Principal Lighting Engineer in Leicester

We are seeking an experienced and motivated Principal Lighting Engineer to lead the design, delivery, and management of street lighting and public realm projects across the city. This role includes responsibility for managing budgets, overseeing contractor performance and procurement processes, and ensuring compliance with relevant standards. You will also manage and mentor a team of four staff and, when required, take overall responsibility for the depot, operations team, and support staff in the absence of the Public Lighting Manager.

The Principal Lighting Engineer will play a key role in delivering safe, efficient, and sustainable lighting infrastructure, supporting the Council's objectives around public safety, carbon reduction, and effective asset management. You will oversee the maintenance and performance of lighting assets, helping to improve service reliability and reduce long-term operational costs while ensuring all schemes meet national standards. This is a full-time, office-based role at the Slater Street depot (37 hours per week). It offers an excellent opportunity to contribute to a modern and forward-thinking lighting service, driving innovation through the adoption of smart technologies and energy-efficient solutions.

Working collaboratively with internal teams and external partners, you will help deliver projects that enhance both the technical performance and the wider urban environment.

What you will be doing:

A typical day for a Principal Lighting Engineer is varied and combines technical oversight, team leadership, and project management. Throughout the day, the role involves attending project meetings with other Leicester City Council colleagues, external contractors, and suppliers, reviewing the status of lighting schemes, managing risks, and ensuring delivery aligns with budget and programme objectives. The team consists of four staff members, ranging in technical abilities and experience.

What you will need:

• ILP Exterior Lighting Diploma - critical for this role.
• Experience of designing and delivering public lighting schemes such as residential lighting, traffic routes, subways, underpasses, passive safe, high masts, tunnels, flood lighting, and architectural lighting.
• An overall knowledge of public lighting and experience in overseeing work.

What we can offer you:

As well as the satisfaction of helping to improve thousands of lives across Leicester, you can look forward to a work environment that encourages a healthy work-life balance. You'll enjoy generous annual leave, membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme, and the option of flexible working. We also give you the chance to develop your skills and expertise with a variety of training and development opportunities. In addition, you can choose from a number of flexible benefits, including discounts on city buses and trains.

Join us

We're committed to recruiting a diverse and highly-talented workforce as we continue to build a council that is fitting and representative of our great city. That's why we've designed our recruitment process to put you at ease, make you feel welcome, and bring the best out of you. We'll do all we can to make our recruitment process as fair as possible.