Senior Project Engineer

National Grid; Ashford; Hybrid; GBP 54,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading energy company in the UK is looking for a Senior Project Engineer to oversee the delivery of maintenance and minor projects at their IFA1 site. Candidates should have over 3 years of experience in high voltage environments, and possess strong leadership skills. This hybrid role offers a competitive salary between £54,090-£63,940, along with performance bonuses and flexible benefits.

Benefits

Performance-based bonus

Contributory pension scheme

Flexible benefits such as share incentive plan

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in high voltage environments.
• Ability to lead and inspire project teams.
• Knowledge of safety legislation in an operational environment.

Responsibilities

• Delivery of maintenance and minor projects up to £2M.
• Management of project life cycle from initiation to handover.
• Compliance with Health & Safety, Environmental legislation.

Skills

Managing relationships with stakeholders

High voltage project experience

Leading project teams

Producing Risk Assessments

Project management decision-making

Health and Safety knowledge

Delivering complex projects

Using asset information systems

Project management software

Monitoring systems

Tools

Maximo

Gantt charts

MS Project

Job description

About the role

National Grid Interconnectors is at the heart of UK's transition to our net zero energy future. We operate a number of HVDC Interconnectors that connect the UK's energy system to some of our closest neighbours, allowing energy to be imported to and exported from the UK.

As well as already owning a portfolio of HVDC Interconnectors, we're working on developing new projects to ensure that we are able to meet the UK's future demands for greener energy solutions.

We are currently recruiting for a Senior Project Engineer at our IFA1 site in Sellindge, Kent.

As a Senior Project Engineer you will play a crucial part in the operation of IFA1 converter station with leading the effective delivery of minor projects and supporting with projects leading the preparation and delivery of work on interconnector outages.

As a primary interface with internal personnel, suppliers and specialist contractors on-site, the Senior Project Engineer is responsible for ensuring the quality, safety, and efficiency of project-related activities at the interconnector site along with coordinating internal resource for the delivery of project related work including outage maintenance and other project related activities onsite.

The role involves supporting and assisting the operations team in planning, coordinating, and managing all activities that require external contractor support and assistance along with effective planning and utilisation of internal resource.

The role is hybrid with an expectation of two to three days minimum on site at IFA1 in Sellindge with more on site presence as and when required.

Please note, you must be able to drive with a full UK driving licence for this role.

What you'll do

The delivery of outage maintenance and minor projects up to a value of £2M or as directed by the Engineering and Asset Management Manager. These projects may include the following singular disciplines, or a combination as required:

• Electrical.
• Mechanical.
• Civil.
• Control and instrumentation.
• Protection systems.
• Operational System (Cyber assets).
• General Building assts (M&E).
• HV Cables
• The works required will cover the complete project life cycle, i.e. from scoping/initiation phase to works completion and final handover.
• Establishment and management of site project and work development from initiation to closure, recording lessons learnt.
• Lead and conduct pre-outage meetings with all stakeholders ensuring roles and responsibilities are understood under NGV I/C Safety management system.
• Defining scope or works and obtain efficient cost with working closely with approved contractors and suppliers.
• Lead and manage project teams (including contractors) with the ability to safely manage all day-to-day delivery and operational aspects of the business.
• Manage the contractor interfaces and conduct sensible monitoring for works delivered internally and by contractors; to ensure compliance with National Grid Interconnector SHES standards, Health & Safety, Environmental legislation and CDM regulations
• Monitor works to ensure delivery to time, quality and within SHE policies and procedures and safety rules
• Managing the planning and coordination of works during maintenance outage periods to ensure all work is arranged, planned, and delivered in line with operational and safety processes and procedures and in a way that maximises availability and associated commercial value for the business.
• Develop, sanction and deliver to cost in line with CDM Regulations and NGV SHESQ policies and procedures.
• For maintenance outages, undertake the role of Principal Designer under CDM regulations and occasionally project leader for interconnector maintenance outages.
• Establish and update interconnector site health and safety file following delivery of projects and interventions.
• Manage the contractors (maintenance and specialist), ensuring delivery of service against defined commercial KPIs.
• Establishing and maintaining general safety with the production of risk assessments and safe systems of work and working in collaboration with Senior Authorised Persons (SAPs) to establish safety from the system when necessary and contribute to the safe system of work.
• Production, communication and visibility of project plans for outage and routine maintenance works to ensure effective use to resources.
• Be proactive in all aspects of the work programme communicating with line management, as appropriate, to enable the work programme to stay on track.

What you'll need

• Proven experience of managing productive relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• +3 years' experience working within high voltage environment and capability to define engineering scope of interventions.
• Proven ability to lead and inspire matrix project teams.
• A sound knowledge of general safety and ability to produce Risk Assessments and Method Statements to a high standard (Occupier Risk Assessment and Method Statements)
• Experience of working and making project decisions with conflicting priorities.
• Foundation knowledge of key Health, Safety and Environmental and Occupier legislation applicable within an operational environment and premises (i.e. Health and Safety at Work Act, Management of Health and Safety at work Regulations, CDM Regulations, Electricity at Work Regulations, Occupier Liability Act, Temporary Works.
• Experience of delivering complex projects and a knowledge of basic project management principles and techniques.
• Experience of using asset information systems (eg Maximo or equivalent) to establish full scope of work.
• Experience of using project management software and tools to establish project plans (eg Gantt charts, MS project or similar)
• Experience with working and/or knowledge on monitoring systems, mechanical systems valve cooling, HVAC.
• Foundation knowledge of NEC contracts and commercial and contractual terminology.

What you'll get

A competitive salary between £54,090- £63,940 per annum dependent on capability.

As well as your base salary, you will receive a bonus based on personal and company performance and a competitive contributory pension scheme where we will double match your contribution to a maximum company contribution of 12%. You will also have access to a number of flexible benefits such as a share incentive plan, salary sacrifice car and technology schemes, support via employee assistance lines and matched charity giving to name a few.

#LI-HA1 #LI-HYBRID

About us

National Grid is pioneering ways to decarbonise the energy system; from building interconnectors to allow the UK to share clean energy with our neighbours in Europe, to investing in renewable energy generation in the United States.

As one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the world, National Grid is at the centre of a clean, fair and affordable energy future, where tackling climate change and reaching net zero is a key priority.

More Information

This role closes on 8th December 2025 at 23:59, however we encourage candidates to submit their application as early as possible and not wait until the published closing date as this can vary.

At National Grid, we work towards the highest standards in everything we do, including how we support, value and develop our people. Our aim is to encourage and support employees to thrive and be the best they can be. We celebrate the difference people can bring into our organisation, and welcome and encourage applicants with diverse experiences and backgrounds, and offer flexible and tailored support, at home and in the office.