Primary Design Engineer

Primary Design Engineer – HV Substations

We are looking for an experienced Primary Design Engineer to join a growing engineering team delivering major HV/MV substation projects for data centre and industrial clients across Scandinavia.

Based in Lisbon or Porto, this is a strong long-term opportunity with significant potential for career progression and the opportunity to grow within a rapidly expanding company.

The Role

You will be responsible for the primary electrical design and physical layout of AIS and GIS high-voltage substations, working closely with civil, structural, secondary and protection teams to deliver safe, technically sound and constructable designs.

Key Responsibilities

• Design AIS and GIS HV substation layouts and primary equipment arrangements.
• Develop busbar configurations, equipment spacing and safety clearances.
• Produce general arrangements, layouts, sections and elevations.
• Design GIS interfaces including cable sealing ends, bushings and transformer connections.
• Support MV distribution and switchgear room layouts for data centre projects.
• Coordinate primary equipment with protection, automation and SCADA systems.
• Support specification and selection of transformers, switchgear, busbars and cable systems.
• Coordinate designs with civil and structural engineering teams.
• Participate in engineering reviews and support construction/as-built documentation.
• Ensure designs comply with IEC standards, project specifications, grid requirements and safety requirements.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering.
• 5+ years’ experience in primary HV substation design.
• Experience with AIS and/or GIS substation design.
• Strong knowledge of HV equipment arrangements, physical layouts and clearance management.
• Experience with PRIMTECH and/or Revit.
• Strong AutoCAD skills.
• Good understanding of HV/MV equipment, transformers, switchgear and busbars.
• Knowledge of insulation coordination and IEC standards.
• ETAP experience is advantageous.
• Data centre or industrial electrical infrastructure experience is a plus.
• Strong English communication skills; Portuguese is advantageous.
• Based in or willing to work from Lisbon or Porto, Portugal.
• EU citizenship preferred due to occasional travel across Scandinavia.

Why Join?

• Work on major HV substation projects supporting the Scandinavian data centre market.
• Exposure to complex AIS/GIS and multidisciplinary engineering projects.
• Long-term opportunity within a growing business.
• Strong opportunities for career progression and increased responsibility.
• Based in Lisbon or Porto, with international project exposure.