Systems Engineer

We are looking for a highly motivated and technically skilled Waste Site SCADA Systems Engineer to join our Operational Technology (OT) Waste SCADA support team. In this role, you will support the critical systems that keep our wastewater operations running 24/7, delivering essential wastewater services to millions of customers.

You will be responsible for maintaining and supporting Thames Water’s Site SCADA systems (based on platforms such as AVEVA System Platform / Wonderware, FactoryTalk View, and Iconics), ensuring their security, resilience, and availability. Your work will enable remote monitoring, control, and data insight across treatment works and pumping stations, supporting front-line operations teams and capital delivery projects.

This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the future of Operational Technology in the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, helping us reduce pollution, improve performance, and drive innovation in a business delivering life’s essential service every day.

What you’ll do as a Waste Site SCADA Systems Engineer
SCADA System Support:

• Maintain high availability of site-based SCADA platforms (targeting 99.2% uptime or higher).
• Perform essential planned maintenance, including health checks, patches, and hotfixes.
• Deliver site SCADA system updates and upgrades, ensuring programmable OT/ICA assets remain up to date.
• Diagnose and resolve faults across SCADA systems, HMIs, and PLCs to restore system functionality.
• Complete disaster recovery planning and perform annual “data of last resort” backups.
• Implement and maintain security enhancements for Site SCADA systems.
• Proactively identify and mitigate risks related to system performance, integrity, and resilience.

Emergency & Out-of-Hours Coverage:

• Participate in the out-of-hours support roster for SCADA fault response.
• Respond to and resolve high-impact incidents, using technical expertise and historical data.
• Escalate recurring faults and contribute to root cause analysis and long-term mitigation.

Incident & Request Management:

• Respond to SCADA-related service requests (TAPS) within 15 working days.
• Engage with OT Fault Databases to improve service delivery and reduce reactive workload.
• Support OT access, alarm, and event data requests for operational and compliance needs.

Project & Change Support:

• Champion the OT Change Management and Risk Assessment process.
• Support Capital Delivery teams with design input, commissioning support, and risk reviews.
• Ensure all changes to site OT systems are controlled and documented.
• Provide system data and insights to help projects meet operational needs and reduce risks.

Technical Collaboration & Subject Matter Expertise:

• Act as a subject matter expert for site-based OT and SCADA systems in your regional area.
• Provide mentoring and technical guidance to ICA Technicians and other stakeholders.
• Collaborate closely with local Operations and OT teams to ensure system performance and reliability.

Team Development & Continuous Improvement:

• Maintain documentation for disaster recovery, system configuration, and support procedures.
• Support knowledge sharing across the wider OT team through guides and mentoring.
• Identify and champion opportunities for process improvement, system upgrades, and automation.

Base location – Hybrid – Thames Valley-based offices and operational wastewater sites
Working pattern – 36 hours Monday to Friday, with participation in an on-call rota

What you should bring to the role:
Essential Experience:

• Hands-on experience in maintenance or delivery of SCADA/ICA systems (e.g. AVEVA System Platform / Wonderware, FactoryTalk View, Iconics, and Allen-Bradley PLCs).
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work closely with operational teams.
• A strong passion for customer service, especially internal technical stakeholders.
• Clear and effective communication skills, including the ability to explain technical issues to non-technical audiences.
• Proven problem-solving skills with the ability to balance technical, operational, and customer-focused decision-making.

Essential Technical Skills & Qualifications:

• Recognised technical qualification in Operational Technology, ICA, or SCADA systems.
• In-depth experience supporting and configuring AVEVA, FactoryTalk, or Iconics SCADA platforms.
• Expertise in PLC-based systems, especially Allen-Bradley controllers.
• Knowledge of LAN and IP-based communications within OT environments.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and common IT tools for reporting and analysis.

Desirable Experience:

• Ability to manage conflicting priorities and deliver both reactive and project-based work.
• Knowledge or prior experience within the water or wider utilities sector.
• Exposure to project work across planning, design, and delivery stages of ICA systems.
• Familiarity with regional SCADA systems and telemetry solutions.

Desirable Technical Skills & Qualifications:

• Working knowledge of basic LAN network troubleshooting.
• Understanding of network design principles including VLANs, subnets, and redundancy protocols such as MRP or RSTP.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary up to £62,000 per annum depending on experience
• Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year increasing to 30 with the length of service (plus bank holidays)
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

Find out more about our benefits and perks

Who are we?
We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Learn more about our purpose and values

Working at Thames Water
Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy fast-tracked career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

Whether you’re interested in a role in one of our call centres or science labs, we’re looking for people like you with real passion and a burning desire to make things better.

So, if you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

Our overarching aim is to ensure that Thames Water is great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and offer extra support for those who need it throughout the recruitment process. Our aim is to remove any real or perceived barriers to success, so if you need assistance, we’re here to help and support.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.