Principal Engineer

Principal Hardware Engineer

Overview
Senior hands-on role responsible for the physical delivery and lifecycle management of infrastructure across data centres, build labs, and office environments. This role combines deep technical expertise with on-site leadership, risk ownership, and responsibility for engineering standards in critical environments.

Key Responsibilities

Infrastructure Delivery

Lead and execute physical build, installation, relocation, and decommissioning of servers, storage, and network hardware

Own rack layouts, structured cabling, patching, labelling, and cable management standards

Coordinate power, cooling, and space planning with facilities and design teams

Oversee logistics, manual handling, and on-site hardware movements

Risk, Safety & Change

Produce and maintain RAMS for engineering activities

Identify operational risks and implement mitigations

Operate within formal Change Management processes, including CAB participation for data centre works

Enforce health and safety standards on site

Documentation & Compliance

Maintain accurate asset records and site documentation

Support audits and compliance requirements including ISO 9001, ISO 27001, and PCI-DSS

Project Support

Work with project managers, architects, and third parties to deliver infrastructure projects

Provide technical input for data centre migrations, expansions, and refresh cycles

Experience & Skills Required

Experience

5+ years in data centre operations or infrastructure engineering

Strong knowledge of commodity compute, storage, and networking hardware

Advanced understanding of data centre best practice

Experience producing and working to RAMS in critical environments

Structured cabling expertise (Cat6/6a, OM3/OM4, fibre)

Working knowledge of power distribution, PDUs, and load balancing

Skills

Methodical, accurate, and calm under pressure

Clear communicator with engineers, customers, and stakeholders

Takes ownership of on-site decisions and outcomes

Able to prioritise workload across multiple activities

Vetting & Practical Requirements

Clean manual driving licence

Valid passport

Ability to pass BS7858 vetting

Eligibility for UK SC clearance (5 years UK residency)

Willingness to travel to UK and overseas sites

Flexibility to work nights and weekends when required