Head of Technical Development

Company

HeatGrid Ireland is the first developer of district heating on the island of Ireland which offers a full turnkey solution to low-carbon heat networks, starting from initial feasibility right through to a fully operational system, including the funding and construction of the project. To deliver this, we are rapidly expanding our team which will be responsible for delivering district heating networks across a number of Irish cities in the years ahead.

Our Purpose

Ireland has the lowest share of renewable heating in Europe at approximately 5% and in HeatGrid Ireland, our overarching ambition is to increase this number and make a significant contribution to Ireland’s decarbonisation journey.

District heating is the most well-established and cost-effective form of low-carbon heating in urban areas. All of the countries in Europe who are leading in terms of renewable heat, also have the most well-established district heating networks. For example, countries such as Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania and Finland are already supplying approximately 50% of their total heat in buildings from district heating whereas Ireland has a share of less than 1%.

Our purpose in HeatGrid Ireland is to rapidly develop district heating networks at scale in Ireland to reduce carbon emissions in all of our cities and towns. We are expanding our team after recently securing investment from the European Investment Bank as well as being granted planning permission for Ireland’s largest ever district heating network. If you want to be part of a fast-paced working environment which is aiming to leave a lasting legacy in Ireland’s transition to a low-carbon energy sector, then HeatGrid Ireland is for you!

Role's Purpose

As Head of Technical Development, you will lead the engineering function that turns opportunities into investable, buildable district heating projects. You will own every technical workstream from blank page through to the point construction starts — concept design, feasibility, options appraisal and technical evidence across Energy Centres, Heat Networks and Customer Connections.

This is a design leadership role rather than a detailed design role. Your team produces the concept and developed designs and the technical evidence that supports planning, funding, customer contracts and investment decisions. At the point of construction, design responsibility transfers to the delivery team, and one of your most important accountabilities is making that handover clean, complete and contractually sound.

Equally important is judgement about how much engineering to do, and when. Development capital is finite and every project competes for it. You will own the technical stage gates that govern our pipeline, ensuring each project carries exactly the level of design maturity its stage requires, enough to price risk, secure consents and commit capital with confidence, without spending money on detail the project has not yet earned.

You will build and lead a multidisciplinary team spanning energy centre design, network design, customer connections and early-stage energy engineering, working alongside our commercial, development, planning and delivery colleagues, and directing a supply chain of specialist consultants, suppliers and contractors.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the technical team

· Lead, develop and grow HeatGrid's technical team, including the Energy Centre Design Lead, Network Design Lead, Customer Connections Design Lead and Energy Engineers

· Set the technical direction, standards and design philosophy for Energy Centres, Heat Networks and Customer Connections

· Plan and allocate technical resource across the project pipeline, balancing internal capacity against external consultant support

· Build capability through mentoring, structured development and support for professional chartership

· Own the technical development budget, including consultant and survey spend

Own concept design and feasibility (blank page to construction start)

· Direct the production of concept and developed designs for Energy Centres, heat networks and building connections, including plant selection, footprint and layout, network routing, substations and customer interfaces

· Own the Basis of Design and Design Brief for each project

· Direct heat demand assessment, energy systems modelling, energy balance and hydraulic modelling, and technology options appraisal

· Oversee site identification and land assessment for Energy Centres and network infrastructure, and customer building surveys

· Ensure outline construction drawings, specifications, O&M strategy and preliminary engineering evidence are produced to a consistent, reviewable standard

· Chair design reviews, approve technical deliverables and act as the final internal technical authority before each gate

Right-size the engineering: stage gates and pipeline discipline

· Define and own the technical stage-gate criteria for the development pipeline

· Judge the appropriate depth of engineering for each project's stage, maturity and risk profile, protecting the business from both premature over-engineering and under-cooked designs entering procurement

· Sequence technical work so that spend follows project confidence, and flag early when a project's technical risk no longer justifies further investment

· Maintain the technical deliverables schedule feeding planning submissions, funding applications, customer contracts and investment approvals

Contracts, procurement and handover to construction

· Define procurement and contracting strategies for design, supply, construction and operation

· Ensure design responsibility is clearly allocated through design responsibility matrices, employer's requirements and technical schedules

· Prepare and approve scopes of work, tender documentation and technical schedules for consultants, suppliers and contractors; lead pre-qualification and technical evaluation of proposals

· Own the formal design handover to the construction and delivery team

· Ensure design-stage health and safety duties are discharged, including Project Supervisor Design Process appointments and design risk assessment

Support the investment case

· Provide the technical inputs and assumptions that underpin project financial model

· Own the CAPEX and OPEX assumptions database and the technical basis of cost estimates

· Present technical evidence and risk to the leadership team, investment committee, funders and their technical advisers

· Support grant and funding applications

Customers, utilities and stakeholders

· Oversee the technical proposition for customer connections, including solutions to reduce flow temperatures and increase temperature differentials in customer buildings, balanced against their commercial implications

· Approve the technical schedules within heat supply agreements and connection agreements

· Direct utility connection sizing, utility applications and assess connection costs

· Provide technical input to planning applications, environmental assessment and consenting, and to engagement with local authorities and regulators

Quality, standards and continuous improvement

· Establish and maintain design standards, templates, calculation methods and a technical assurance process proportionate to a growing business

· Ensure designs comply with relevant codes and good practice, including CIBSE CP1 and applicable Irish and European standards and heat network regulation

· Capture lessons learned from construction and operations and feed them back into future concept designs

· Support the leadership team in the strategic and organisational development of the business

 

These are the core responsibilities of the role, but the successful candidate is expected to be flexible and to support activities across other HeatGrid functions including technical development, delivery and internal operations as required.

Essential Requirements

· A degree in Mechanical Engineering, Building Services Engineering, Energy Systems, Civil Engineering or a related discipline

· Significant experience (typically ten years or more) in the design and technical development of energy or utility infrastructure

· A track record of taking projects from early concept through feasibility to a construction-ready position, and handing them over to a delivery organisation

· Strong working knowledge of district heating or comparable thermal systems: energy centres, heat generation plant, thermal storage, distribution networks, hydraulic modelling, substations and building connections

· A strong understanding of construction contracts and how design maturity drives risk, price and programme

· Demonstrable judgement in right-sizing engineering effort: deciding what level of design is proportionate at each stage of a development pipeline

· Commercial fluency, able to read a project financial model and understand how technical assumptions drive project returns

· Experience procuring and directing consultants, suppliers and contractors, including scoping, evaluating and managing budgets

· A genuine commitment to decarbonising heat in Ireland

Desirable

· Experience of the Irish energy, planning and utility landscape, including SEAI, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, local authorities and the Irish utility connection processes

· Familiarity with CIBSE CP1, heat network metering and billing requirements, and emerging Irish district heating regulation

· Experience with large-scale heat pumps, waste and residual heat recovery, or geothermal heat sources

· Familiarity with the Irish Capital Works Management Framework, or with NEC, FIDIC or Engineers Ireland forms of contract

· A full, valid driving licence and willingness to travel nationally as required