About the job
We are partnering with a leading European hyperscale data centre developer who are expanding their UK portfolio and seeking an Electrical Design Manager to support the delivery of new large-scale data centre campuses across the UK.
This is a senior client-side technical role focused on the end-to-end electrical design lifecycle, from early feasibility and concept design through detailed design, procurement, construction support and into commissioning.
The Electrical Design Manager will act as the electrical design authority within the project team, ensuring that all electrical systems are optimised for reliability, scalability, safety, efficiency and constructability while aligning with long-term technical standards across the wider platform.
The role will be circa 80 per cent remote, with regular site visits and key milestone attendance required across UK projects. You will be expected to be present on site for critical design reviews, construction interfaces and commissioning stages.
You will sit at the critical interface between development, design, construction and commissioning, providing clear technical leadership and ensuring seamless integration across all project phases.
Responsibilities
Electrical design leadership and governance
Own and lead the electrical design strategy across UK data centre projects, covering:
* HV, MV and LV distribution
* Substations and grid interfaces
* Switchgear and transformers
* UPS and generator systems
* Protection, earthing and bonding
* Integration with controls, BMS and monitoring systems
Drive electrical design from feasibility and concept through detailed design, tender and into construction support.
Review, challenge and steer consultant and contractor designs to ensure buildability, compliance, resilience and alignment with project and platform standards.
Define and maintain electrical design principles, specifications and best-practice guidelines for repeatable delivery across multiple sites.
Ensure consistency of electrical design solutions across the UK portfolio while allowing for site-specific constraints.
Consultant and contractor management
* Manage and direct external electrical design consultants, specialist advisors and engineering partners.
* Lead technical design coordination workshops and resolve multidisciplinary interfaces.
* Review and approve design deliverables at each stage gate.
* Support procurement by contributing to tender documentation and evaluating technical submissions from contractors and equipment suppliers.
Grid, HV and power strategy
* Work closely with grid operators, utilities and ICPs on connection strategy, programme and risk mitigation.
* Support development teams in assessing electrical feasibility, power phasing and network constraints.
* Optimise on-site HV and MV network layouts, redundancy strategies and critical power architectures.
Construction and commissioning interface
* Provide ongoing design oversight during construction and respond to technical queries.
* Collaborate with electrical package managers and commissioning teams to ensure designs translate effectively into build and operation.
* Support integrated testing, energisation planning and technical readiness for handover.
* Capture lessons learned from live projects and feed them back into future design standards.
Stakeholder and interface management
* Act as the primary electrical design interface between development, construction, operations and external partners.
* Provide clear technical updates to senior project stakeholders where required.
* Work closely with mechanical, CSA and commissioning teams to ensure coordinated design delivery across all disciplines.
Requirements
Data centre experience is essential. You must be able to demonstrate hands-on involvement in electrical design on large-scale hyperscale or mission-critical projects.
You should also have:
* Strong technical knowledge of HV, MV and LV systems, substations, switchgear, UPS, generators and critical power pathways in data centres.
* Proven experience managing external electrical design consultants in a client-side, developer or lead engineering role.
* Deep understanding of data centre redundancy architectures including N, N+1, 2N and 2N+1.
* Experience taking projects from early concept through detailed design and into construction.
* The ability to challenge designs confidently and make informed technical decisions under pressure.
* Strong stakeholder management skills and the ability to influence contractors, designers and senior project teams.
* Comfort working remotely while still engaging actively with live construction sites.
* Willingness to travel across UK sites for key project milestones.
* Fluent English, written and spoken.