Principal Engineer - Electrical

Be part of this city within a city. Every year, millions of people travel through Heathrow. Joining our Engineering team means being at the heart of a complex operation whose size, scale and reputation for innovation are unique. We make sure the airport is always running smoothly and keep passengers and planes moving. Our team touches all aspects of airport life – from water to energy, rail to roads, baggage systems to runways. The scope and variety of what we do is vast, spanning mechanical, electrical, water, civil, rail and environmental disciplines. Together we are responsible for the performance of 500,000 assets worth £14bn. It means there are always a wide range of interesting development, construction and maintenance projects to get involved with. And a lot of ways to develop your skills, career and reputation. You’ll be part of a close-knit, driven team, taking on work that you can take real pride in and feel passionate about. It’s an exciting place to be, where every day, you’ll discover a world of fresh possibilities and you’ll be mentored by world‑class experts every step of the way.

Our Principal Electrical Engineer plays a key role developing our electrification strategy and Heathrow’s future electrical infrastructure, enabling Heathrow’s Carbon program and our sustainability team in delivering our ambitious carbon reduction targets. This role will also drive continuous improvement from our existing infrastructure assets over their whole life by implementing and assuring asset system strategies, standards, and plans to meet our future energy needs.

Your role will involve:

• Accountable for creating Asset System Strategies and Asset Plans to support achievement of the long term business plan and airport master plan, and provide support to develop strategic options within the plans.
• Ensure safety remains at the forefront of strategies.
• Accountable for producing long term (20‑30 year) asset plans for H8 and subsequent regulatory periods, and ensuring plans are robustly supported for submission and scrutiny by the Regulator.
• Provide Professional Engineering expertise and act as Subject Matter Expert and Informed Buyer, including the use of specialist consultants.
• Advise the Chief Engineer on key engineering decisions, judgements and risk analysis.
• Provide assurance that Development and Engineering teams operate in accordance with asset system strategies, plans and standards, reviewing requests to deviate from and also improve our standards in a way that adds value to Heathrow.
• Work closely with assurance teams to drive safety and compliance culture.
• Review the effectiveness of defined maintenance, renewal and other asset interventions against requirements of the asset system strategies and asset plans for each system, taking corrective actions to improve effectiveness where required.
• Ensure technical requirements for new equipment and systems are adequately specified and reflected in Asset Standards and supply chain category strategies, and are supported by life cycle analysis.

These Skills Are Essential:

• Chartered Engineer status, or equivalent demonstrable experience.
• Asset management qualification with proven experience in developing and delivering asset strategies and plans within complex sectors such as energy, rail, or infrastructure, including the application of lifecycle, condition, and reliability modelling.
• Demonstrated track record of successfully delivering effective, value‑focused asset management plans.
• Strong understanding of safety and sustainability impacts, alongside good knowledge of relevant regulatory and legislative frameworks.
• Commercially astute, with experience using engineering and asset management expertise to deliver measurable business benefits.
• Strategic and critical thinker, with the ability to influence and collaborate effectively across a multi‑stakeholder environment at all levels.

There’s something so special about working at the world’s most iconic airport. Its sights. Its sounds. Its constant air of excitement. Heathrow is an amazing backdrop to a career filled with unique opportunities. Every day, you’ll discover a world full of fresh possibilities and come home buzzing with stories to tell, as you encounter people from all cultures, nationalities and experiences. A world full of pride for what we do and no end of exciting career prospects to explore. It brings out the best in all of us. And inspires everyone to deliver on our ambitious plans. Together, we’re working to welcome millions more passengers while ensuring aviation can continue to be a force for good by leading global efforts in sustainability. Join us on that journey and we’ll help you achieve your ambitions too. Supporting you to learn, encouraging you to be yourself, backing you to achieve more than you might ever have imagined. Because there’s no place like Heathrow.

We offer competitive salaries and excellent benefits that will support you now and in the future. As well as performance‑based annual bonuses and our longer‑term Share in Success Bonus plans, we also offer generous annual leave allowances and market‑leading pensions. With family‑friendly policies, access to private health insurance and a wide range of wellbeing tools, we’ll support you to be at your best inside and outside work. And of course, we’ll provide varied learning and development opportunities too. Here you’ll find everything you need for a fulfilling career journey that can take you in exciting directions.

This is an airport‑based position. Every day, you will play a critical role in helping us to give our passengers the best airport service in the world.

As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all. We believe that diverse talent makes us stronger – not least because we welcome passengers from all corners of the globe, every single day. Heathrow is an accessible place to work, and through our diversity networks, we champion inclusivity and celebrate individuality.