Energy jobs in Edinburgh

Policy, finance and the Firth of Forth

Edinburgh's energy jobs look different from those in Aberdeen or on the Cromarty Firth. As Scotland's capital, the city is where much of the policy, leasing, investment and advisory work behind new energy projects happens, and it has a sizeable financial and legal sector that funds and contracts them.

Engineering is close by too. The Port of Leith is being equipped for offshore wind, Torness nuclear power station sits on the East Lothian coast, and the city's universities and research parks feed specialists into the wider industry. If you prefer analysis, strategy or commercial work to site work, Edinburgh has more of it than most places in Scotland.

Where Edinburgh's energy employers sit

Government and seabed leasing

The Scottish Government, which sets energy and climate policy in Scotland, has large offices in the city, including Victoria Quay in Leith. Crown Estate Scotland, which manages the seabed out to 12 nautical miles and leases rights for offshore wind further out, is headquartered in Edinburgh and ran the ScotWind leasing round that awarded options for new offshore wind sites around Scotland.

Leith and the Forth ports

Forth Ports owns and operates the Port of Leith and has built a deep-water berth there designed for the large vessels that install offshore wind farms, with land alongside for storing and marshalling components. Leith is part of the Forth Green Freeport. Further up the firth, refining at Grangemouth has ended and the site is being converted into a fuel import terminal.

Torness and East Lothian

Torness, near Dunbar and about 30 miles east of the city, is a two-reactor advanced gas-cooled nuclear power station run by EDF. Its operating life has been extended, and when generation eventually ends, defuelling and decommissioning will keep a skilled workforce on site for many years. Roles include reactor operators, maintenance technicians, safety case engineers and radiation protection staff.

Investors, consultancies and developers

Fund managers, banks and infrastructure investors in Edinburgh back wind, solar, storage and grid projects, while law firms and technical consultancies advise on contracts, consents and due diligence. Several renewables developers and energy software businesses also have teams in the city.

Roles that suit Edinburgh-based candidates

Policy, strategy and regulation

• Energy policy advisers and economists
• Leasing, consents and marine planning specialists
• Regulatory and market analysts
• Net zero and sustainability consultants

Finance, commercial and legal

Investment analysts, asset managers, transaction specialists, energy lawyers and commercial managers with knowledge of power purchase agreements are all hired here. Experience in modelling, contracts or project finance moves well between developers, funds and advisers.

Engineering and operations

Engineering roles span nuclear operations and maintenance at Torness, port and marine work at Leith, electrical design for network upgrades in the Lothians, and technical advisory roles that review wind, storage and grid projects for lenders and owners.

Learning and research

Heriot-Watt University, based on its Riccarton campus in south-west Edinburgh, has an Institute of Petroleum Engineering and a School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society covering geoenergy and renewable energy technology. Its Research Park on the same campus, often described as Europe's oldest research park, houses technology companies, and the university also has a campus in Orkney focused on island and marine energy technology. The University of Edinburgh and Edinburgh Napier University also teach engineering.

Edinburgh College's Midlothian Campus near Dalkeith runs the Engineering+ centre, which offers qualifications in energy, electrical, mechanical and petroleum engineering. It has a field of solar panels that powers the campus and doubles as a teaching aid, plus an oil platform simulator. The college's Granton Campus focuses on construction and building crafts, a useful route into insulation, heating and retrofit work.

Getting around for work

Waverley and Haymarket stations connect the city with Glasgow, Aberdeen, Newcastle and London, and trams run from Edinburgh Airport through the city centre to Leith and Newhaven. The City Bypass links the main routes out of the city, and the A1 leads east to Dunbar and Torness, which also has a nearby railway station at Dunbar.

If you work offshore, expect to travel north to Aberdeen before each rotation, with direct trains from Waverley. Office-based roles in the city often offer hybrid working, which makes living in Fife, West Lothian or the Borders practical.

Using Energy Jobs Board from Edinburgh

Open the jobs board and search for Edinburgh, Leith or Dunbar, then use the filters for sector, salary, employment type and remote or hybrid working. To focus your search, browse offshore wind careers or the nuclear jobs section.

When you register as a jobseeker, you can upload your CV, save jobs and follow your applications. Your profile is hidden unless you choose otherwise, and you can see which approved employers have downloaded your CV. Many Edinburgh candidates also apply for roles in Glasgow and the west or further down the east coast in Newcastle and Tyneside.