Associate Director - Control Systems in Birmingham

Job Description

The Data Center Electrical Technical Director manages the utilisation, growth, and development of professionals in the Electrical Engineering Discipline, including Electrical Engineers, Power Systems Specialists, HV/LV Engineers, Controls Engineers, and Critical Electrical Systems SME’s across the region.

The Director ensures the resilience, efficiency, and technical excellence of electrical systems for all data centre projects and operational environments.

We are looking for a

Data Center Electrical Technica l Director to join our talented team at one of our offices in either the

UK or Europe .

The Data Centre Electrical Technical Director shall

• Be Responsible and Accountable for the Electrical Engineering discipline.
• Ensure consistent, high-quality deliverables through QA/QC reviews, technical audits, and discipline governance.
• Support business development with technical input, proposal content, and work hour estimating.
• Possess deep technical proficiency in data center electrical design including power distribution, redundancy philosophies, UPS systems, generators, switchgear, grounding, arc flash analysis, and controls integration.
• Support strategic initiatives related to reliability, energy efficiency, sustainability, digitalisation, and power infrastructure innovation.
• Act as an SME for electrical systems standards, reliability engineering, and mission critical infrastructure.
• Ensure alignment with global electrical procedures, standards, software tools, and compliance requirements (IEEE, IEC, NFPA70, EN standards, Uptime Institute)

Key Responsibilities

• Coordinate with Regional Senior Directors, Project Managers, and Proposal Managers to understand the scope, cost, complexity, schedule, and deliverables for electrical design and commissioning activities.
• Assign appropriate engineering resources to deliver cost effective, technically robust design and support.
• Define electrical design philosophies, execution workflows, and levels of detail (LOD) required for project success.
• Estimate work hours required for electrical deliverables, engineering studies, factory witness tests, and commissioning support.
• Ensure quality, accuracy, consistency, and compliance of electrical engineering outputs with established engineering principles, company quality standards, codes, and legislation.
• Develop a strategic business plan for the electrical discipline aligned with long term organisational goals, including innovation in power distribution, monitoring, protection, automation, modularity, and energy efficiency.
• Lead Electrical Engineering Communities of Practice to drive continuous improvement of discipline standards, guidelines, and best practices.
• Liaise with global discipline leaders to ensure a consistent approach to electrical system design and documentation.
• Drive innovation through adoption of digital tools (ETAP, SKM, BIM, AI based reliability tools, digital twins, automated reporting) to increase productivity and engineering quality.
• Maintain strong engagement with relevant industry organisations (IEEE, IET, Uptime Institute, NFPA, IEC committees) and promote CPD activities for the electrical team.
• Conduct hiring, performance reviews, salary recommendations, and development planning for electrical engineering staff.
• Plan and schedule the discipline workload to ensure effective distribution of resources.
• Serve as the technical authority for inter office labour sharing, outsourcing, and consultant oversight.
• Perform discipline capability assessments regularly, identifying knowledge gaps and resolving them through training, mentoring, or recruitment.
• Review discipline productivity and quality metrics, driving continuous improvement.
• Participate in business development through client engagement, technical presentations, and proposal support.
• Provide expert input for electrical design documentation, including:
  o Single line diagrams
  o Load flow studies
  o Harmonics, short circuit, and arc flash analysis
  o Emergency and standby power system design
  o UPS and battery system configurations
  o Grounding and bonding
  o SCADA/EPMS/BCMS integration
• Support commissioning processes for electrical systems, including integrated systems testing (IST), FAT/SAT, and reliability testing.
• Collaborate with Mechanical, Controls, BIM/VDC, and Construction teams to ensure integrated MEP delivery.
• Support project risk assessments such as FMEA, SIL, HAZOP, reliability risk assessments, and operational readiness.
• Travel to office locations and data center sites as required to support engineering, commissioning, and strategic initiatives.
• Support organisational change initiatives to ensure a smooth transition when new processes, technologies, or team structures are introduced.
• Understand and promote the company Vision and Values.
• Line of Report

The Data Center Electrical Technical Director reports to the Senior Director of Design.

The Senior Director of Design reports to the Regional Operations Director, who reports to the Global CEO.

Electrical Associate Directors, Senior Electrical Managers, and Discipline Leads report directly to the Data Center Electrical Technical Director.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Extensive experience in the electrical design of mission critical data centers, including HV/LV distribution, redundant power topologies, and reliability engineering.
• Proven ability to plan, organise, supervise, and coordinate electrical engineering work and multidisciplinary project interactions.
• Strong analytical, structured problem solving, and communication skills with demonstrated leadership capability.
• HND/HNC, Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent in Electrical Engineering.
• Expertise in electrical engineering design tools and analysis software (ETAP/SKM, BIM tools, arc flash modelling, power system modelling).
• Experience preparing and reviewing electrical design drawings, specifications, protection and control strategies, and commissioning documentation.
• Strong interpersonal skills for effective stakeholder management at senior levels.
• Demonstrated ability to foster a collaborative, inclusive, high performance team culture.
• Proven experience leading through organisational change, with a focus on talent management and employee engagement.
• Ability to partner with cross functional teams (mechanical, controls, commissioning, operations, BIM) to ensure aligned project outcomes.

All interviews are conducted either in person or virtually, with video required.

About Us

Springtide is a high-performance engineering and construction consultancy, delivering mission-critical infrastructure and complex projects with precision and excellence.

With a growing international presence, we are expanding our operations across Europe, with a sharp focus on the data centre sector—a domain where we bring deep expertise, technical authority, and trusted partnerships.

Why Join Us?

Springtide offers an exciting opportunity to lead a high-growth business at the forefront of one of the fastest-growing infrastructure sectors in Europe.

Backed by the strength and scale of our group companies (IPS & Linesight), you’ll have the platform, resources, and autonomy to make a significant impact in a leadership role that shapes the future of our business and the industry.

This is a rare opportunity to shape the future of a dynamic, fast-growing consultancy operating at the cutting edge of engineering excellence.

As a strategic leader in
Springtide, you will have the autonomy, support, and resources to make a lasting impact on the European data centre landscape.