Senior Security Systems Design Engineer

Title: Senior Security Systems Design Engineer
Location: Blackburn
Job Type: Contract
Length: 12 months +
Rate: £600-£650 per day INSIDE IR35

Security Clearance required - can start on BPSS then moving to SC

Qualifications and training (typical)
- HNC/HND/Degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering (or demonstrable equivalent
experience).
- Recognised electrical/safety training aligned to site requirements (varies by operator).
- Vendor training/certification (beneficial): major VMS/ACS/IDS platforms used in the sector.
- Security vetting/clearance: Enhanced BPSS & SC clearances required.

Role purpose
Design, engineer and assure integrated electronic security systems (ESS) for Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) sites (e.g., energy, water, transport, telecoms, defence-related estates). The role ensures electronic & physical security solutions are safe, compliant, resilient, maintainable, and proportionate to assessed risk-often within high-assurance environments and under strict governance.

Scope and typical systems
- Access Control Systems (ACS): door controllers, credential technologies, biometrics, turnstiles, vehicle access.
- Intruder Detection Systems (IDS): perimeter and internal detection, alarm routing, graded
signalling.
- Video Surveillance (CCTV/VSS): fixed/PTZ, analytics, storage, evidential export.
- Perimeter security electronics: fence detection, radar, thermal, gates/barriers interfacing.
- Intercom/help points, duress/panic alarms, lockdown/alerting functions.
- Security management and integration platforms: PSIM, VMS, access control management, event correlation.
- Alarm monitoring integration: SOC/ARC interfaces, incident response workflows.
- Power and resilience: UPS, battery autonomy, dual feeds, segregation, surge protection,
earthing/bonding.
- Networked security infrastructure: structured cabling, fibre, PoE, network segmentation, time sync, secure remote access patterns (as governed).

Key responsibilities
1) Concept and requirements engineering
- Translate security risk assessments, threat models and operational requirements into clear
engineering requirements and performance specs.
- Develop security design concepts (architecture options, resilience models, failure modes,
coverage principles) aligned to the site's criticality.
- Define interface requirements with OT/IT, building systems, fire systems and operational
processes.
2) Detailed design and engineering delivery
- Produce design packs: single line diagrams, schematics, panel designs, cable schedules, device layouts, containment requirements, integration interface documents, network topologies (as
required).
- Select appropriate technologies and grades of equipment aligned with environment, threat, maintainability and lifecycle cost.
- Engineer power budgets, UPS autonomy, segregation, EMC considerations, and environmental suitability (IP ratings, temperature, corrosion).
- Ensure designs support safe installation and maintainability (access for servicing, spares
strategy, configuration control).
3) Compliance, assurance and governance
- Design in accordance with relevant standards, client governance and site rules (including safety, electrical, security and information assurance requirements).
- Participate in design reviews, HAZID/HAZOP or equivalent safety/security assurance activities where applicable.
- Maintain traceability: requirements ? design ? test ? as-built manage design change control.
4) Cyber-physical security alignment
- Work with cybersecurity/architecture teams to ensure secure-by-design principles for
networked security systems (segmentation, hardening assumptions, credential management, logging, patching constraints).
- Produce documentation to support risk acceptance and operational security processes (account management, secure maintenance, audit trails).
5) Testing, commissioning and handover
- Define test strategies: FAT/SAT, integrated testing, performance validation, resilience/failover tests, alarm response verification.
- Support commissioning, resolve defects, verify as-built compliance, and produce handover documentation and training inputs.
- Ensure operational readiness: SOPs input, maintenance regimes, spares, and configuration backups.
6) Stakeholder and supplier management
- Specify and evaluate supplier solutions review technical submissions, RFIs, deviations and value engineering proposals.
- Provide technical support to procurement and contract teams (scope clarity, acceptance criteria, warranties, support arrangements).

Deliverables
- User/Operational Requirements (input or authored sections) and System Requirements
Specification
- Security System Architecture and integration/interface control documents (ICDs)
- Drawings: GA/device layouts, wiring diagrams, schematics, cabinet layouts, network diagrams
- Schedules: equipment lists, I/O schedules, cable schedules, power/UPS calculations
- Test documentation: FAT/SAT scripts, test evidence requirements, commissioning plans
- As-built pack, O&M manuals review, training materials input, configuration baselines

Skills and competencies
Technical
- Strong electrical engineering fundamentals: power distribution, protection, earthing/bonding, cable design, fault finding principles.
- Solid understanding of physical security technologies (ACS, IDS, VSS, perimeter detection) and integration patterns.
- Knowledge of resilience engineering (redundancy, autonomy, graceful degradation, fail
secure/fail-safe behaviour).
- Competence in drawings and engineering documentation control (CAD and document
management practices).
- Familiarity with networking concepts relevant to ESS (IP addressing, VLANs, PoE budgets,
bandwidth/storage sizing, time synchronisation).

Experience (typical)
- 3-8+ years in security systems engineering/design or related building services/controls with significant ESS exposure.
- Experience delivering projects through full lifecycle: concept to handover.
- Experience working under strict governance (design gates, audits, regulated change control)
and within live operational sites.