is seeking a SCADA Systems Engineer to support critical OT systems ensuring secure and resilient water services. Key duties include maintaining high availability of SCADA platforms, incident response management, and collaboration with project teams to optimize system performance. Essential qualifications include experience with SCADA systems and communication skills for diverse audiences. The role offers a hybrid work model with competitive salary and benefits including generous pension schemes and annual leave.

Benefits

Competitive salary up to £56,000 per annum

26 days holiday per year

Generous Pension Scheme

Health and wellbeing benefits

Qualifications

• Experience in maintaining SCADA or Industrial Control & Automation systems.
• Ability to work with operations teams and technical specialists.
• Strong communication skills for diverse audiences.
• Excellent diagnostic skills under pressure.
• Familiarity with risk management in critical systems.

Responsibilities

• Maintain high availability of SCADA systems targeting 99.2% uptime.
• Participate in emergency support and fault response.
• Deliver responsive support for service requests.
• Work with project teams to ensure safe implementation of changes.
• Act as a key technical contact for SCADA standards.

Skills

SCADA System Maintenance

Collaborative Work

Problem-Solving

Customer Service

Technical Communication

Education

Technical qualification in Operational Technology or SCADA

Tools

Schneider Electric Geo SCADA

Microsoft Office

Job description

Overview

We are looking for a highly motivated and technically skilled SCADA Systems Engineer to join our Operational Technology (OT) Regional SCADA support team. In this role, you will support the critical systems that keep our operations running 24/7—delivering clean water and wastewater services to millions of customers. You will be responsible for maintaining and supporting Thames Water’s Regional SCADA systems (based on Schneider Electric Geo SCADA), ensuring their security, resilience, and availability. Your work will enable real-time monitoring and control of thousands of operational assets, supporting the System Operations Control Centre and wider engineering and delivery teams. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to one of the largest SCADA estates in the UK, helping to improve performance, reduce downtime, and drive innovation in a business delivering life’s essential services every day.

What you’ll do as a Regional SCADA Engineer

SCADA System Support:

• Maintain high availability of the Regional SCADA platform (targeting 99.2% uptime or higher).
• Perform proactive system maintenance, patching, upgrades, and configuration management.
• Diagnose and resolve faults across SCADA applications, RTUs, and client workstations.

Emergency & Out-of-Hours Coverage:

• Participate in the SCADA emergency support roster, providing in-hours and out-of-hours fault response.
• Investigate high-impact incidents and escalate recurring faults for permanent resolution.

Incident & Request Management:

• Deliver responsive support for SCADA-related service requests and incidents.
• Manage access and data requests in line with OT policies and security controls.
• Ensure all changes align with defined operational requirements and compliance standards.

Project & Change Support:

• Work with Capital Delivery and project teams to ensure SCADA changes follow operational procedures and minimise risk.
• Review and approve design proposals, identifying technical and operational risks.
• Provide technical assurance during implementation to protect live system integrity.

Technical Collaboration & Subject Matter Expertise:

• Act as a key technical contact for SCADA standards, configuration, and performance optimisation.
• Support integration teams and contractors with expert guidance and assurance on best practices.
• Collaborate with OT engineers and contribute to the delivery of innovative, future-proof SCADA solutions.

Team Development & Continuous Improvement:

• Develop and maintain disaster recovery, fault response, and continuity documentation.
• Contribute to knowledge articles, guides, and internal training to upskill peers.
• Identify and lead opportunities for process improvement, automation, and increased system resilience.

Base location – Hybrid – Thames Valley-based offices and operational sites.

Working pattern – 36 hours Monday to Friday, with participation in an on-call rota.

What you should bring to the role

Essential Experience:

• Experience in the maintenance, support, or technical delivery of SCADA or Industrial Control & Automation (ICA) systems.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively with operations teams, contractors, and technical specialists.
• Strong communication and customer service skills, with experience translating technical language for diverse audiences.
• Excellent problem-solving and diagnostic skills, with the ability to assess impact and resolve issues under pressure.
• Familiarity with change control, risk management, and fault escalation processes in critical systems environments.

Essential Technical Skills & Qualifications:

• Recognised technical qualification in Operational Technology, ICA, or SCADA systems.
• Practical experience supporting Schneider Electric Geo SCADA (formerly ClearSCADA) or similar platforms.
• Good working knowledge of SCADA configurations, RTUs, client systems, and associated telemetry protocols.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and common IT platforms for analysis and reporting.

Desirable Experience:

• Experience working in regulated utility or critical infrastructure environments. (e.g. water, power, rail).
• Exposure to cybersecurity principles in industrial environments, including OT security standards.
• Familiarity with a broad range of OT technologies, integration practices, and industrial automation tools.
• Ability to prioritise workload and manage reactive support alongside structured project work.

Desirable Technical Skills & Qualifications:

• Strong understanding of communication protocols such as WITS-DNP3, Modbus, and other industrial standards.
• Experience with scripting or automation tools (e.g. Python, SQL, PowerShell) to enhance system support and reporting.
• Certifications or training in OT networks, SCADA cybersecurity, or related disciplines.
• Experience developing support documentation and user training materials to enhance team capability.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary up to £56,000 per annum, depending on experience.
• Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service. (plus bank holidays)
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of yourself and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.
• Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets.

Find out more about our benefits and perks.

Who are we?

We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Learn more about our purpose and values

Working at Thames Water

Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else just let us know, we’re here to help and support.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.