Senior / Principal Design Manager Design & Build (Flexible across various locations in UK)

Job Description

Overview

Develop Your Career with One of the Most Diverse Portfolios of Civil Engineering Projects

At AtkinsRéalis, our Design & Advanced Technology practice brings together some of the UK's most diverse engineering and design expertise to tackle the most complex challenges facing our clients and communities across major infrastructure, transportation, energy, water, aviation, and development projects.

We are looking for a motivated, capable and experienced Senior / Principal Design Manager D&B to join our growing Design & Advanced Technology (D&AT) Practice, delivering innovative and sustainable solutions. You’ll be part of a talented multi-disciplinary water team delivering cutting edge, iconic projects to our Contractor Clients in the Water market for schemes promoted by regional water companies such as Yorkshire Water, United Utilities, Thames Water, Anglian Water, South-East Water, Southern Water, as well as other regional water authorities. This provides exceptional opportunities to broaden your experience, deepen your technical expertise, and accelerate your career progression.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced engineer to further develop their technical expertise, broaden their commercial experience, and take on greater responsibility working towards technical leadership, design management, or people leadership within a supportive and collaborative environment.

When you join us, you'll become part of a collaborative community of experts who challenge conventional thinking and push the boundaries of engineering excellence.

You'll benefit from:

• Opportunities to work across a wide variety of sectors, projects and clients.

• Exposure to a diverse range of engineering challenges including complex nationally significant water programmes.

• Collaboration with multidisciplinary teams across the UK and internationally.

• Opportunities to influence project outcomes from concept through to delivery.

• A culture that encourages innovation, technical excellence and professional growth.

• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements that support work-life balance.

• Clear career progression pathways and professional development opportunities

We offer hybrid working which involves 3 days per week being office/site based. This position is based in our Manchester, London, Peterborough, Cambridge, Cardiff, Swansea, Derby, Leeds, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow Offices.

Your role

As a Senior / Principal Design Manager for Design & Build (D&B) Water Projects in the D&AT practice, you would have the following responsibilities:

• Lead and inspire engineering teams to deliver complex multidisciplinary design and build projects across water, wastewater, hydraulic, and pipeline infrastructure sectors.

• Manage the development and delivery of project design outputs, ensuring successful achievement of programme milestones, budgets, and quality standards.

• Oversee the production, review, and approval of technical deliverables, including reports, drawings, calculations, and scopes of work.

• Provide technical leadership across regional and national practices, promoting best practices, innovation, and continuous improvement.

• Develop and strengthen Design Management capabilities, particularly for Design & Build contracts, while contributing to business growth, recruitment, client relationships, and line management.

• Manage design risks, advise clients and project teams, support bid development, and apply sound engineering judgement to solve complex challenges.

• Ensure compliance with safety and CDM requirements while leading multidisciplinary teams across global locations to deliver integrated engineering solutions.

About you

You would be a well-rounded and versatile individual who exemplifies the following key skills and attributes:

• Degree-qualified in Civil Water Engineering (or equivalent) with Chartered/Incorporated status, or the capability to achieve ICE chartership within 12 months.

• Extensive experience leading large-scale, multidisciplinary engineering projects throughout the full project lifecycle, including client, contractor, and team leadership responsibilities.

• Strong expertise in design management and water sector infrastructure, including hydraulics, wastewater, clean water, water reuse, and pipeline systems.

• Proven ability to develop innovative technical solutions, challenge established approaches, and lead strategic engineering decision-making.

• Comprehensive knowledge of engineering best practice, risk management, quality assurance, change management, and multidisciplinary collaboration across water infrastructure projects.

• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to influence and communicate complex technical issues at all organisational levels.

• Expert understanding of relevant design standards, regulations, and industry tools, combined with Design & Build experience and a proactive, collaborative leadership style that drives project and business success.

Your Circumstances

Returning to work after a career break? Please apply.

Meet some but not all of the criteria? Please apply, we’d still love to hear from you!

Application

Please submit your CV, preferably with a covering letter letting us know your motivation for applying and highlighting how your skills and experience align with the role.

Rewards & benefits

Explore the rewards and benefits that help you thrive – at every stage of your life and your career. Enjoy competitive salaries, employee rewards and a brilliant range of benefits you can tailor to suit your own health, wellbeing, financial and lifestyle choices. Make the most of a myriad of opportunities for training and professional development to grow your skills and expertise. And combine our hybrid working culture and flexible holiday allowances to balance a great job and fulfilling personal life.

Be rewarded. Find out more.

About AtkinsRéalis

We're AtkinsRéalis , a world-class engineering services and nuclear organization. We connect people, data and technology to transform the world's infrastructure and energy systems. Together, with our industry partners and clients, and our global team of consultants, designers, engineers and project managers, we can change the world. We're committed to leading our clients across our various end markets to engineer a better future for our planet and its people.

Find out more.

Additional information

Security clearance

This role may require security clearance and offers of employment will be dependent on obtaining the relevant level of clearance. If this is necessary, it will be discussed with you at interview. The vetting process is delivered by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) and may require candidates to provide proof of residency in the UK of 5 years or longer. If applying to this role please do not make reference to (in conversation) or include in your application or CV, details of any current or previously held security clearance.

We are committed to creating a culture where everyone feels that they belong - a place where we can all be ourselves, thrive and develop to be the best we can be. So, we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements and employee resource groups to support all employees. As an Equal Opportunities Employer, we value applications from all backgrounds, cultures and ability.

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Worker Type

Job Type

At AtkinsRéalis , we seek to hire individuals with diverse characteristics, backgrounds and perspectives. We strongly believe that world-class talent makes no distinctions based on gender, ethnic or national origin, sexual identity and orientation, age, religion or disability, but enriches itself through these differences.