Principal Engineer – Electrical Plant

Base Location

Flexible Scotland | We're proud to offer a Flexible First approach to work, and this role is no exception. We will, however, need your base 'home' location to be one of our SSEN offices or depots around Scotland, Perth, Aberdeen or Inverness.

£59,800 - £89,800 + car/car allowance + performance‑related bonus + a range of benefits to support your finances, wellbeing and family.

Permanent | Full Time | Flexible First options available.

Our Network Engineering team provides technical governance across Transmission projects, ensuring engineering activities are safe, robust, fully supported and compliant with relevant legislation.

We're looking for a Principal Engineer – Electrical Plant to join our specialist team. This is a key role where you’ll help shape technical policy, influence industry standards, and support the delivery of innovative, future‑ready projects across our high‑voltage transmission network.

• Own and improve technical specifications for substation electrical plant, including GIS, circuit breakers, transformers, HVDC and FACTS equipment.
• Act as Technical Authority for new plant approvals, reviewing designs and type testing against network requirements.
• Support Design Authority reviews to ensure substation and system designs are safe, compliant and fit for purpose.
• Collaborate with engineering, asset, operations, system design teams and manufacturers to resolve technical challenges.
• Provide technical consultancy, mentor colleagues and represent SSEN Transmission in industry forums.
• Represent SSEN Transmission and/or the UK at industry events and working groups (e.g. ENA, IEC, CIGRE), and bring back insights and best practices to strengthen our engineering approach.

• A degree in Electrical Engineering or a related discipline, and Chartered Engineer status (or are actively working towards it).
• Strong experience in the design, specification, testing, and application electrical plant such as AIS, GIS, instrument transformers or FACTS/HVDC at transmission voltage levels of 145 kV and above.
• The ability to critically assess technical challenges and evaluate a range of solutions, with a solid understanding of the design, planning, operation, and development requirements of the transmission network.
• A detailed knowledge and understanding of a range relevant national and international standards.
• Experience writing technical specifications, guidance notes, or work instructions.
• Exposure to the design, manufacturing, testing, installation, or maintenance of transmission voltage plant and equipment is a plus.

We’re seeking someone with substantial experience in substation electrical plant, particularly design and type testing, ideally within the UK transmission network, who can bring deep technical insight and a collaborative mindset to our team. That said, we understand that expertise comes in many forms, and we’re open to hearing from candidates who meet most of the criteria and are eager to grow into the role.

SSE’s purpose is to provide energy needed today while building a better world of energy for tomorrow. We do this by developing, building, operating and investing in electricity infrastructure and businesses needed in the energy transition. Our Transforming for Growth investment plan sees us investing £33bn in critical electricity infrastructure across the five years to 2030.

SSEN Transmission own and operate the electricity transmission network across the north of Scotland. We transport energy from where it is generated to where it is needed, ensuring a safe and reliable electricity supply for the communities we serve. But that's not all – we're upgrading the grid to deliver cleaner, homegrown energy for the future and building a network for net zero to create secure power for generations to come.

Enjoy discounts on private healthcare and gym memberships. Wellbeing benefits like a free online GP and 24/7 counselling service. Interest‑free loans on tech and transport season tickets, or a new bike with our Cycle to Work scheme. As well as generous family entitlements such as maternity and adoption pay, and paternity leave.

SSE will make any reasonable adjustments you need to ensure that your application and experience with us is positive. Please contact Andy on  / to discuss how we can support you.

We're dedicated to fostering an open and inclusive workplace where people from all backgrounds can thrive. We create equal opportunities for everyone to succeed and especially welcome applications from those who may not be well represented in our workforce or industry.