Principal Substation Protection & Control Engineer
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Principal Substation Protection & Control Engineer
Location
United Kingdom
Experience
Senior
Posted
Jul 30, 2026
Apply by
August 29, 2026
Applicants
0
Early applicantEasy applyFull-timeWork from Office
Job Description
Arcadis is the world's leading company delivering sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets.
We are more than 34,000 people, in over 30 countries, dedicated to improving quality of life. Everyone has an important role to play. With the power of many curious minds, together we can solve the world’s most complex challenges and deliver more impact together.
Role description:
The energy landscape as we know it is rapidly transforming. Join us as a Principal P&C Engineer and you’ll have the opportunity to accelerate your career, too. You’ll be part of our industry-leading team Transmissions and Distributions teams, acting as partners to our clients, building a deep understanding of their challenges and applying your expertise to solve them.
As a Principal P&C Engineer you will be working on engineering and construction projects primarily in industrial, transmission/distribution and renewable sectors. You must be able to appreciate complex, practical, regulatory, technical and commercial issues and to work constructively with a broad range of senior stakeholders.
Role accountabilities:
- Responsible for the design of transmission protection systems for voltages up to 400 kV.
- Reviewing in-house designs and those produced by external contractors.
- Responsible for delivering tender design man-hours estimates, deliverables lists, design programs.
- Leading and guiding junior engineers through various P&C tasks by offering technical advice and support.
- Experience in the concepts required in the safe design and operation of electrical networks, and development construction.
- Advising on design and design change issues.
- Specialist in an Electrical field but experience and extensive knowledge of other Engineering fields would be advantageous.
- Substantial experience with Construction and Design Management (CDM).
- Ensure that design projects are undertaken by competent personnel and sub-contractors reviewing designs created by others.
- Challenging, proposing, agreeing and implementing alternative solutions compared with those dictated by the transmission specifications, policies, processes and “best practices”.
- Accountable for the effective delivery of the assigned tasks and deliverables of projects to time, to the required quality and to budget.
- Undertake site visits / non-intrusive surveys as required as part of the design activities or as part of site support.
- Ensuring risks are proactively identified, assessed and managed to avoid adverse impacts on the project.
- Identification, assessment and adoption of the best technical solution.
- Client Interface management comprising: infrastructure planners, project resource, Direct Labour / Construction team, System Operator, property & consents, procurement as well as co-ordinating & attending necessary site meetings.
- Risk and CDM management.
Qualifications & Experience:
- Proven technical capability associated with the design and/or application of power system protection. Preference will be given to candidates with experience in protection application at transmission voltage levels up to 400 kV, gained within a transmission utility, consultancy or manufacturing environment. Strong candidates with a distribution background will be considered.
- Preparation of Protection and Control design deliverables, feasibility studies, reports, programmes and cost estimating.
- Calculation of relay settings and preparation of logic files.
- Proven ability of working with internal and external parties, e.g. equipment suppliers, manufacturers, service providers, professional bodies, and working within a strong team-working culture.
- Experience in the preparation of detailed electrical schematic diagrams for substation Protection and Control systems.
- Experience in Busbar, Feeder, Transformer, Reactor, Circuit Breaker fail, DAR protections and SCADA interface is essential and FACTS, HVDC protection systems is desirable.
- Protection design utilising conventional and non-conventional Instrument Transformers.
- Knowledge of IEC61850 communication protocols.
- Experience in preparing Single Line Diagram, Substation Layout, Key Line Drawings (SLD, KLD).
- Experience in preparing Panel general arrangements, panel equipment bill of materials, panel internal wires, termination external cable connection diagrams, cable block diagrams, cable schedules, cable core sheets, cable sizing, DC battery sizing.
- Experience in interface engineering between protection systems and primary/plant equipment.
- A good working experience of computer-based packages relay coordination and short circuit calculation e.g. ASPEN OneLiner, ETAP, DIgSILENT would be advantageous.
- National Grid TP141 or CDAE or LCDAE Protection and Settings authorisation would be advantageous.
- Chartered status would be advantageous.
- Detailed design experience on SCADA systems for example network architecture, HMI design with Zenon-Copa-Data would be advantageous.
- Proven ability of communicating complex technical or commercial issues to peers or senior managers.
- Proven ability to work in and lead cross functional teams.
- Proven ability to develop working relationships quickly and effectively.
- Proven experience in writing clear and concise documentation
Why Arcadis?
We can only achieve our goals when everyone is empowered to be their best. We believe everyone's contribution matters. It’s why we are pioneering a skills-based approach, where you can harness your unique experience and expertise to carve your career path and maximize the impact we can make together.
You’ll do meaningful work, and no matter what role, you’ll be helping to deliver sustainable solutions for a more prosperous planet. Make your mark, on your career, your colleagues, your clients, your life and the world around you.
Together, we can create a lasting legacy.
Join Arcadis. Create a Legacy.
Our Commitment to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
We want you to be able to bring your best self to work every day which is why we take equality and inclusion seriously and hold ourselves to account for our actions. Our ambition is to be an employer of choice and provide a great place to work for all our people. We believe that by working together diverse people with different experiences develop the most innovative ideas. Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the heart of how we improve quality of life and we work closely with our people across six ED&I Workstreams: Age, Disability, Faith, Gender, LGBT+ and Race. A diverse and skilled workforce is essential to our success.
Key Responsibilities
- Design transmission protection systems for voltages up to 400 kV.
- Review in-house designs and those produced by external contractors.
- Deliver tender design man-hours estimates, deliverables lists, and design programs.
- Lead and guide junior engineers through P&C tasks.
- Advise on design and design change issues.
- Ensure design projects are undertaken by competent personnel and sub-contractors.
- Challenge and implement alternative solutions compared to transmission specifications.
- Manage client interfaces including infrastructure planners, project resources, and system operators.
- Identify, assess, and manage risks to avoid adverse impacts on the project.
- Prepare detailed electrical schematic diagrams for substation Protection and Control systems.
- Calculate relay settings and prepare logic files.
- Prepare Single Line Diagrams, Substation Layouts, and Key Line Drawings.
- Prepare Panel general arrangements, bills of materials, and cable schedules.
- Manage interface engineering between protection systems and primary/plant equipment.
Skills Required
Power system protectionTransmission voltage levels up to 400 kVRelay settings calculationLogic files preparationElectrical schematic diagramsBusbar, Feeder, Transformer, Reactor, Circuit Breaker protectionsSCADA interfaceIEC61850 communication protocolsSingle Line DiagramsSubstation LayoutsKey Line DrawingsPanel general arrangementsPanel equipment bill of materialsCable sizingDC battery sizingInterface engineeringASPEN OneLinerETAPDIgSILENTCommunicationTeam workingLeadershipProblem solvingClient interface managementRisk managementDistribution backgroundConstruction and Design Management (CDM)FACTS protection systemsHVDC protection systemsInstrument TransformersNetwork architectureHMI designZenon-Copa-Data
Benefits
- Skills-based approach
- Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging commitment
- Empowerment to be best self
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