Principal Engineer (Technical Authority) vacancy in Bridgewater- Hinkley Point (289DM)

Principal Radio & Communications Engineer / Technical Authority vacancy in Bridgewater- Hinkley Point (289DM)

We are seeking an experienced Principal Radio & Communications Engineer to provide senior technical leadership and independent engineering assurance for critical communications systems at Hinkley Point C. The role is responsible for technical governance across the design, installation, configuration, testing, commissioning, maintenance and operation of radio, wireless and integrated communications systems. You will act as the technical authority for engineering decisions, ensuring systems are safe, compliant, technically robust, properly configured and fit for operational service. The role will also provide senior technical support for complex faults, technical risk management, system acceptance and engineering standards.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Authority & Design Governance

• Act as the designated Technical Authority for engineering activities within delegated authority.
• Review and approve HLDs, LLDs, drawings, calculations, specifications, configurations and technical documentation.
• Lead design reviews and provide independent technical challenge.
• Assess technical deviations, concessions, risks and proposed changes.
• Ensure designs meet customer requirements, applicable standards, site constraints and maintainability expectations.
• Maintain technical baselines and ensure unresolved technical risks are appropriately managed.

Installation & Quality Assurance

• Define and maintain installation standards covering equipment, cabling, containment, termination, labelling, earthing, segregation and workmanship.
• Conduct technical inspections, installation-readiness reviews and audits.
• Ensure installations are completed against approved designs, materials and specifications.
• Identify technical defects and non-conformances and ensure corrective actions are completed.
• Provide technical guidance to engineers, technicians, project teams and subcontractors.

Testing, Commissioning & Acceptance

• Own or approve testing and acceptance strategies for major installations, enhancements and system changes.
• Review and approve FAT, SAT, integration, commissioning, performance and regression testing.
• Ensure testing is traceable to requirements and has clear acceptance criteria.
• Investigate test failures and determine appropriate technical actions or repeat testing.
• Provide technical approval for commissioning, handover and entry into operational service.
• Ensure acceptance packs, as-built information, configuration records and residual risks are complete.

Asset & Maintenance Assurance

• Develop or approve technical requirements for preventative maintenance and inspections.
• Conduct technical inspections and audits to assess asset condition and maintenance quality.
• Analyse fault history, test results and condition data to identify recurring defects and emerging risks.
• Support lifecycle planning, spares, obsolescence and technology refresh strategies.
• Provide technical health assessments for critical systems.

Configuration, Change & Risk Management

• Maintain control of approved technical baselines, configurations, software, firmware and asset records.
• Provide technical assessment and approval for engineering changes.
• Assess impacts on safety, security, integration, resilience, service continuity and supportability.
• Ensure implementation, testing, rollback and recovery arrangements are appropriately defined.
• Maintain technical risk and decision registers and elevate issues beyond delegated authority.

Advanced Fault Support

• Provide senior/third-line technical support for complex, recurring or high-impact faults.
• Lead fault diagnosis across RF, radio, DAS, RF over Fibre, Wi-Fi, IP networking and integrated communications systems.
• Provide technical direction during major incidents and service restoration.
• Lead root-cause investigations and produce evidence-based technical reports.
• Identify recurring fault trends and implement improvements to design, maintenance, training and support processes.
• Participate in the engineering call-out/escalation rota where required.

Customer, Project & Supplier Interface

• Represent the engineering function at customer technical meetings, design reviews, testing and acceptance forums.
• Provide clear technical advice on risks, decisions, dependencies and limitations.
• Support projects with technical planning, specialist resources, testing requirements and technical hold points.
• Review supplier and subcontractor technical proposals and deliverables.
• Provide technical input to procurement, bids, estimates and solution development.

Engineering Leadership & Continuous Improvement

• Mentor engineers, technicians and project engineering teams.
• Support technical competence assessments, authorisations and development plans.
• Lead technical knowledge-sharing and lessons-learned activities.
• Maintain strong expertise across at least two relevant technology areas.
• Evaluate new technologies and drive improvements in engineering, testing, installation, configuration and technical documentation.

SHEQ & Compliance

• Champion health, safety, environmental and quality standards across engineering activities.
• Ensure engineering work complies with RAMS, WAFs, site procedures and approved work controls.
• Provide technical input to risk assessments and safe systems of work.
• Withhold technical approval or require work to stop where the technical basis or evidence is inadequate.
• Support audits, investigations, non-conformances and corrective actions.

Essential Qualifications & Experience

• Degree, HNC/HND or equivalent experience in electronic, telecommunications, radio, networking, systems or related engineering.
• Significant experience in critical communications, radio, wireless, networking, systems integration or similar infrastructure.
• Strong experience with DMR Tier III, RF over Fibre (RFoF) and DAS.
• SMSTS or SSSTS, with Black Hat or Blue Hat certification.
• Proven experience acting as a Design Authority, Technical Authority or technical approval/sign-off function.
• Experience reviewing HLDs, LLDs, drawings, specifications and configuration information.
• Experience leading or approving system, site, integration, commissioning and acceptance testing.
• Strong understanding of installation standards, technical inspections, defect management and handover.
• Proven ability to diagnose complex faults and lead root-cause investigations.
• Experience assessing technical change, risk, maintainability, resilience and service continuity.
• Deep expertise in at least two relevant technology areas.
• Excellent technical writing, documentation, stakeholder communication and decision-making skills.
• Confident challenging technical decisions and withholding approval where requirements or evidence have not been met.
• Full UK driving licence and ability to meet applicable HPC site-access requirements.

Desirable

• Chartered Engineer, Incorporated Engineer or working towards professional registration.
• Previous experience at HPC, a nuclear licensed site or another highly regulated/critical infrastructure environment.
• Relevant vendor certifications in radio, wireless, DAS, RF over Fibre, networking or unified communications.
• Project management experience or qualification.
• Experience with configuration management, asset management, obsolescence and technical baseline control.
• Systems engineering experience including requirements traceability, verification and validation.
• Supplier technical assurance, FAT and subcontractor oversight experience.
• Training in root-cause analysis, functional safety, quality auditing or engineering assurance.

Key Attributes

The successful candidate will be:

• Technically authoritative, credible and independent.
• Methodical and disciplined in technical decision-making and documentation.
• Practical and solutions-focused without compromising safety or technical integrity.
• Able to communicate complex technical matters to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Calm and decisive during incidents and high-pressure situations.
• Comfortable providing constructive challenge and making risk-based technical decisions.
• Collaborative across Operations, Projects, SHEQ, Service, suppliers and customer teams while maintaining independent technical authority.

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