Civil Design Engineer | Senior Civil Design Engineer | Principal Civil Design Engineer | Head of Civil Design – Water

Location: North West | Hybrid (2–3 days in the office)

Contract: Permanent or Contract (Outside IR35)

The Opportunity

Our client is expanding their Civil Design team and is looking to recruit experienced Civil Design Engineers across multiple levels, from Civil Design Engineer through to Head of Civil Design, to support the delivery of major clean water and wastewater projects across the regulated UK water industry.

Whether you're an experienced Design Engineer looking to progress, a Senior Engineer seeking greater technical responsibility, or a Principal Engineer ready to lead a discipline, this is an excellent opportunity to join a growing multidisciplinary consultancy delivering high-profile water infrastructure projects.

You'll work closely with Project Managers, Design Leads and multidisciplinary engineering teams, producing high-quality engineering solutions while helping to shape the future of civil engineering delivery across multiple water industry frameworks.

The Role

Depending on your level, you'll play a key role in the technical delivery of civil engineering projects, with increasing responsibility for mentoring engineers, technical assurance and discipline leadership.

Key responsibilities include:

• Producing high-quality civil engineering designs that meet safety, quality and regulatory requirements.
• Preparing engineering calculations, drawings, technical reports, specifications and Design Risk Assessments (DRAs).
• Carrying out hydraulic calculations and preparing hydraulic profiles.
• Delivering designs in accordance with industry standards, CDM requirements and water company specifications.
• Developing practical, cost-effective engineering solutions based on client requirements and site investigations.
• Ensuring design changes are implemented, recorded and controlled throughout the project lifecycle.
• Working within established design processes to deliver projects on programme and to budget.
• Supporting project planning, resource forecasting and estimating design hours.
• Attending design reviews, client meetings and technical workshops.
• Collaborating with multidisciplinary engineering teams to deliver integrated solutions.
• Mentoring and supporting the development of Graduate Engineers, Engineers and CAD Technicians.

Principal Engineer / Head of Civil Design Responsibilities

At Principal and Head of Civil Design level, you'll also:

• Act as the technical authority for the Civil Engineering discipline.
• Lead civil engineering design across multiple projects and frameworks.
• Review and approve engineering designs, reports, specifications and Design Risk Assessments.
• Set and maintain technical standards, quality assurance and engineering best practice.
• Champion Safety in Design principles and ensure compliance with CDM 2015 Designer duties.
• Verify technical competency and support the development of engineers across the business.
• Lead technical reviews and appoint independent design checkers where appropriate.
• Support tender submissions, design estimates and resource planning.
• Coordinate with other discipline leads to ensure effective multidisciplinary delivery.
• Drive continuous improvement in engineering standards, governance and design processes.

About You

We're interested in hearing from Civil Engineers at all stages of their career who have experience delivering engineering design within the regulated water industry.

Civil Design Engineer / Senior Civil Design Engineer

You'll ideally have:

• 5+ years' experience delivering civil engineering design within the regulated water sector.
• Experience producing designs for clean water and/or wastewater projects.
• Strong understanding of engineering design principles and industry standards.
• Experience producing hydraulic calculations and hydraulic profiles.
• Knowledge of engineering drawing practices, construction methods and materials.
• Degree, HND or equivalent engineering qualification.
• Membership of a relevant professional institution and working towards Chartership.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.

Principal Civil Design Engineer / Head of Civil Design

In addition to the above, you'll have:

• Chartered Engineer (CEng) status.
• 10+ years experience delivering civil engineering design within the regulated water sector.
• Significant experience leading multidisciplinary civil engineering design teams.
• Proven technical leadership within the regulated water industry.
• Experience delivering both infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects.
• Experience across outline and detailed design stages.
• Strong knowledge of water company standards and technical governance.
• Experience mentoring engineers, graduates and CAD Technicians.
• Ability to review and approve complex engineering designs while maintaining high technical standards.
• Experience supporting resource planning, competency development and technical assurance.
• Full UK driving licence.

Why Join?

This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing engineering consultancy delivering major water infrastructure projects across the UK.

You'll benefit from:

• Working on a diverse portfolio of clean water and wastewater projects.
• A collaborative multidisciplinary environment with genuine career progression.
• Opportunities to work across outline and detailed design stages.
• Exposure to major UK water company frameworks.
• A strong focus on professional development, mentoring and Chartership support.
• Hybrid working (2–3 days in the office).
• Permanent or Outside IR35 contract opportunities.
• Competitive salary/day rate and benefits package.

Whether you're looking to develop your technical expertise or take the next step into discipline leadership, we'd love to hear from you