Principal Highways Engineer - Lighting
Team: HIG - Highways Lighting
Job Family: Enabling - CBG11
Salary: £41,042 - £44,296 per annum
Hours: 37 hours per week
Location: You will be expected to attend Thorn Turn Depot, Houghton Regis and any CBC office location as often as needed to carry out your role, which will be no less than once per month.
Contract Type: Hybrid – Permanent
Closing Date: 18th January 2026
Interview Date: W/C 26th January 2026
About the role:
This is an exciting opportunity to join the Highways Maintenance team as a Principal Highways Engineer and to help shape future street lighting growth in Central Bedfordshire, as well as maintaining and upgrading our current assets. The lighting network is critical to economic growth, with investment proposed and planned in the road network, rail stations and service connectivity plus active travel.
As the Principal Highways Engineer, you will be involved in the day to day operation of the street lighting and work in partnership with other service providers including our Term Service Contractor, to develop an integrated approach to service delivery and assist in the overall management and delivery of the street lighting term contract.
The ideal candidate will have a relevant professional qualification in Electrical Engineering and / or The ILP Exterior Street Lighting Diploma (or a closely related discipline), thorough knowledge of Electrical Regulations and Health and Safety Legislation under which this service operates, together with significant experience in street lighting and highways. We welcome candidates with relevant experience and training, and we can offer internal and external development opportunities for the right person.
As part of our team, you will:
- Be able to identify and update the street lighting asset register and computer management system.
- Assess the safety and record the installation details of new street light installations.
- Develop programmes of work for cyclic activities
- Participate in meetings with key stakeholders and monitor contractors and their employees.
- Liaise with internal and external teams and provide advice and support on existing and proposed lighting
- Work on their own initiative to tight deadlines.
- Be qualified to inspect street lighting and electrical installations on the public highway.
- It would be beneficial to have previous local government experience, but it is not essential.
If you're keen to make a positive difference to our local communities and want to build or advance a career in highways engineering and traffic management we’d love to hear from you.
What We’re Looking For
We’re seeking candidates who bring:
- An interest in practical problem-solving using engineering
- Ability to work as part of a team
- Strong technical skills, with the ability to draft short reports
- Excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage a varied workload
- Good communication skills in responding to emails from, colleagues, residents and occasionally, local councillors
- Ability to travel independently to undertake site visit and surveys
- An understanding of how the public highway is managed, including relevant legislation and regulations
- Proficient in IT with hands-on experience using various Microsoft Office applications
- Familiarity with working in an environment where there are regulations designed to ensure people are protected from risks
- Experience of delivering small highway related projects
- Awareness of how council’s operate
Why Join Us?
Become part of a supportive team where you’ll benefit from flexible working arrangements, opportunities to learn new skills, and the chance to advance your career. Help us deliver better services to our community and take on a role that offers both challenge and the chance to make a positive difference to peoples’ daily experience when travelling.
Our Offer
We have a number of rewards and benefits available to our staff, to view these please visit our Rewards and Benefits page
Our aspiration is to be a truly flexible employer. We welcome discussion on location, hours and working pattern as part of the application process.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You will be expected to demonstrate how you meet the key accountabilities and competencies in this Recruitment Pack.
Our Competency Framework and Qualification Guidance are to be read in conjunction with our Recruitment Pack.
For an informal discussion about this position, please contact: Rick Thompson (Capital Programme Delivery Manager) rick.thompson@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk or call 0300 300 4747
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To maintain a fair and consistent approach for applicants, it is Central Bedfordshire Council's policy to only consider applications made via our online application system and we therefore thank you for not submitting your application offline.
Our National Careers Service team offer a free monthly workshop covering CV writing and how to complete the statement sections of the Central Bedfordshire Council online application form. This MS Teams workshop is open to anyone from the UK and lasts around 1.5 hours. Please book your place here.
More information about this service can be found here: Support getting into work or learning | Central Bedfordshire Council