Civil Engineer – HV Substation

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Civil Engineer – HV Substation

Published on October 1, 2026

Project Snapshot

Summary 

• Client:  Belgian Transmission System Operator (TSO) 

• Department: Engineering – PE CW (Civil Works: foundations and buildings) 

• Contract type: Freelance / contingent labour – daily rate 

• Rate: Junior to Medior depending on experience

• Start: 26 / 10 / 2026

• End: 31 / 12 / 27

• Work regime: Full-time 

• Location: Brussels 

• Work mode: Hybrid – 2 days onsite per week, 3 days remote 

• Languages: Dutch: very good (mandatory) | French: good (mandatory) 

• Level: Junior to medior – first working experience required; Master's degree (civil/industrial engineering) mandatory 

• Right to work: Legal permission to work in Belgium mandatory. Non-EU candidates must hold a valid labour card and residence permit. 

Description

Context

The Belgian electricity transmission system operator (TSO), responsible for the high-voltage transmission grid (36–380 kV) that carries electricity from generators to distribution grids and major industrial consumers. As part of a European TSO operating in Belgium and Germany our client is at the centre of one of Europe's most active grid investment programmes, driven by the integration of offshore wind capacity, the energy transition, and the interconnection of European grids.

The Engineering Department is structured around several Project Engineering (PE) disciplines, each with a distinct technical domain: PE CW (Civil Works), PE SUB (HV components and substation utilities), PE Lines (overhead lines and towers), and PE PAC (protection, automation, and control systems). The PE CW discipline focuses on the foundations and civil/structural engineering of the client's HV infrastructure the substations, buildings, and civil structures that house and support the electrical equipment across Belgium.

The Project Engineer – CW works within multidisciplinary project teams, acting as the civil engineering interface between the design team, technical experts, and the Project Leader. The Project Leader holds the overall organisational responsibility within a project; the Project Engineer holds the technical ownership. This is a genuinely cross-functional role civil technical expertise must be integrated with electrical, mechanical, and environmental constraints, and communicated effectively to project stakeholders in both Dutch and French.

Required Qualification

Responsibilities

Technical project ownership — civil works

• Own the technical implementation of civil works within assigned projects — from feasibility study through conceptual design, detail design, construction, and project closure. The PE CW is the primary civil engineering point of contact throughout the full project lifecycle.

• Contribute to the definition and elaboration of the project scope and civil design, carrying out and coordinating technical studies (structural assessment, foundation design, building layout, geotechnical input) required to advance the project from concept to detailed design.

• During detail design, guide and quality-control the work of the design team — ensuring that civil studies are carried out to the required standard, within the agreed scope, and on schedule. Review outputs from external consultants and internal designers.

• Proactively identify the technical consequences of new concepts, design changes, or emerging project constraints on civil works scope and implementation — and take the necessary actions to keep the project on track. This includes anticipating downstream execution issues early, when changes are still cost-effective.

• Safeguard the coherence and quality of civil designs across the project — ensuring that foundations, buildings, and civil structures are correctly integrated with the electrical and mechanical systems they support.

Interface and coordination

• Act as the key technical interface between the civil design team, specialist technical experts (geotechnics, structural calculation, environmental), and the Project Leader — translating complex civil engineering issues into clear project impacts and decisions.

• Work in close cooperation with Project Leaders and with peer Project Engineers from other PE disciplines (SUB, Lines, PAC) to maintain the overall coherence of multidisciplinary projects. The civil works scope must mesh with HV equipment layouts, cable routing, utility buildings, and site access — strong lateral coordination is essential.

• Communicate and report on project progress to relevant stakeholders — flagging deviations from scope, schedule, or quality targets, and proposing corrective actions.

• Coordinate with external parties — civil engineering contractors, consultants, site supervisors, and local authorities — as required for permitting, site investigation, and construction supervision.

Scope of civil works — typical project elements

• Substation foundations — foundation design and specification for HV equipment (transformers, switchgear, GIS/AIS bays), taking into account soil conditions, equipment weights and dynamic loads, seismic considerations, and maintenance access requirements

• Equipment and utility buildings — new construction and modification of equipment buildings, control rooms, and utility rooms within substations, including structural design, façade, roofing, HVAC interfaces, and flood protection

• Civil infrastructure within substations — drainage systems, roads and access paths, cable trenches, fencing, bunded areas, civil finishes, and civil utilities serving the HV equipment

• Greenfield and brownfield substation projects — from early-stage geotechnical investigation and site studies through to civil construction supervision and as-built documentation

• Rehabilitation and upgrade works — civil refurbishment of existing substation infrastructure to extend operational life or accommodate new electrical equipment layouts

Profile

Technical

• Master's degree in engineering — civil engineering or industrial engineering with a construction focus. This is a mandatory qualification.

• First working experience in civil/structural engineering — internships or junior positions in design, engineering consultancy, construction supervision, or project engineering are relevant. The role is accessible to recent graduates who have gained meaningful practical exposure during their studies or first position.

• Solid grounding in civil/structural engineering fundamentals — structural mechanics, concrete and steel design, geotechnics, building physics. Ability to read and assess engineering drawings and calculation notes.

• Knowledge of electricity grids or high-voltage infrastructure is a significant advantage — candidates with any HV or energy infrastructure exposure are preferred. Prior TSO exposure is a plus but is not required.

• Strong analytical capability — able to work through complex, multi-parameter technical problems and arrive at practical, implementable conclusions.

Communication and teamwork

• Very good Dutch — spoken and written. Dutch is the primary working language for Regio NO project teams and for day-to-day communication with designers, contractors, and Belgian project partners.

• Good French — able to work in French with French-speaking colleagues, stakeholders, and contractors. Belgium's bilingual context means the PE CW regularly operates across both languages.

• Strong communication skills — able to explain civil technical issues clearly to non-civil colleagues (electrical engineers, project leaders, management). The interface role requires genuine cross-disciplinary communication, not just technical depth.

• Team-first mindset — comfortable working in multidisciplinary project teams where no single discipline owns the full picture. The PE CW must collaborate effectively with PE SUB, PE Lines, PE PAC, Project Leaders, and a wide range of technical experts.

Compliance

• Legal right to work in Belgium — mandatory for all candidates

• Non-EU candidates: valid Belgian labour card (toelating tot arbeid / autorisation de travail) and valid Belgian residence permit required — both must be in place before the start of the assignment

Summary

• Bruxelles, Belgique
• Freelance
• Based on experience

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