Mechanical Authorising Engineer (AE) in London

POST:MechanicalAuthorisingEngineer(AE) REPORTS TO: Head of Commissioning DEPARTMENT: Commissioning

ROLE DEFINITION

The Mechanical Authorising Engineer (AE) is to act as the senior technical authority for mechanical safety across the business. The AE owns, develops, and maintains the company'sMechanicalSafeSystemofWork(MSSOW),ensuringitiscompliant,robust, and consistently and effectively implemented across every live project.

This is a business-wide oversight role rather than a project delivery role. The AE works closely with thesenior management team, appoints andassessesMechanical Authorised Persons (MAPs) on a project-by-project basis, and provides independent assurance that mechanicalworks—frominstallationthroughtotesting,commissioning,andgoinglive — are planned and executed safely, consistently, and in line with legislation, British Standards, and industry best practice.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

MSSOW Governance

• ●Develop, review, and maintain the company's Mechanical Safe System of Work (MSSOW), ensuring it reflects current legislation, British Standards, and industry best practice.
• ●Own the document control and revision process for the MSSOW, ensuring it remains a controlled document under the Phoenix ME quality management system.
• ●Periodically review and update the MSSOW in response to legislative change, incident learning, or evolving project risk profiles.

  ProjectOversight&Authorisation

• ●Assess and appoint Mechanical Authorised Persons (MAPs) for each project, ensuring appointees meet the required competency criteria.
• ●Provide independent technical oversight of mechanical safety across all live projects, without exercising day-to-day operational control.
• ●Provide senior-level input or sign-off on any project seeking to deviate from the standard MSSOW or industry testing standards.
• ●Support the review and adoption decision where a client operates their own MSSOW, working with Senior Management and Project Leads to determine whether client procedures should be adopted.

  Compliance,Audit&Assurance

• ●Conduct periodic audits and site visits to verify that MAPs, Appointed Persons (APs), and Competent Persons (CPs) are correctly implementing the MSSOW, permit-to-work, and LOTO procedures.
• ●Review permit registers, LOTO schedules, and live systems status schedules across projects to confirm compliance.
• ●Lead or contribute to the investigation of mechanical safety incidents, near misses, and non-conformances, feeding lessons learned back into the MSSOW.
• ●Report on mechanical safety performance and compliance to Senior Management and the Board.

Stakeholder & Client Engagement

• ●Act as the primary technical point of contact for mechanical safety queries from clients, principal contractors, and regulatory bodies.
• ●Represent Phoenix ME in client-facing discussions regarding mechanical safety standards, tender pre-qualification, and safe systems of work.
• ●Liaise with the Electrical Authorising Engineer and wider HSEQ team to ensure consistency across the company's combined safe systems of work.

  InlinewiththecompetencyframeworksetoutintheMSSOW, applicantsshouldbeableto demonstrate the following Skills, Knowledge, Experience and Behaviours (SKEB), in accordancewiththeprinciplesof BS8670,atalevelappropriatetoaseniorbusiness-wide authorising role:

• ●Ability to develop, review, and maintain a business-wide Mechanical Safe System of Work (MSSOW).
• ●Strong technical grasp of pressure systems, LTHW/HTHW, chilled water, ventilation, gas, compressed air, and mechanical fire protection systems.
• ●Ability to assess and appoint competent Mechanical Authorised Persons (MAPs) against defined criteria.
• ●Thorough working knowledge of BS 8670 competence framework principles
• ●Detailed knowledge of relevant legislation, including the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, PSSR 2000, CDM 2015, Gas Safety Regulations 1998, and the Building Safety Act 2022.
• ●Working knowledge of British Standards, CIBSE, and BSRIA guidance relevant to mechanical installation, testing, and commissioning.
• ●Experience overseeing multiple concurrent projects and construction management teams.
• ●Proven experience developing, implementing, or governing a safe system of work
• ●Challenges unsafe practice and non-compliance constructively but firmly
• ●Maintains integrity and consistency in the application of standards across all projects.
• ●Collaborative, approachable, and responsive to both site teams and senior leadership.