Principal Civil Engineer - Water

Location/s: Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow & Inverness; UK
Recruiter contact: Nicola Coyle

Mott MacDonald is a global engineering, management, and development consultancy with over 20,000 employees across more than 50 countries and 140+ offices.

We work across incredible global industries, delivering exciting work that is defining our future and making an important societal impact in the communities we serve. Our people power our performance – we succeed when they do. With countless opportunities to collaborate, learn, and grow, the possibilities for excellence are as varied as every individual.

Whether you want to grow as a subject matter expert or broaden your experience with roles across our international community, you’re surrounded by global specialists who want to combine their expertise and champion you to be your best. As a proudly employee-owned business, we benefit our clients, our communities, and each other, investing in creating the right space for everyone to feel empowered, included, and valued. Whatever your ambition, Mott MacDonald is where people come to be brilliant.

About the business division

The Water Utilities Division is Mott MacDonald’s centre of excellence for responding to the UK and Ireland's water and wastewater challenges. The work we do is at the forefront of ensuring safe water supplies for future generations, preventing urban flooding, and improving the health of our rivers and coastal environments. Our multi-disciplinary teams provide a variety of services throughout the full project life cycle, from advisory services and feasibility studies to outline and detailed design. Together, we deliver best-in-class solutions to our clients while offering diverse and technically stimulating opportunities to our people.

Overview of role

Due to sustained framework successes, we have opportunities for Principal and Associate Civil Engineers in our Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle & Scotland offices. This is a senior design-focused role, primarily supporting and leading the delivery of outline and detailed design for water and wastewater projects across major UK water frameworks. We are particularly interested in people with UK water company experience, but we are also open to those with strong civil engineering design experience from wider infrastructure sectors who can bring practical design leadership, technical judgement and a collaborative approach.

• Water treatment
• Water distribution and strategic pipelines
• Wastewater networks and pumping stations
• Wastewater treatment and recycling
• Storm overflow upgrades and environmental improvement schemes

The role will involve leading projects from feasibility design into outline and detailed design, coordinating technical delivery and helping shape practical, buildable and efficient engineering solutions that improve water infrastructure and environmental performance. You will provide technical leadership across design drawings, calculations, specifications, schedules and supporting technical documentation, while managing interfaces with other disciplines and supporting technical assurance. You will also provide senior input during construction where required, helping resolve design queries and maintain continuity between design intent and delivery.

In this role you will be responsible for:

• Leading and coordinating outline and detailed civil engineering design for water and wastewater projects, with a main focus on United Utilities and other UK water clients
• Providing technical leadership across design deliverables, including calculations, drawings, specifications, schedules, technical reports and design submissions
• Managing design interfaces across multidisciplinary teams, including hydraulic, process, mechanical, electrical, structural, geotechnical, environmental and construction specialists
• Reviewing, checking and assuring design information in line with project, client and professional requirements
• Resolving technical issues and helping ensure designs are practical, safe, buildable, efficient and aligned with client outcomes
• Leading, mentoring and supporting engineers and technicians, helping develop technical capability and confidence across the team
• Engaging confidently with clients, contractors and stakeholders, building trusted relationships and strengthening Mott MacDonald’s reputation for high-quality collaborative design delivery
• Contributing to programme, commercial and risk management activities, including design forecasting, change management, bids and proposals where required

Candidate specification

We are looking for an experienced civil engineer who enjoys leading practical engineering design, solving complex problems collaboratively and developing solutions that can be confidently taken forward into construction. You will bring strong technical judgement, a clear understanding of design delivery and the ability to support clients and project teams through the outline and detailed design stages.

Essential:

• Civil Engineering degree or other relevant degree
• Chartered status with ICE or another recognised professional institution, or demonstrable equivalent experience for Associate level roles
• Significant water and/or wastewater engineering design experience, or strong civil engineering design experience from wider infrastructure sectors
• Proven experience leading or coordinating outline and detailed design deliverables for multidisciplinary projects
• Experience preparing, checking or reviewing engineering calculations, drawings, specifications, schedules, reports and design submissions
• Strong understanding of buildability, construction interfaces and how design decisions affect safe and efficient delivery
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the confidence to engage with clients, contractors and multidisciplinary project teams
• Good understanding of health, safety and environmental responsibilities, including designers’ duties under CDM
• Proactive and collaborative approach, with the ability to manage changing priorities, support others and maintain technical quality under programme pressure

Desirable:

• Experience working directly with UK water companies, delivery partners or framework contractors
• Strong digital capability, for example Civil 3D, GIS, common data environments or digital design coordination tools
• Experience contributing to the identification and development of low carbon, sustainable and resilient design solutions
• Knowledge of contractual arrangements, commercial processes and change management on design and build or framework projects
• Track record of mentoring engineers, building design capability and supporting team development
• Experience supporting bids, proposals and / or client engagement.

UK Immigration

Mott MacDonald Ltd. are not currently offering sponsorship to candidates under the Skilled Worker visa route in the UK. This decision is as a consequence of the changes made to the Skilled Worker route by the UK Government in April 2024. We continue to welcome applications from candidates who are eligible for alternative immigration routes in the UK, that do not require sponsorship as a Skilled Worker now or in future.

Equality, diversity, and inclusion

We put equality, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of our business, seeking to promote fair employment procedures and practices to ensure equal opportunities for all. We encourage individual expression in our workplace and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels they can contribute.

Accessibility

We want you to perform your best at every stage in the recruitment process. If you are disabled or need any support to enable you to apply or attend an interview, please contact us at and we will talk to you about how we can support you.

Agile working

We are happy to talk openly about flexible working and how we can support your responsibilities beyond the workplace.

We offer some fantastic benefits including:

Health and wellbeing

• Private medical insurance for all UK colleagues.
• Health cash plan to support you with every day health costs and treatments.
• Access to Peppy, providing free support from menopause experts for all UK colleagues.
• A variety of wellbeing support is available through our comprehensive wellbeing program, including access for you and your family.
• Ability to flex your salary to opt into a wide range of health benefits, many of which can be extended to your family too.

Financial wellbeing

• We match employee pension contributions between 4.5% and 7%.
• Life assurance equal up to 4 x your basic salary, with an option to increase the level of cover to 6 x your salary.
• Our income protection scheme provides a financial benefit, as well as absence and return to work support due to long-term illness or injury.
• Flexible benefits, including increased life assurance cover, critical illness insurance, payroll saving and will writing.
• As an independently owned business we share the financial success of the business with all our colleagues in various ways including annual bonus schemes.

Lifestyle

• A minimum of 33-35 days holiday each year, inclusive of public holidays and dependent on level, with the ability to buy or sell leave through our flexible benefits programme.
• Holiday entitlement increased to a minimum of 35 days after 5 years’ service.
• Variety of employee saving schemes and discounts from high-street retailers.

Enhanced family and carers leave

• Enhanced family leave policies, including 26 weeks paid maternity and adoption leave, and two weeks paid paternity/partner leave.
• Our shared parental leave matches maternity leave meaning we pay up to 24 weeks at full pay.
• Up to five additional days leave are provided for those with significant caring responsibilities, two of which are paid.

Learning and development

• Primary annual professional institution subscription.
• A broad range of opportunities to enhance both technical and soft skills through mentoring, formal training, and self-development options.

Networks, communities, and social outcomes

• Join a wide range of groups including our Advanced Employee Networks which support our LGBTQ+, gender, race and ethnicity, disability, and parents/carers communities.
• Make a difference within our communities through our social outcomes.

Apply now, or for more information about our application process, click here.