2026 Strategic Investment Planning Engineer Industrial Placement, Customer Network Development

About us

National Grid is at the heart of the UK energy network keeping people connected and society moving. We develop, own and maintain the physical infrastructure, such as pylons and cables needed to move the electricity generated from windfarms and power sources around the country. Every time a phone is plugged in, or a switch is turned on, we've played a part, connecting you to the electricity you need - and we're leading the transformation towards a greener future, dreaming bigger to bring a more affordable energy future to everyone.

But it's our people that provide our true superpower. They drive and sustain our growth, their unique differences only making us stronger. But it's no small feat and we need the best to join us in our mission. So, join us and power the future of energy. 

About The Role

This role sits within the Customer Network Development (CND) function at National Grid, which is dedicated to connecting new and existing generation and demand customers to the energy network. CND is responsible for building offers that include contractual and technical requirements, developing customer connections through appropriate technical designs, and managing efficient delivery. The team prioritises strong relationships with customers and industry partners, ensuring compliance with relevant codes and frameworks. CND is also leading efforts to redesign the connections process—reducing lead times and enhancing customer satisfaction—while delivering excellent customer service and supporting the energy transition.

As a Strategic Investment Planning Engineer, you will play a critical role in shaping the future of the transmission network. You’ll develop regional and sub-regional strategies that align with National Grid’s long-term vision, planning strategic investments that extend as far as 2050 and beyond. This involves analysing network drivers, market trends, and stakeholder input to stage near-term investments and identify future infrastructure needs. You’ll also lead the early development of infrastructure projects, exploring high-level options and collective drivers in a whole-system approach. The role includes scoping project objectives, timelines, and resources, assessing risks, and ensuring regulatory compliance. You’ll support financial evaluations and funding requests, while identifying opportunities for innovation through emerging technologies and methodologies. Your work will contribute to building resilient, efficient, and sustainable infrastructure systems that meet both current and future energy demands.

What You’ll Do

• Develop strategic regional plans for the transmission network, aligning with long-term energy goals and future technologies.
• Shape early-stage infrastructure projects, identifying collective drivers and high-level delivery options.
• Analyse data and stakeholder input to inform investment decisions and prioritise future network needs.
• Collaborate across teams and with external partners to ensure alignment and gather insights for planning.
• Conduct risk assessments and ensure compliance with industry standards and regulatory frameworks.
• Support financial modelling and cost-benefit analysis to evaluate investment viability and secure funding.
• Drive innovation by exploring new technologies and methodologies to improve infrastructure outcomes.
• Contribute to the redesign of the customer connections process, helping reduce lead times and improve satisfaction.
• Champion excellent customer service and help enable the UK’s energy transition through strategic infrastructure planning.

Our Industrial Placement

Our 12-month Industrial Placement offers you the opportunity to kickstart your career within the energy sector and discover your unique superpower. Throughout your placement, you’ll receive a tailored development programme designed to support your growth and development. This includes a combination of in-person and virtual training sessions led by our development team, as well as access to a range digital learning tools to help further enhance your skills.

Throughout your placement you’ll have opportunity to make connections amongst your cohort as well as regular check ins with a mentor and our Early Careers Team. Day-to-day, your placement manager will provide you access to a variety of on-the-job opportunities where you’ll take on real assignments and projects to make a genuine impact within your respective function. By the end of your placement, you’ll have developed your understanding of our business and the energy sector for your future career.

What you'll need to apply

You'll need to achieve, or be working towards, a minimum 2:2 in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Power Engineering, Energy Engineering, Renewable Energy Engineer, Computer Engineer or Computer Science.

Due to the amount of travel to our site locations, you'll need to currently have a full valid UK driving license at the point of application.

You’ll need flexibility to travel within role and throughout your rotations as required, as in order to carry out the requirments of this role you'll need to travel to sites, substations, depots and our training centres. 

Location

This role is based in Warwick, but you’ll be expected to travel across the region as part of your responsibilities

What You'll Get In Return

As a first step to your career in the energy industry, our Industrial Placement programmes are like no other. You’ll gain an insight into how we work at National Grid, providing you with a taster of the opportunities that await you. In addition, you’ll also receive some great rewards and benefits:

• Starting salary of £24,109
• 26 days holiday
• A chance to land a place on our Graduate Programme subject to your performance during your placement.
• Pensions plan, share-option scheme and flexible benefits
• 3 days development training, volunteering opportunities, close mentorship and regular feedback
• Invitation to join Newnet, our new starters network and employee resource group

You’ll gain more than just experience. We believe in nurturing talent and recognising exceptional performance. If you excel during your placement, you may receive an offer to join our Graduate Programme after you successfully complete your degree.

More Information

You can only apply for one Industrial Placement opportunity during this recruitment cycle. We kindly ask that you review all our student opportunities and apply for the one that aligns closest with your aspirations and interests.

We recruit on a rolling basis and reserve the right to close our vacancies once we have enough applications/based on volume of applications. We encourage you to apply as early as possible to ensure you obtain the place you want in the application process. 

Assessment centres will be held between November - April 2026

National Grid's Graduate & Student opportunities in the UK are open to all applicants who meet the eligibility criteria including an existing and valid right to work in the UK. As part of the application process this will need to be evidenced and verified before you can start the programme.

Please note that in most cases, National Grid is unable to offer sponsorship for employment under the UK points-based immigration system. As such, applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK without requiring sponsorship now or in the future under the UK points-based immigration system. However, in exceptional circumstances where there is a clear and demonstrable need for specialist skills that cannot be sourced from the local labour market, National Grid may consider offering sponsorship. All applications are welcome from candidates who meet these requirements, regardless of race, nationality, or ethnic origin.

Please be aware that it’s your responsibility to explore avenues of working in the UK, as we're not able to provide advice on this. For information about visas please visit https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas