Senior Lead Engineer - Readiness and Change

EirGrid; Dublin; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

EirGrid is seeking a Senior Lead Engineer to head readiness and change for complex power-system projects in Ireland. You will translate strategy into operational requirements and provide authoritative engineering judgement across design, testing, cutover and go-live.

The role combines deep power-system knowledge with structured change management, testing and readiness disciplines, and you will coach engineers while building wider technical capability across the team.

Qualifications

• Engineering degree with at least 6 years post-qualification experience.
• Strong knowledge of electrical power systems and decarbonisation ambitions.
• Experience defining operational requirements, acceptance criteria and readiness evidence for safety-critical systems.
• Understanding of Control Centre operations and tool/data/procedures interactions.
• Experience planning and leading UAT, regression and scenario-based testing including defect triage.
• Excellent analysis and problem-solving with balanced recommendations.
• Track record of introducing automation, analytics or new ways of working.
• Ability to communicate complex technical matters to stakeholders.
• Strong organisational skills and prioritisation across multiple projects.
• Willingness to coach and develop junior engineers.
• Experience with OT and decision-support platforms like EMS/SCADA.
• Experience with power-system analysis tools (PSS/E, Python).
• Awareness of emerging technologies and operating concepts.
• Experience representing an organisation in technical forums with peers.

Responsibilities

• Act as technical lead for complex projects translating objectives into operational requirements and delivery plans.
• Lead readiness activity across the change lifecycle from impact assessment to go-live.
• Provide technical direction during testing, capture risks and workarounds.
• Support introduction of new technologies and operating approaches for grid security and procedures.
• Apply engineering, automation and analytics to improve readiness and decision support.
• Challenge designs to ensure operational requirements, usability and maintainability.
• Contribute to project governance with options, recommendations and risk assessments.
• Coordinate across teams to achieve an integrated readiness position.
• Stay close to live practice to ground future solutions.
• Coach engineers and graduates to build technical capability.
• Promote a culture of technical excellence and continuous improvement.

Skills

Power system expertise

Operational testing

Technical leadership

Problem solving

Education

Engineering degree

Tools

EMS/SCADA

PSS/E

DSA Tools

Python

Job description

Senior Lead Engineer - Readiness and Change (E2027070)

We are building talented teams that tackle real world challenges every day and help us to achieve our goal to prepare the grid to carry up to 80% of Ireland’s electricity from renewable sources.

We are proud to be a certified Great Place to Work, recognised for our culture built on trust, collaboration and inclusion. At EirGrid you will find supportive teams, opportunities to grow and meaningful work. We also offer secure employment with a range of flexible andfamily friendlyworking policies to support your life and wellbeing. If you want to know more about what EirGrid has to offer you, visit Life at EirGrid .

If you are ready to make an impact and grow your career in a purpose-led organisation,your journey starts here.

The Team

The Operations Directorate within EirGrid comprises highly skilled professionals with backgrounds in engineering and business/commerce. Ireland has a target to achieve 80% of our electricity to come from renewable resources by 2030 and to be net carbon neutral by 2050. The Operations Directorate is central to the delivery of our primary role – the operation, development and enhancement of the all-island power system and the wholesale electricity market. Creating a culture of continuous improvement whilst maintaining operational resilience, that drives technical and process innovation is central to delivering on this role. The Readiness and Operational Change function helps ensure that significant changes affecting Power System Operations and the National Control Centre are operationally understood, appropriately tested and ready to transition into live service. The team works across complex projects and programmes to define operational requirements, assess impacts, coordinate readiness activities and provide assurance across design, build, testing, cutover and go-live.

The Opportunity

The Senior Lead Engineer will be the technical lead for a portfolio of operational change. The role will connect future‑facing technology and programme delivery with the practical realities of operating a secure power system. It will provide authoritative engineering judgement by leading the development and validation of operational solutions.

This is a forward‑looking role with a strong operational foundation. The successful candidate will combine deep power‑system and Control Centre knowledge with structured change, testing and readiness disciplines, while coaching engineers and building wider technical capability.

• Act as technical lead for complex projects and programmes affecting Power System Operations, translating strategic or programme objectives into clear operational requirements, design principles, acceptance criteria and practical delivery plans.
• Lead operational readiness activity across the change lifecycle, including impact assessment, operating‑model development, requirements definition, test readiness, go‑live assessment and post‑implementation review.
• Provide technical direction during testing, defect assessment and solution tuning, ensuring that operational consequences, workarounds, limitations and residual risks are clearly understood and escalated where necessary.
• Support the introduction of new technologies and operating approaches, assessing their implications for power‑system security, Control Centre decision‑making and procedures.
• Apply innovative engineering, automation, data analytics and structured problem‑solving techniques to improve readiness assessment, testing efficiency, technical assurance and operational decision support.
• Challenge designs and delivery proposals constructively where they do not adequately address operational requirements, usability, resilience, fallback, maintainability or supportability.
• Provide authoritative Operations input to project and programme governance, presenting clear evidence, options, recommendations, dependencies and operational risks to decision‑makers.
• Coordinate effectively across Power System Operations, the National Control Centre, programme and project teams, IT and service owners, policy, training, vendors and other technical specialists to achieve an integrated readiness position.
• Remain close to live operational practice and controller experience so that future solutions are grounded in how the power system is operated in normal, stressed, degraded and emergency conditions.
• Coach and mentor engineers and graduates, delegating meaningful technical work, reviewing outputs and helping team members develop sound engineering judgement and confidence.
• Promote a culture of technical excellence, learning, collaboration and continuous improvement, capturing lessons from delivery and live operation and feeding them into future projects and ways of working.

About You

The successful candidate will have:

• Engineering degree or equivalent, with a minimum of 6 years post qualification experience.
• Excellent knowledge of electrical power systems and awareness of energy targets and ambitions for decarbonisation of the energy sector.
• Experience defining operational requirements, acceptance criteria, operating models, test scenarios or readiness evidence for safety‑critical or business‑critical systems and processes.
• Strong understanding of Control Centre operations and the interaction between operational tools, data, models, procedures, people and support arrangements.
• Experience planning, coordinating or technically leading UAT, regression, scenario‑based or operational testing, including defect triage, retest and acceptance recommendations.
• Excellent analysis, engineering judgement and problem‑solving skills, with the ability to make balanced recommendations where information is incomplete, requirements are evolving or operational trade‑offs are required.
• A track record of introducing innovative ideas, techniques, automation, analytics or new ways of working to solve complex engineering and business problems.
• Ability to communicate complex technical matters clearly to technical specialists, operational users, project teams, senior management and external stakeholders.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage priorities across multiple projects while protecting operational quality and delivery standards.
• Demonstrated ability and willingness to coach, mentor and develop junior engineers and to raise technical capability across a team.
• Demonstrated experience working with operational technology and decision‑support platforms, such as EMS/SCADA and scheduling and dispatch systems, or comparable systems used to support real‑time power‑system operation.
• Experience using power‑system analysis tools or technical computing platforms such as PSS/E, DSA Tools, Python or equivalent.
• Awareness of emerging technologies and operating concepts such as inverter‑based resources, grid‑forming capability, energy storage, dynamic line rating, advanced forecasting, automation and applied data analytics.
• Experience representing an organisation in technical forums or working collaboratively with TSOs, DSOs, regulators, market participants, vendors, research bodies or international peers.

Job Relationships

Reporting to the Head of Readiness and Operation Change, supported by a Manager.

Closing date for applications

20/11/2026

Please note we receive a high volume of applications, and as every application is carefully reviewed our response time may vary. If you agree to be considered for other roles this may result in a delayed response as we establish the best fit for your experience. We appreciate your patience.

We value potential as much as experience. If you believe you can succeed in this role, we encourage you to apply, even if you don’t meet every requirement.

We're dedicated to diversity and inclusion at EirGrid. We recognise the strength that comes from having a diverse workforce and the importance of a supportive culture for all our people to achieve their potential. Our diversity and inclusion networks have been designed to create an inclusive culture that enables our people to feel a sense of belonging at work.

As an equal opportunities’ employer, we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds. Reasonable accommodations are offered at every stage of our recruitment process.