Principal DSEAR Engineer

We’re looking for a DSEAR Principal Engineer to lead the charge in ensuring compliance and safety across our asset lifecycle. In this pivotal role, you’ll provide expert guidance, robust second-line assurance, and authoritative leadership to help Thames Water meet its statutory obligations under the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (DSEAR) 2002. This is your opportunity to shape safety standards and influence engineering excellence across one of the UK’s most essential services.

What you’ll be doing as a Principal DSEAR Engineer


The DSEAR Principal Engineer leads and oversees the management of DSEAR, drives continuous improvement in safety practices, and provides expert technical guidance to enhance the safety and well-being of employees and the community.

Key responsibilities:

• Develop and maintain a comprehensive DSEAR management system and second-line assurance strategy, including performance indicators and metrics, to monitor and report on explosion safety performance. Reporting DSEAR risk position into the Critical Risk process.
• Regularly audit and evaluate the effectiveness of the DSEAR management system, identifying opportunities for improvement and driving continuous enhancement of process safety practices.
• Proactively monitor advancements in DSEAR legislation, industry standards, and technological solutions, and implement necessary changes to maintain compliance and enhance process safety performance.
• Collaborate with regulatory authorities (HSE), industry associations, and peer organisations on DSEAR matters (Water UK, WRC, CompEx, IChemE), sharing best practices and contributing to the development of process safety standards at a global level.
• Provide expert advice and support to colleagues at all levels, addressing enquiries and challenges related to DSEAR compliance, working in hazardous areas, and process safety.
• Lead, mentor and develop a DSEAR Engineering team.

Base location: Flexible depending on the successful candidate.

Working hours: 36 hours per week.

Requirements for the role: Must have a valid UK driving license and be willing to drive across the Thames Valley regularly for site visits.

What you should bring to the role

• Extensive experience in managing DSEAR compliance and process safety within the utilities or other high-risk industries, ensuring adherence to regulatory standards and safe operational practices.
• In-depth knowledge of DSEAR regulations, ATEX directives and associated Codes of Practice.
• Proven expertise in Hazardous Area Classification.
• Demonstrated experience as a Subject Matter Expert in providing technical sign-off for Engineering projects, ensuring DSEAR compliance and safe design.
• Extensive knowledge of British Standards, IEC, IGEM, EI 15, associated with hazardous areas.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence and collaborate across multidisciplinary teams, regulatory bodies, and external partners.
• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Process Safety, or a related technical field.
• Professional membership of IChemE / IOSH. (and participation in Continuing Professional Development)
• Proven experience in creating and implementing Asset Standards is desirable.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary up to £80,000 per annum depending on experience.
• 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service. (plus bank holidays) 
• Car Allowance.
• Annual Bonus.
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Private Medical Health Care.
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of yourself 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.s
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's 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 a 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. Aims 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.