Energy Efficiency & Sustainability Engineer, Graduate Trainee

The core mission is to help the Cantabria plant move measurably closer to Nissan's carbon-neutrality targets. Day to day, that means monitoring energy consumption and energy performance indicators (EnPIs), spotting optimisation opportunities and turning them into costed proposals. You would also support the design and rollout of renewable-energy projects and circular-economy initiatives focused on waste reuse and valorisation. Alongside the technical work, the role carries a regulatory and funding dimension. You would analyse European Commission and Spanish environmental directives, assess their impact on plant activity, and help identify and process public subsidies and grants for sustainability projects. This is not a pure reporting job; it is about linking policy signals to operational decisions. Finally, the position is collaborative by design. You would work with other departments to keep environmental KPIs on track, engage suppliers on environmental initiatives, prepare reports and presentations, and give support on health-and-safety compliance related to installations and production processes. Digitalisation of environmental and energy performance tracking is also part of the remit.

The structured EVolve Graduate programme is the headline learning offer: a fully funded Master's in Management, Innovation and Decision-Making, complemented by soft-skills training. That gives you a formal management qualification while you are already working, which is unusual for a first job and useful if you later want to move into coordination or project-lead roles. On the technical side, you would build practical fluency in industrial energy management: how EnPIs are defined and used, how renewable-energy projects are scoped and justified, and how circular-economy principles translate into a metallurgical manufacturing environment. Exposure to EU and Spanish environmental regulation and to the mechanics of public grant applications is another distinctive skill set, one that is hard to acquire in a classroom. Mentorship is built into the programme. Working alongside expert professionals and mentors, you would learn how sustainability decisions are actually made inside a large automotive manufacturer, including how environmental KPIs are negotiated across production, engineering and purchasing teams. Digitalisation tools for energy and environmental tracking would also be part of your day-to-day learning curve.

The formal baseline is a completed degree in Energy Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Environmental Engineering or a closely related field, Nissan is explicit that studies must be finished. Fluent Spanish and English are required, since you will work in a Spanish plant within an international company and handle both local regulation and global reporting frameworks. Beyond the degree, the profile is analytical and project-oriented. Comfort with Microsoft Office, especially Excel, is expected, as is the ability to structure data into reports and presentations. Knowledge of environmental regulation and of subsidy or grant programmes is valued rather than mandatory, so a candidate who has researched these topics independently would stand out. The soft skills matter as much as the technical ones. Nissan is looking for a proactive, curious graduate who wants to learn and is motivated by positive impact, and who can communicate and work in a team. Previous involvement in academic or professional projects on sustainability, energy efficiency, project management or industrial environments, particularly in the metallurgical sector, would strengthen an application considerably.

Tailor your CV around the specific building blocks Nissan lists rather than around sustainability in general. Make energy efficiency, renewable energy and circular economy visible as themes, and quantify any academic or internship project where you measured consumption, built an energy model or assessed a regulation's impact. If you have touched grant applications or subsidy research, give it its own line; it is a differentiator for this role. In your cover letter, connect your motivation to the Cantabria plant and Nissan's carbon-neutrality goals rather than to the automotive sector at large. Mention why an industrial, metallurgical setting appeals to you and how you would approach monitoring EnPIs or supporting a renewable-energy project. Show that you understand the role sits between engineering, regulation and project management. Prepare for interviews by being ready to discuss EU and Spanish environmental policy at a high level, to walk through a project you managed end to end, and to demonstrate your Excel and reporting skills concretely. Because the EVolve Graduate programme includes a Master's and mentoring, expect questions about your long-term development and your ability to combine study with real responsibility. Fluency in Spanish and English will be tested in practice, so rehearse technical vocabulary in both languages.

The role is anchored in environmental sustainability at plant level, which at Nissan means carbon neutrality, energy efficiency and circular economy. You would contribute to projects that reduce the Cantabria site's carbon footprint, help define and implement renewable-energy solutions, and push waste reuse and valorisation initiatives. Energy cost optimisation and the digitalisation of performance tracking are part of the same agenda. The second focus area is regulatory and funding alignment. By analysing European Commission and Spanish directives and identifying public subsidies, the role helps ensure that plant operations stay compliant and that sustainability investments are financially supported. This connects local environmental performance to Nissan's broader governance and reporting obligations. Social and supplier dimensions also appear. Collaborating with suppliers on environmental initiatives and supporting health-and-safety compliance tied to installations and production processes means the role touches the wider ESG spectrum, even if the core is environmental. In a metallurgical plant, these themes converge quickly, since energy, waste and safety are operationally linked.

One likely challenge is the translation gap between regulation and factory reality. EU and Spanish environmental directives can be complex and slow-moving, while production teams need practical, costed solutions. Helping bridge that gap without losing either rigour or operational credibility will require strong communication and a feel for the plant's constraints. Another challenge is the industrial metallurgical environment itself. Energy-intensive processes, existing equipment and safety requirements limit how quickly renewable-energy or circular-economy projects can be implemented. As a graduate trainee, you may need to earn trust from experienced operators and engineers before your proposals gain traction, and you will have to manage expectations about what a two-year programme can realistically deliver. Finally, there is the challenge of combining a Master's, soft-skills training and real responsibilities from day one. Time management and prioritisation will matter, as will the ability to ask for help. Grant and subsidy work adds administrative complexity, with deadlines and documentation requirements that can feel at odds with the pace of project work.

A typical day might start with reviewing energy consumption data and EnPIs, noting deviations and checking whether they reflect production changes or genuine inefficiencies. You could then join a project meeting on a renewable-energy or circular-economy initiative, where you would present an update, take notes on technical or budgetary questions, and agree next steps with colleagues from engineering, production or purchasing. The middle of the day often brings analytical or regulatory work. You might review a European or Spanish environmental directive, summarise its impact for your manager, or work on a subsidy application. Later, you could meet a supplier to discuss an environmental initiative or sit with the health-and-safety team to support compliance checks on an installation. Variability comes from the plant's rhythm. Weeks with project milestones or grant deadlines are more intense and meeting-heavy, while quieter periods allow deeper analysis and preparation of reports and presentations. As part of a graduate programme, you would also block time for Master's coursework and mentoring sessions, which shapes the weekly pattern.

The immediate growth path is through the EVolve Graduate programme, which combines a funded Master's in Management, Innovation and Decision-Making with soft-skills training and mentoring. Completing it gives you a recognised management qualification and a structured record of project delivery, both useful when applying for permanent roles after the two-year programme. Within Environment and Sustainability, natural next steps could include energy manager, environmental specialist or sustainability project lead positions, either at the Cantabria plant or elsewhere in Nissan's European operations. The regulatory and subsidy experience you gain is transferable across industrial companies, and the exposure to carbon neutrality, renewable energy and circular economy is directly relevant to roles in manufacturing, consulting or the wider automotive sector. Because the role involves working with multiple departments and suppliers, it also builds a cross-functional network early in your career. High-visibility projects on carbon neutrality or digitalisation of energy performance could give you concrete achievements to point to, and mentors within the company may open doors to lateral moves in operations, engineering or corporate sustainability.

Your closest stakeholders would be the Environment and Sustainability team at the Cantabria plant, including your manager and the expert professionals who mentor you through the graduate programme. They set priorities, review your analyses and guide your development, so the relationship is both supervisory and developmental. Beyond the team, you would interact regularly with other plant departments (production, engineering, maintenance, purchasing and health and safety) to gather data, align on environmental KPIs and implement initiatives. These interactions are operational and often require negotiating time, resources or process changes, so clarity and follow-through matter. Externally, suppliers are named explicitly as partners for environmental initiatives, and public administrations appear indirectly through grant and subsidy processes. Within Nissan more broadly, you may engage with regional or corporate sustainability contacts who consolidate reporting and set global targets. The mix is local and hands-on, but connected to an international network.