Graduate Energy Engineer London, England
Job description
This is an exciting opportunity for a recent graduate to join our growing Energy team in our London office, as part of our 2023 graduate intake in early autumn.
From helping shape entire cities to adapting infrastructure and dealing with the climate emergency, a career at Buro Happold presents the chance to make a difference.
Engineer Innovation
Join our Energy Team
An exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic Energy Graduate to join our London team. This role will see you consulting on energy use in individual buildings, developments and campuses, through to international masterplanning projects and studies that directly influence national decarbonisation policies.
Our Buro Happold Energy team specialise in design and techno-economic analysis for supply, distribution and demand. In fact we are one of the few consultancies who can fully design energy systems and also accurately model their commercial performance.
To find out more about our Energy discipline please click here.
What sort of projects would I work on?
We offer opportunities to work at the full scale of projects both nationally and internationally, including;
- Spatial analytics using innovative techniques in mapping and big data
- Low carbon district energy feasibility studies, re-configuring the way we generate, distribute and use energy
- Campus and major site masterplanning studies systems; modelling, designing and helping our clients transition to net zero carbon.
- Building retrofit; trading off the potential to cost effectively reuse our existing building versus new build.
- Town and city-wide heat network assessments and studies directly influencing the future of heat network policy in the UK
We work on projects throughout the lifecycle from research to concept to design to detailed design and implementation, including optimising and decarbonising legacy systems. Example UK projects include:
Communiheat
How one rural community’s commitment to transition from oil to low carbon heating is fuelling the UK’s intention to reach net zero by 2050. CommuniHeat seeks to develop a roadmap and ‘write the book’ that will enable rural communities to switch from expensive and carbon intensive fossil fuels to low carbon heating over the next 10 years. With fossil fuel based domestic heating accounting for 18% of the UK’s carbon emissions, this would be a considerable victory in the struggle to save our planet. Our Energy team are working on a range of innovative first of a kind projects which will impact directly on not just the immediate client but also influence policy and thinking throughout the industry.
Port of Tyne Decarbonisation Strategy
To help the Port of Tyne meet it’s decarbonisation targets, reduce reliance on grid imported power and meet projected increases in electrified operations, the Buro Happold energy team were commissioned to develop a sitewide energy masterplan and implementation roadmap for the rollout of major onsite renewable infrastructure including solar PV and wind turbines.
The study involved spatial planning, phasing and complex energy modelling around the existing and future demands of the site including the introduction of shore power for vessels, low carbon building heating systems (i.e. heat pumps) and electrified vehicle fleets. Planning and cost specialist were appointed and a cost benefit and carbon saving analysis was performed to give confidence to the long term benefits of on site renewable deployment against a “business as usual scenario”. Our continued work with the port is now taking these concepts to more detailed levels of design.
Heat Network Zoning (HNZ)
As part of the UK governments strategy to decarbonise the built environment, Buro Happold is working across cities alongside the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) on a pilot study to develop a nationwide methodology for identifying and designating areas as heat network zones. The project involves city wide stakeholder engagement, big scale data collection, identification of heat sources, mapping and modelling as well as techno-economic analysis of opportunities for heat networks on a scale not yet seen in the UK. Outputs of our work will directly influence policies around the future mandation of buildings, both existing and future, to connect to low carbon heat networks.
London Energy Accelerator (LEA) – Greater London Authority
Our current role on the GLA Local Energy Accelerator programme as the Programme Delivery Unit consultant has meant that we have developed an oversight of energy projects across London as well as developing relationships with stakeholders across the housing, education and health sectors and DESNZ. Our role includes identifying energy projects for development funding and supporting them through delivery - providing technical support to the beneficiary and acting as a ‘critical friend’ to accelerate projects.
We have supported over 20 projects including London’s first Local Area Energy Plan, heat network projects utilising waste heat from data centres and solar PV across NHS Trust sites. In addition, our role has included providing strategic support to GLA including, most recently, mapping waste heat potential across London.
Shawfair District Heating Network Design
In 2020 Midlothian Energy Ltd. was formed as a joint venture between Midlothian Council and Vattenfall Heat UK, aimed at delivering low carbon heat to households across Midlothian and south Edinburgh. The Shawfair Energy Centre project represents a first key step towards achieving this, through the supply of heat to the new Shawfair development from the Millerhill Energy Recycling and Recovery Centre. The project will enable the provision of low carbon heat via a low temperature district heating network to more than 3,000 homes, capturing heat from the nearby Millerhill Energy Recycling and Recovery Centre.
Buro Happold carried out the multi-disciplinary Stage 3 design of the new energy centre and district heat network serving the new development. with our energy team delivering the specialist district energy system design covering energy modelling, hydraulic modelling, mechanical and process engineering, HV/LV electrical design and process safety (HAZID) reviews.
Key engineering systems included the 20MWth energy centre low temperature hot water system, 12MWth of back-up renewable heat generation, 400m3 of thermal energy storage, 8km district heating network and nine customer heat stations.
The multi-disciplinary design of the new energy centre building included civil engineering and infrastructure design (covering drainage and utilities coordination), ground engineering, energy centre structural design and energy centre building services and system-wide controls design.
What would I do?
- Contribute to live projects from the start and have real responsibilities and deadlines; advise clients, other engineers, architects and urban planners on holistic solutions. Specific project exposure will include district energy projects and masterplan development including Energy Centre design, load calculations, conventional and renewable technologies and energy policy.
- Working alongside experienced engineering colleagues and attending client meetings, you will have your own workload to manage and we will encourage and support you to make an impact from the start.
- Undertake testing, reporting and presentations to develop design concepts. Think 'outside the box' to demonstrate creativity and diversity when approaching engineering problems to arrive at workable solutions.
- You will be engaged in wider Energy team activities so you feel ownership for its success; being at the centre of our online presence and technical development.
About you
- An Energy related Engineering degree (e.g. Energy, Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical or Civil), or Environmental Science with spatial systematic skills and energy content.
- A passion for engineering design, sustainability, research and making a meaningful contribution to society.
- Possesses initiative and thrives in a team environment.
- Good written and verbal communication skills.
- Highly motivated, a self starter and committed to professional development.
What’s in it for you?
Broad insight within a team, mentored by a subject matter expert. The opportunity to experience our culture and value, and learn what sets us apart from other organisations. Exposure to a wide range of portfolios, including local community led projects and global large scale clients. The diversity of the projects we work on is one of the many reasons Engineers love to work at Buro Happold.
A plethora of interesting and challenging projects to stretch your professional skills, a friendly and close knit team, flexible working and a competitive reward package. The opportunity to work on multidisciplinary projects aside a range of specialist engineers and designers both within Buro Happold and our collaborators.
Opportunity to be supported (or even join) our Young Employee's Forum in your local office, join bi-annual events/trips, and contribute your experience and learnings to the next generation of engineers through various outreach activities.
Our Graduate Connect program allows our Graduates to learn the fundamentals of design and technology whilst building a base in consulting and professional skills. This is a blended learning programme where participants gain experience against our internal professional and technical frameworks in relation to their specialism.
We see membership of a professional body and professional registration as crucial to the development of our engineers and offer substantial support to those aspiring to achieve this. We aim to support employees to achieve the highest level of membership and registration their academic background allows.
Please see our Early Careers Candidate Pack for further guidance and information
Buro Happold Energy - Eliott's Story from Buro Happold on Vimeo.
How long does the process take?
The recruitment timeline can vary depending on the role and team you are applying to. Successful applications are progressed to interview stage within 1 month from the closing date of the advert, but it is good to know that the whole process can take up to 4 months. Interviews would preferably be conducted in person in our London office, however remote interviews can also be arranged.
We will endeavour to keep you informed throughout the time that your application is being considered, however, due to the volume of applications received and the size of our team, we are not able to respond to individual requests for status updates.
Interested? Intrigued? Inspired?
This role is for recent graduates for an Autumn 2023 start. #LI-AB3 #LI-Hybrid
Be you at Buro Happold
Buro Happold is proud to be a practice of a diverse range of professionals. We actively promote inclusivity to enable every individual to reach their full potential, the more inclusive we are the better our work will be.
We are working to change the lack of representation of minority groups in the built environment, and are particularly keen to hear from anyone who feels they are underrepresented in the industry. We have much to learn from one another. Embracing difference allows us to develop the most innovative and elegant solutions.
