Battery Storage Development Engineering Manager in Edinburgh

Fidra Energy ("Fidra") is a battery energy storage system ("BESS") platform, backed by EIG and National Wealth Fund, and headquartered in Edinburgh, UK. Fidra currently has a ~3GW secured pipeline in the UK comprising Thorpe Marsh (1.4GW), West Burton C (500MW) and Bicker Fen 1 & 2 (1.2GW). Thorpe Marsh, Europe’s largest battery development project, secured funding in September 2025 to progress into construction. We are targeting delivery of a 10GW portfolio of projects in development, construction and operation in the UK and major European markets by 2030. Growth of the Fidra platform, and the delivery of our pipeline, is the responsibility of our Growth & Strategy team.

The role of the Battery Storage Development Engineering Manager is to work with the Chief Growth & Strategy Officer and Growth & Strategy Directors and team, as well as business owners to deliver greenfield development projects (including project financing), run/support Invitation to Tender processes, nurture strong industry relationships, asset expansion and optimisation, battery augmentations, acquisitions, and disposals which could be one or multiple projects and initiatives, deliver expected outcomes and meet stakeholder expectations within the brief and constraints of time, cost, scope and quality. The successful candidate will use appropriate technical skills, experience, project management approaches and techniques, and have strong interpersonal skills.

Operating Environment

The growth and strategy team is responsible for setting and delivering strategy for the company. We are based in our Edinburgh office with frequent/weekly travel in relation to the opportunities we are seeking to deliver. We work closely with other parts of the business and external advisers to deliver our work with much of our time devoted to managing people and third parties.

The team is highly qualified with a high degree of market knowledge and numeracy and is driven to deliver the growth that is a fundamental part of our overall business strategy as agreed with our shareholders.

Working with other members of the Growth team, the development engineering manager will interact with, and manage, key technical advisers, contractors and equipment suppliers to support the planning, design and procurement of the battery systems, construction and maintenance arrangements as well as managing technical due diligence activities with external investors and internal stakeholders.

Principal Accountabilities

• Lead technical due diligence on acquisition and advanced development activities supporting the assessment of capex and opex modelling assumptions, key technical assumptions such as Round Trip Efficiency and degradation, contractual performance guarantees, programme review, design and layout, and overall engineering review of opportunities including working with specialist advisors and lenders’ engineer.
• Support technical aspects of planning application process including development of construction, environmental and transport management plans, where appropriate.
• Lead technical review of grid connections, involving technical advisers as required.
• Lead technical assessment of battery energy systems and related equipment procurement processes including development of design criteria, applicable standards and employer specifications.
• Support technical and engineering inputs and review for offtake and financing arrangements including development of reporting requirements and performance testing provisions which interface with associated procurement contracts.
• Support and develop creative ideas to improve Fidra’s value proposition in energy storage including liaising with key suppliers on technology advancements, efficiency improvements, enhanced operational strategies, augmentation and duration extension strategies.
• Support construction team to assure timely and cost‑effective resolution to regulatory, permitting and technical issues associated with the execution and delivery of BESS projects including the discharge of planning conditions.
• Support BESS plant manager with performance testing, regulatory and grid compliance matters and related asset management strategies during asset operations.

Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications & Experience

Knowledge & Skills

• Excellent interpersonal skills, energetic and a self-starter.
• Experience and knowledge of battery and energy storage projects and industry trends with primary focus on batteries, and related equipment – in particular the technical aspects of such.
• Strong technical acumen with the ability to engage effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders, both internal and external.

Qualifications & Experience

• 5+ years of experience in power generation/storage with a development engineering focus whether within industry or at a consulting firm.
• 3+ years of experience with energy storage technology, Li-Ion batteries, systems engineering and integration.
• Bachelor, Master or Diploma in Electrical, Renewables or Industrial engineering or experience gained knowledge.
• Experience in Battery storage and/or hybrid system (solar/wind plus storage).

Desirable

• Experience on BOP/BOS level (Cable calculation, Civils) incl. MV-Substation Engineering and HV-Substation Engineering.
• Beneficial to have direct experience in M&A activities supporting due diligence and/or reviewing modelling assumptions.