Principal Engineer

Principal Hardware Engineer

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.

• 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

• 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

• Maintain accurate asset records and site documentation
• Support audits and compliance requirements including ISO 9001, ISO 27001, and PCI-DSS

• Work with project managers, architects, and third parties to deliver infrastructure projects
• Provide technical input for data centre migrations, expansions, and refresh cycles

• 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

• 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

• 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