Senior Protection and Control Design Engineer

Avangrid

Birkenhead, United Kingdom

Full Time

Posted September 24, 2026

£55k - £69k

Grid Infrastructure

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Listing evidence and provenance

Source: Workday View original listing
Freshness: Open in the current public read path; this is not an employer guarantee.Last observed October 5, 2026
Classification: Modern power-system classification not yet published for this listing.Legacy source industry field: Grid Infrastructure
Pay provenance: Employer-provided pay

Job Description

Location – Prenton office with hybrid working pattern.

Key Responsibilities

Define protection, control and substation automation requirements across feasibility studies, technical specifications and construction strategies
Prepare and check detailed designs including protection philosophies, single-line and functional diagrams, AC and DC schematics, interlocking and tripping schemes, wiring diagrams and technical reports
Undertake and approve protection studies and calculations covering fault levels, protection grading and coordination, current-transformer and voltage-transformer requirements, relay burden and saturation, performance characteristics and scheme effectiveness
Develop and manage protection and control settings, relay schemes and communication-assisted systems for feeders, transformers, busbars, reactors and customer installations
Design and deliver IEC 61850-based substation automation solutions, including system architecture, data models, GOOSE messaging, station and process-bus interfaces, configuration files and integration with SCADA and telecommunications systems
Ensure all designs comply with legislation, CDM designer duties, ScottishPower Safety Rules, SP Energy Networks standards and relevant British, European and international standards
Identify and reduce foreseeable risks through safety by design, recording residual hazards and considering construction, testing, operation, maintenance, resilience, cyber security and environmental impacts
Develop technical requirements for procurement, assess submissions and supplier proposals, and provide clear recommendations on technical compliance, interoperability, risk and whole-life value
Review and check designs, calculations, settings, configurations, drawings and test documentation produced by contractors, consultants, manufacturers and suppliers, ensuring comments and non-conformances are resolved
Provide technical assistance during manufacture, factory acceptance testing, site installation, commissioning and energisation, resolving site queries and assessing design modifications
Maintain effective control of technical actions, assumptions, interfaces, design risks, settings and document status, escalating matters that threaten safety, quality, programme or cost
Contribute to protection and control strategy, standardisation, lessons learned and technical innovation to help shape future practice
Coach and mentor engineers, designers, graduates and apprentices, delegating work appropriately and providing constructive technical feedback

Requirements

Degree, HNC/HND in Electrical Engineering (or related discipline), or equivalent experience.
Extensive experience in high-voltage protection and control engineering on UK 132kV and associated 33kV networks.
Strong technical knowledge of protection schemes, including feeder, transformer, busbar, reactor, switchgear and customer connection protection, alongside control, interlocking and automation systems.
Experience carrying out and checking protection studies, fault level calculations, grading and coordination assessments, and relay settings using industry-standard software and manufacturer tools.
Working knowledge of IEC 61850 substation automation, SCADA integration and protection communications systems.
Experience producing and reviewing protection philosophies, schematics, specifications, settings reports and testing documentation.
Understanding of CDM requirements, health and safety legislation, utility standards and design risk management.
Ability to assess supplier and contractor designs, identify technical risks and provide sound engineering recommendations.
Ability to lead multidisciplinary technical interfaces and clearly communicate engineering decisions to a range of stakeholders.
Strong project delivery, stakeholder management and mentoring skills, with the ability to prioritise workloads and deliver to programme, cost, quality and governance requirements.
Professional registration (or working towards IEng/CEng) is desirable.
Some commissioning experience in testing Protection and Control schemes is desirable.
Full UK driving licence.

Benefits & Perks

As well as an attractive salary which is reviewed annually, you can also enjoy a number of other benefits. With our pension scheme, we'll double match your contribution up to a company contribution of 10%.
At ScottishPower, we believe it's the little things we do in life that make a big difference. From helping you look after your family's wellbeing, save for your future and take personal steps for climate action -- our benefits are designed to help you do just that - so that you have everything you need to take care of your world -- today and tomorrow.
36 days annual leave
Holiday Purchase - perfect your work/life balance with extra annual leave
Equity Plans
Payroll Giving and Charity Matched Funding
Technology Vouchers - save more and spread the cost of your technology purchases
Electric Vehicle Schemes - to help you transition to green/clean driving
Cycle to Work scheme and Public Transport Season Ticket Loans
Healthcare benefit options including: Dental Insurance, Private Medical Insurance, Health Cash Plan and annual Health Assessments
Life Assurance (4x salary)
Access to Savesmart financial wellbeing assistance
Plus shopping, leisure, restaurant and gym discounts, and unique employee deals on travel insurance and more