Associate Director - Substation Design (UK)

Job Description

Start here. Grow here.

Are you ready to join a team of talented and innovative engineers within our UK Transmission & Distribution business and grow your career?

Our Transmission & Distribution team delivers HV design for electrical power projects at transmission and distribution voltage levels. The focus of this role is primary plant design for large-scale infrastructure, grid connections, and private networks at voltage levels normally between 132 kV to 400kV. Typical projects include feasibility, optioneering, FEED, detailed design, and design assurance on existing or new substations and other infrastructure.

Start Here. Grow Here.

Here’s what you’ll do:

• Lead substation technical discussions with the client and internal multi-disciplinary teams to establish scopes, define interfacing and ensure delivery
• Lead the technical delivery with engineering teams by agreeing approach, supporting scope understanding, monitoring progress and quality checking of deliverables prior to issuing to the client
• Utilise knowledge of substation project/asset life-cycle from a design perspective to successfully deliver client projects
• Liaise with the project management team to produce resourcing forecasts and programmes.
• Demonstrate commercial awareness to carry out proposal development, monitor/manage project costs and enable opportunity identification
• Build client relationships, understanding client requirements and perspectives, building trust and adopting a client orientated project delivery mindset.
• Drive the safety in design ethos within projects
• Mentor and develop more junior staff to build team capability and capacity over the medium and long term

Enjoy the Perks.

At AECOM, you'll enjoy a range of core and personalised benefits designed to support your future and well-being, customised to fit your lifestyle. Take advantage of career development opportunities, our flexible hybrid working model to ensure a work-life balance that suits your lifestyle, technical practice networks, AECOM University, and volunteering days.

Qualifications

Ready to push the limits of what’s possible?

Here’s what we’re looking for:

• Previous experience with consultancy, contractor, or utility in the energy sector. Client experience with National Grid, SHET, SSE, SPT or any other transmission utility or developer in UK or Ireland
• Experience designing HV infrastructure at concept and FEED and detailed design stages
• Understanding of electrical AC HV Plant infrastructure and equipment both AIS and GIS
• Working knowledge of National Grid standards and specifications
• Proposal/Bid development experience, including leading multi discipline proposals to completion.
• Experience of design & site construction review, the role is primary plant focused, but knowledge and understanding of secondary system design will be advantageous
• Experience with Control systems, transformers, HVDC systems, interconnectors, HV Protection & Control knowledge and experience would be advantageous
• Ideally CDAE / LCDAE approval

We celebrate diversity, including neurodiversity, and believe it enriches our team. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and abilities. If you are an applicant with a disability that requires reasonable accommodation to complete the application process, please contact us at [email protected]. At AECOM, we value everyone's unique contributions and perspectives.

If you meet some of the requirements above or have transferable skills you believe would benefit us, we would be delighted to hear from you!

Additional Information

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At AECOM, we are committed to maintaining a secure and trustworthy recruitment process and take any fraudulent hiring activity seriously. To support this commitment, all newly hired employees are required to attend an in-person Day 1 onboarding at an AECOM office location as a condition of employment.

About AECOM

AECOM is the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, new energy and the environment, our public- and private-sector clients trust us to solve their most complex challenges. Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivaled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of $16.1 billion in fiscal year 2025. See how we are delivering sustainable legacies for generations to come at aecom.com and @AECOM.

Freedom to Grow in a World of Opportunity 

You will have the flexibility you need to do your best work with hybrid work options. Whether you’re working from an AECOM office, remote location or at a client site, you will be working in a dynamic environment where your integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and pioneering mindset are championed.

You will help us foster a safe and respectful workplace, where we invite everyone to bring their whole selves to work using their unique talents, backgrounds and expertise to create transformational outcomes for our clients.

AECOM provides a wide array of compensation, benefits and well-being programs to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. We’re the world’s trusted global infrastructure firm, and we’re in this together – your growth and success are ours too.

Join us, and you’ll get all the benefits of being a part of a global, publicly traded firm – access to industry-leading technology and thinking and transformational work with big impact and work flexibility. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person’s potential, and we’ll help you reach yours.

We are a Disability Confident Employer and will offer an interview to applicants who have a disability or long-term condition, who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role. Please let us know using this email address [email protected]  if you would like to apply through the Disability Confident Interview Scheme.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.