Senior Security Systems Design Engineer
Morson Edge
Blackburn · posted 13 August 2026
Salary
£156,000 – £169,000 a year
Job type
contract
Location
Blackburn, Lancashire
Category
Information Technology
Title: Senior Security Systems Design Engineer
Scroll down to find an indepth overview of this job, and what is expected of candidates Make an application by clicking on the Apply button.
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. xwzovoh
- Experience working under strict governance (design gates, audits, regulated change control)
and within live operational sites.
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Scroll down to find an indepth overview of this job, and what is expected of candidates Make an application by clicking on the Apply button.
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. xwzovoh
- Experience working under strict governance (design gates, audits, regulated change control)
and within live operational sites.