At a Glance
- Tasks: Monitor and respond to telemetry alarms, ensuring safe and reliable operations.
- Company: Join Scottish Water, a trusted organisation dedicated to protecting Scotland's water resources.
- Benefits: Enjoy 38 days of holiday, flexible working, and a competitive salary with bonuses.
- Other info: Supportive team environment with excellent career growth opportunities.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on Scotland's essential infrastructure while developing your skills.
- Qualifications: Calm under pressure, strong attention to detail, and good IT skills required.
The predicted salary is between 31640 - 36460 £ per year.
Together we are Trusted to Serve Scotland. At Scottish Water, we look after Scotland's most precious natural resource. From source to tap, we are guarding Scotland’s reputation for refreshingly pure water and caring for our environment at the same time.
We are looking for a Control Engineer (Control Room Shift Operator) to join the ICC. Joining the ICC means becoming part of a critical service that supports essential infrastructure, playing a key role in ensuring safe and reliable operations. You will work within a highly collaborative and supportive team environment, where knowledge sharing and teamwork are encouraged. This role also offers excellent opportunities to develop and broaden your skills across a range of systems and processes. In return, you will benefit from a competitive salary, including a shift allowance and a comprehensive benefits package.
What you’ll do
- Monitor and respond to telemetry alarms across multiple systems.
- Maintain continuous awareness of asset performance and identify emerging issues.
- Take appropriate action to manage and escalate operational events, supporting incident response through clear communication with both internal and external stakeholders.
- Accurately log events and actions within ICC systems.
- Work collaboratively with the wider shift team to maintain operational resilience.
- Apply standard operating procedures consistently and effectively to ensure safe and efficient operations.
What you’ll bring
- A calm and methodical approach, even within a fast-paced environment.
- Strong attention to detail and accountability for decisions.
- Ability to prioritise and manage multiple tasks effectively.
- A focus on safety, risk awareness, and operational performance.
- Experience working in a control room, operational, or process-driven environment.
- Ability to assess information quickly and make sound decisions under pressure.
- Strong communication skills and ability to work collaboratively as part of a team.
- Proactive and disciplined approach to following procedures.
- Good IT skills and comfort working across multiple systems.
- Flexibility to work a 24/7 shift pattern.
Looking out for you
While the work we do is important, we know it’s not the only thing that matters. That’s why we make sure you have everything you need to find a good work-life balance. You’ll get plenty of time to recharge with 38 days of holiday every year (including public holidays). You can even buy five more if you need a little extra time. You can also take paid time off to volunteer in your community.
When it comes to major life events, we have family-friendly policies around adoption, maternity, and parental leave. And for the everyday? We embrace flexible working. For your future, there’s our pension, as well as life assurance. You will participate in a company bonus scheme and have access to SW Splash – handy rewards that can save you money on holidays, bills, and shopping.
The not-so-small print
This role will be a Grade 4. If you’re new to Scottish Water, you’ll join us on a starting salary of £31,640. Performance-driven pay progression would then allow you to move through the range to a maximum of £36,460.
If you’re interested in this role – or know someone else who might be - we’ll be accepting applications until midnight on the 16th July 2026. Please note that any successful candidate would need to undergo Counter Terrorist Checks prior to starting. Job offers at Scottish Water are conditional and will be confirmed on completion of our pre-employment screening, e.g. referencing, criminal record checks, license checks, etc.
A few final things worth knowing… Research shows that some people avoid applying for jobs unless they can meet every single criteria. If you’re interested in this job, but don’t tick all the boxes, apply anyway! We hardly ever hire people who can do every part of a job from Day One. Everyone has a learning curve. So don’t rule yourself out!
As part of our commitment to developing a flourishing Scotland, it’s important that all our employees are Scottish taxpayers. If you join us, your home address will need to be in Scotland. If you don’t already live here, you'll need to commit to moving here within your first three months.
Please note, Scottish Water takes the safety, health and wellbeing of our employees, colleagues and customers very seriously and as such you may be subject to Drug & Alcohol testing in line with our policy.
Finally, candidates who haven’t submitted an application in the last 12 months will have their records removed from our recruitment database. You won’t need to do anything. Your data will be automatically deleted. We’re here to help. Ask us anything at SWRecruitment@ScottishWater.co.uk
Control Room Shift Operator (Control Engineer) employer: Scottish Water
Scottish Water is an exceptional employer dedicated to safeguarding Scotland's vital water resources while fostering a supportive and collaborative work environment. Employees enjoy a competitive salary, generous holiday allowance, and comprehensive benefits, alongside ample opportunities for professional development and community engagement. With a strong emphasis on work-life balance and employee well-being, Scottish Water stands out as a rewarding place to build a meaningful career.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Control Room Shift Operator (Control Engineer)
✨Get Involved in Control Systems Communities
Dive into control systems forums and relevant LinkedIn groups to showcase your expertise. Engage in discussions, answer questions, and share your knowledge—this can help us get noticed by potential employers looking for someone just like you!
✨Attend Industry Conferences and Workshops
Join conferences or workshops specifically tailored to control systems engineering, like the IEEE conference. These events are goldmines for networking with industry leaders and might just lead us to that perfect role at Scottish Water.
✨Get Practical Experience Through Projects
Start or contribute to projects that highlight your control systems skills. Whether it’s a simulated environment or real-world application, having tangible results will give us a huge edge when chatting with Scottish Water.
✨Choose Job Boards Wisely
Focus on niche job boards that specialise in engineering roles. Channels like Engineers.co or similar can help ensure that we’re not only applying to random jobs but targeting positions that align perfectly with our control systems engineering skills!
We think you need these skills to ace Control Room Shift Operator (Control Engineer)
Some tips for your application 🫡
Highlight Your Technical Skills:When applying for the Control Room Shift Operator (Control Engineer) role, make sure to showcase your technical expertise in control systems. Be specific about the software and programming languages you’ve worked with—mention anything from MATLAB to PLC programming. This will help us see your proficiency in the tools that are essential for the job.
Quantify Your Achievements:In the engineering world, numbers speak volumes! Use your CV to quantify your achievements—whether it’s a percentage improvement in system efficiency or successful project completions under budget. This will not only make your application stand out but also showcase your problem-solving capabilities to us.
Tailor Your Cover Letter:Don’t hesitate to get personal in your cover letter! Talk about why you’re passionate about control systems engineering and how your previous experiences have prepared you for this role at Scottish Water. We want to see your genuine interest and motivation to contribute to our projects.
Professional Documentation:For a full-time role, ensure that your application documents are professional and well-structured. Include a clear CV format and cover letter that highlights key projects or systems you've worked on. Don’t forget to mention any relevant certifications or training that would make you a valuable addition to us at Scottish Water.
How to prepare for a job interview at Scottish Water
✨Brush Up on Control Systems Concepts
Make sure we're up to speed with control systems theory—think stability analysis, PID tuning, and state-space representation. Revising these fundamentals will help us answer technical questions more confidently and demonstrate our expertise during the interview.
✨Familiarise Yourself with Simulation Tools
Get hands-on with popular simulation tools like MATLAB/Simulink or LabVIEW. A lot of interviews might include technical assessments or practical tasks to gauge our understanding of system modelling and control design using these tools, so being proficient could really set us apart.
✨Be Ready for Problem-Solving Scenarios
We should expect scenario-based questions where we'll have to solve real-world control system challenges. Practising how to approach problems logically and articulately will help us show our analytical thinking to the interviewer at Scottish Water.
✨Show Your Passion for Engineering
As this role is full-time, it's crucial we convey our genuine enthusiasm for control systems engineering. Sharing personal projects or experiences where we tackled interesting engineering tasks can illustrate our commitment and eagerness to contribute to the team at Scottish Water.