Electrical Design Engineer in Southampton

The Design Engineer role involves applying advanced engineering principles and practices to design, manage, and deliver projects of moderate complexity. This position requires independent judgment, technical expertise, and leadership skills to oversee scopes, schedules, and budgets while ensuring compliance with professional standards and sustainability principles. The role includes mentoring junior staff, coordinating multidisciplinary teams, and maintaining effective communication with stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• General Characteristics
• Applies broad knowledge of engineering principles and practices within a specific discipline.
• Independently evaluates, selects, and adapts standard techniques, procedures, and criteria for conventional projects with few complex features.
• Contributes to multidisciplinary teams and acquires general knowledge of related fields.
• Demonstrates sound judgment in adapting methods for non-routine aspects of assignments.
• Acknowledges and applies concepts of sustainability to engineering projects.
• Technical Responsibilities
• Designs complete projects, systems, components, or processes.
• Prepares comprehensive specifications, drawings, and project documentation.
• Designs and conducts site investigations; analyses and interprets survey data.
• Formulates and solves engineering problems using standard and adapted methods.
• Oversees moderate projects or contributes to specific parts of large-scale projects.
• Schedule, Project & Task Management
• Applies leadership and teamwork skills to plan, execute, and manage scopes, schedules, and budgets.
• Contributes to project meetings and presents specific aspects of engineering assignments.
• Develops an awareness of change management practices and commercial impact of decisions, incorporating this into design activities.
• Management, Supervision & Guidance
• Assigns tasks to and directs junior members of project team (technical and non-technical staff).
• Interprets, organizes, executes, and coordinates detailed aspects of engineering work.
• Mentors direct reports and less experienced staff by providing guidance, explaining professional responsibilities, and reviewing work outputs.
• Receives general direction on key objectives and guidance on unconventional or complex problems when necessary.
• Communication, Teamwork & Leadership
• Communicates effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrates empathy, critical listening, and conflict management skills.
• Advocates professionalism and respectful inclusion.

Core Values

Upholds and promotes the Company’s Core Values – Care, Trust, Respect and Sustainability.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Essential
• Higher Education (NVQ+)
• Desirable
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related discipline (Master’s preferred).
• Membership of a Professional Engineering Institution.
• CSCS Card or SHEA Water Qualification.
• EUSR Water Hygiene Qualification.

Experience

Typically 3–5 years of relevant engineering experience, including project design and coordination.

Benefits

At Trant, we offer the opportunity for career development and progression within a professional working environment, and we strongly encourage employees to gain professional qualifications and fully support individuals on their journeys towards chartership. Our company benefits package includes:

• Competitive salary
• Company car or car allowance (some levels)
• Mentored support within our ‘Career Development Association’, to work towards chartership
• 24 days holiday (increasing with service) + 8 bank holidays
• Options to buy additional holiday via salary sacrifice
• Company Pension Scheme
• Flexible working based on a ‘core hours’ system
• 1 x Professional Membership paid annually
• Hybrid working
• Employee Assistance Program
• Free onsite parking
• Bike to Work Scheme
• Discretionary annual bonus

Trant Engineering has a long history of engineering and construction excellence, delivering high quality EPC engineering and construction services throughout the UK and overseas. We successfully design & deliver complex engineering projects in sectors such as Process & Water, Energy, Defence, Oil & Gas and Nuclear. We offer clients a range of services including design, manufacturing, installation, construction and commissioning. Through collaboration with our strategic technology partners and enhancing our in-house design and manufacturing capability, we have aligned the company to be at the forefront of engineering excellence. Our in-house multi-disciplinary services include civil, process, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, control and automation, supplemented by the design and manufacture of Control Panels, MCC’s, PLC’s, SCADA and automation systems. We have over 1000 employees and with a healthy forward order book with a targeted turnover of £150m this year, it is an exciting time to join a business where you can reach your full potential and develop your career.