Principal Electrical Engineer

Join us in powering the future of essential services for millions
Principal Electrical Engineer– Major Projects

Step into a role with purpose, influence, and long‑term impact. This pivotal new position within Programme Engineering places you at the centre of Thames Water’s mission to deliver cleaner, greener, and more resilient infrastructure for generations to come. As our senior lead for electrical engineering, you will shape the technical vision for Major Projects, ensuring every design, standard, and innovation contributes to a safer, smarter, and more sustainable future. You’ll build strong, trusted alliances across our organisation and supply chain, champion continuous improvement, and play a defining role in delivering the transformational programmes that safeguard life’s most vital resource.

What you’ll be doing as a Principal Electrical Engineer
In this senior leadership role, you will create and lead a high‑performing electrical engineering capability for our most complex programmes:

• Build and lead a new Electrical Engineering team of Apprentices, Graduates, Engineers and Senior Engineers, providing expert technical support across the full project lifecycle.
• Deliver high‑quality electrical design and assurance, including developing Project Briefs, specifications, scope narratives, SLDs, power system modelling and load schedules.
• Ensure safe, compliant, user‑focused solutions, embedding robust engineering and regulatory requirements from the outset.
• Provide technical leadership on DSEAR compliance across the Major Projects portfolio, defining best‑practice engineering standards and ensuring robust safety governance. You will drive programme‑wide compliance and assurance, ensuring all project teams follow the correct processes, engineering controls, and regulatory requirements throughout design, installation, and commissioning.

Based at an office within the Thames Water catchment area
Hybrid working: 2–3 days per week in the office and on-site
36 hours per week, Monday to Friday
£5,800 per annum car allowance (full driving licence and personal transport required)

What you should bring to the role
We are looking for a respected and influential engineering leader who brings both deep technical expertise and a strategic mindset:

• Degree‑level qualification or equivalent in Engineering; professional chartership preferred
• Recognised Electrical Engineering leader with 15+ years’ experience, including substantial HV and LV design expertise
• Experience within the water industry or comparable utilities operating with similar technical requirements
• Ability to build and develop a team that provides a high-quality service to enhance project delivery.
• A proven ability to drive improvements in how electrical engineering services are delivered—raising standards, efficiency and consistency
• Strong understanding of the regulatory environment and how to achieve compliance across complex programmes
• Broad knowledge of DSEAR, its practical application, compliance and assurance alongside other safety‑critical regulations
• Ability to collaborate effectively across disciplines, shaping integrated and complete technical solutions
• A positive influencer with the credibility to engage senior stakeholders, offering pragmatic, commercially aware advice and a clear “big picture” perspective

What’s in it for you?

• Salary for this role will be between £70 to £75k per annum, depending on the skills and experience of the successful candidate
• This role will come with a car allowance of £5,800 per annum
• 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service. (plus bank holidays).
• Annual Bonus
• Private Medical Health Care
• Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets.
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance

Find out more about our benefits and perks (Please note different T&Cs apply if on secondment)

Who are we?
We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Learn more about our purpose and values

Working at Thames Water
Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else just let us know, we’re here to help and support.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.