Hv Design Engineer

An HV (high voltage) design engineer designs the electrical equipment and networks that move electricity at high voltages - typically substations, overhead lines, underground cables, switchgear and the protection systems that go with them. You produce the drawings, calculations and specifications that contractors build from, working for electricity network operators, consultancies, contractors, renewable energy developers or large industrial sites. "High voltage" in UK practice generally means anything above 1,000 volts, so the work spans everything from local 11kV distribution up to the 400kV transmission network.

Starting salary: £28k–£35k
Live graduate jobs: 11 open now
Main way in: Graduate schemes at electricity distribution and transmission…
They usually ask for: An accredited degree in electrical engineering, electrical and…

Approximate graduate salary

Typically around £28,000–£35,000 to start, though this varies widely by employer type and location - contractors and consultancies in high-demand regions tend to pay more than the lower end, and some structured graduate schemes start nearer the bottom but come with faster structured increases. Salaries generally rise noticeably once you gain chartered status and can approve your own designs.

What you'd actually do

Producing and marking up design drawings in CAD (often AutoCAD, sometimes specialist electrical design software) - single line diagrams showing how equipment connects, substation layouts, cable routes, earthing (grounding) grids and protection schematics.
Running calculations: cable sizing, fault level and short-circuit studies, voltage drop, earthing and step/touch potential, insulation coordination and clearance distances. Often done in modelling software such as ETAP, DIgSILENT PowerFactory, IPSA or CDEGS.
Writing and checking technical specifications and schedules for equipment - transformers, circuit breakers, switchgear, cables, protection relays - so that procurement can go out to suppliers.
Checking designs against the standards that govern the work: BS 7671 (the IET Wiring Regulations), the Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations, Engineering Recommendations issued by the Energy Networks Association, and the client's own design standards.

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Site visits and surveys - measuring up existing substations, checking what's actually installed versus what the records say, and attending factory acceptance tests where new equipment is tested before delivery.
Reviewing drawings from suppliers and contractors, raising technical queries, and sitting in design review meetings with project managers, civil and structural engineers, and the client's engineers.
Answering RFIs (requests for information) from site during construction when something doesn't fit or a design assumption turns out to be wrong.

How graduates get in

Graduate schemes at electricity distribution and transmission network operators - the most structured route, usually including rotations across design, protection, planning and sometimes operations. These recruit in autumn for the following summer and are competitive.
Graduate schemes at engineering consultancies and multidisciplinary design houses that hold framework contracts with the networks - also common, and often the broadest exposure to different clients and voltage levels.
Direct entry as a graduate or assistant design engineer with a contractor or a smaller specialist design consultancy. Very common and often overlooked - these roles are advertised year-round rather than in a single recruitment cycle, and the learning tends to be hands-on rather than formally structured.
Transferring in from a related engineering role - building services electrical design, LV (low voltage) design, or a technician/draughtsperson role - picking up HV work on the job. This is a well-trodden route and employers are generally open to it.

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A degree apprenticeship in electrical or power engineering, where you work and study at the same time. Not the classic graduate route but produces engineers who arrive with real site experience.
Industrial placement years or summer internships with networks, consultancies or renewable developers are a strong feeder into graduate roles at the same organisations.

What employers ask for

An accredited degree in electrical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, or power systems engineering. The subject genuinely matters here more than in most graduate jobs - you need the underlying theory on three-phase systems, fault analysis and machines, and most employers won't take a general science or non-engineering degree for a design post.
A 2:1 is the common asking grade, though plenty of employers accept a 2:2 with relevant experience, particularly smaller consultancies and contractors. Larger graduate schemes are stricter.
Degree accreditation by the IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology) matters if you want to go chartered later - an accredited MEng usually meets the educational requirement for CEng, while an accredited BEng typically needs topping up with further learning.
A driving licence is frequently asked for, because substations and overhead line routes are rarely near a station.

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Many roles require security clearance or vetting, because electricity networks are critical national infrastructure. This can restrict some positions depending on nationality and residency history.
Prior CAD exposure and any familiarity with power system analysis software is a real advantage but usually taught on the job rather than demanded upfront.

Skills that matter

Power systems fundamentals - fault level, impedance, earthing and protection coordination

Almost every calculation you produce rests on this theory, and getting it wrong has safety and reliability consequences rather than just commercial ones.

Reading and applying written standards

HV design is heavily codified, and much of the job is working out which clause of which standard governs the situation in front of you and justifying your choice in writing.

CAD literacy and drawing discipline

Your output is drawings that someone will build from, so clean layering, correct symbols, consistent revision control and clear annotation are the actual deliverable.

Numerical care and self-checking

A transposed digit in a cable size or clearance distance can survive review and reach site, so engineers who systematically check their own work get trusted with bigger packages quickly.

Writing clear technical justification

Designs get checked, approved and sometimes challenged, so you need to explain in plain written English why a design meets the standard - design reports and technical queries are a large part of the paperwork.

Spatial and practical awareness

A design that is electrically correct but can't be installed, maintained or switched out safely will come straight back from site, so visualising access, cranage and maintenance space matters.

Putting these on a CV? We counted which skills 12,914 live graduate adverts ask for, and what to do with the answer — part of our application advice.

Where it leads

Graduate or assistant design engineer - working on parts of a design under supervision, with everything checked by a senior engineer. Typically the first two to four years, though this varies with how quickly you get exposure to full projects.
Design engineer with your own work packages and sign-off on routine designs. Around this point most people are working towards Incorporated or Chartered Engineer status with the IET; the usual expectation is somewhere in the region of four to six years after graduating, but it depends entirely on evidence of responsibility rather than time served.
Senior design engineer - checking and approving other people's designs, acting as technical lead on projects, and owning the technical relationship with a client. Chartered status is commonly expected or strongly encouraged by this stage.
From there the path forks: principal engineer or technical authority (deeper specialism in protection, earthing, cable systems or HVDC), engineering or design manager (running teams and resourcing), or project/programme management on the delivery side. Some move into consultancy, contracting or client-side roles to change the balance between design depth and commercial responsibility.
Specialist routes also exist in offshore wind and grid connection design, substation automation, and expert witness or independent verification work for established chartered engineers.

What people get wrong

“You spend your days working near live high voltage equipment.”

Most HV design work is desk-based - drawings, calculations and specifications. Site visits happen, but usually to de-energised or safely accessible areas, and anyone working on live apparatus needs specific authorisation under the network operator's safety rules, which design engineers often do not hold.

“It's essentially advanced CAD drafting.”

CAD is the medium, not the job. The substance is the engineering judgement behind the drawing - deciding the earthing arrangement, the protection philosophy, the clearances and the equipment ratings - and much of a senior engineer's time goes on justification documents and review rather than drawing.

“The design is the engineer's creative choice.”

It's constrained to a degree people find surprising. Network operators publish their own standard designs and approved equipment lists, and large parts of a scheme are about correctly applying an existing standard arrangement rather than inventing one. Innovation tends to happen within tightly defined limits because the asset has to be maintainable for decades.

“It's a shrinking, old-fashioned corner of engineering.”

Grid connections for renewables, electrification of transport and heat, and the replacement of ageing substation assets have made HV design one of the busier parts of the UK engineering market, with a well-known shortage of experienced engineers.

Where this varies

The job differs a lot depending on who employs you. At a distribution or transmission network operator you work to one organisation's standards on its own assets, with strong structure, good training and clear chartership support, but a narrower technical range. At a consultancy you move between clients, voltage levels and project types - more variety, more deadlines, more time writing reports. At a contractor the design is closer to construction, so you spend more time resolving buildability problems and less on early concept work. Renewable energy developers focus heavily on grid connection design and the connection application process with the network operator. Sector also shapes it: rail traction power, offshore wind, data centres and heavy industry all run HV systems with their own standards and quirks. Geographically, work clusters around network operator regions, the Scottish and North Sea coasts for offshore wind, and major cities for consultancy offices, though hybrid working is now common for the desk-based portion.

See all 11 live Hv Design Engineer jobsFrom employers' own careers sites, updated daily Tailor your CV for this roleFree with an account, 3 a month

General guidance about the role across the UK market, not about any specific employer. Entry routes and requirements vary — always check the individual job advert.