Principal Electrical Engineer

Principal Electrical Engineer – Data Centres

Job Summary

The Principal Electrical Engineer – Data Centres is the technical authority responsible for the design, reliability, safety, and performance of electrical power systems supporting mission-critical data centre facilities. This role provides strategic leadership across projects, operations, and standards, ensuring resilient, scalable, and compliant electrical infrastructure aligned with business and client requirements.

Key Responsibilities

Electrical Design & Engineering Leadership

• Serve as the technical authority for all data centre electrical systems, including LV/MV power distribution, UPS, generators, switchgear, transformers, and grounding systems.

• Lead electrical design reviews for new builds, expansions, and retrofit projects.

• Define and approve electrical design standards, specifications, and reference architectures.

• Ensure designs meet required availability tiers (e.g., Uptime Institute, TIA-942).

Power Systems & Reliability

• Ensure high availability and fault-tolerant electrical architectures (N, N+1, 2N, 2N+1).

• Conduct power system studies (load flow, short-circuit, arc flash, coordination).

• Oversee capacity planning, redundancy strategies, and system resilience.

• Investigate electrical incidents and lead root cause analysis and corrective actions.

Construction & Commissioning

• Provide technical oversight during construction, installation, testing, and commissioning.

• Review FAT, SAT, and integrated systems testing (IST).

• Ensure electrical systems are commissioned safely and meet performance requirements.

• Support handover to operations with complete documentation and training.

Operations & Lifecycle Management

• Support operations teams with expert guidance on maintenance, troubleshooting, and upgrades.

• Define maintenance strategies and procedures for critical electrical assets.

• Lead modernization, life-extension, and efficiency improvement initiatives.

• Review and approve change management for electrical systems.

Safety, Compliance & Risk

• Ensure compliance with applicable electrical codes and standards (e.g., IEC, IEEE, NFPA, NEC, BS, local regulations).

• Champion electrical safety, including arc flash mitigation and safe work practices.

• Support audits, certifications, and regulatory inspections.

• Identify and mitigate electrical risks across the data centre portfolio.

Stakeholder & Vendor Management

• Act as the senior technical interface with clients, consultants, utilities, and vendors.

• Evaluate and approve vendor equipment, technologies, and solutions.

• Provide technical input for procurement, contracts, and CAPEX planning.

• Support executive decision-making with technical and risk-based recommendations.

Strategy & Innovation

• Contribute to long-term data centre power strategy and roadmap.

• Evaluate emerging technologies (e.g., lithium-ion UPS, high-voltage distribution, renewable integration).

• Drive standardization, efficiency, and sustainability initiatives.

• Mentor and develop electrical engineering teams.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering (Master’s preferred).

• Chartered Engineer / Professional Engineer (or equivalent) preferred.

• 12–20+ years of experience in electrical engineering, with significant data centre or mission-critical facilities experience.

• Proven experience leading electrical design and delivery of large-scale data centre projects.

• Strong background in critical power systems and redundancy architectures.

Preferred Skills & Certifications

• Uptime Institute Accredited Tier Designer (ATD) or Professional (ATP).

• Experience with hyperscale, colocation, or high-density data centres.

• Familiarity with energy efficiency metrics (PUE) and sustainability practices.

• Proficiency with power system analysis tools (e.g., ETAP, SKM, EasyPower).

Key Competencies

• Technical authority and engineering judgment

• Strong leadership and mentoring capability

• Excellent problem-solving and risk assessment skills

• Clear communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders

• Ability to balance reliability, cost, safety, and scalability

Working Conditions

• Based in office, design centre, or hybrid environment

• Regular travel to data centre sites and project locations

• Participation in critical incident response as required
  
  
   

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