Principal Civil Engineer - Water Major Projects

Location/s: Cambridge, Brighton, Reading, London, Leeds, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, Bristol; 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 division 

The Water Consultancy Division is Mott MacDonald’s centre of excellence for responding to water and wastewater challenges, offering fantastic opportunities to get involved in diverse and technically challenging work.  The work we do is at the forefront of ensuring safe water supplies for future generations and protecting our environment.  Our multi-disciplinary teams provide a variety of services throughout the full project life cycle, from advisory services and feasibility studies, through outline and detailed design, to construction support and site supervision. 

Overview

Due to continued growth and strong market demand, we are expanding our Major Projects capability within our Water Consultancy Division and are looking to strengthen our team with a Principal Civil Engineer.

Working within our collaborative OneWater team, you will provide technical leadership and strategic direction in the development and delivery of nationally significant infrastructure that supports water security, environmental resilience and thriving communities. Our work goes beyond engineering – we help shape places, protect the environment and deliver lasting social value for the communities we serve

As an employee-owned business, our people are at the heart of everything we do. At Principal level, you will play a key role in shaping our culture, developing our people, and influencing how we deliver excellence across our projects and teams.

Overview of the role

You will lead the delivery of major water infrastructure programmes, particularly during the earlier engineering stages of feasibility, concept and outline design, guiding projects from early idea through to robust, consentable schemes, to safely navigate projects through the relevant planning and consenting processes, in particular the Development Consent Order process for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) in the UK.

You will act as a technical leader across multiple projects, ensuring consistency, quality and innovation in delivery.

Our immediate portfolio, which continues to grow, includes a diverse range of major infrastructure, such as:

• Large diameter water transfer pipelines
• Water tunnels and conveyance systems
• Water recycling and reuse schemes
• Reservoirs and strategic storage solutions
• Flood and coastal risk management programmes 

These projects play a critical role in addressing climate challenges, enhancing resilience, and delivering long-term benefits to communities and the environment.

Key responsibilities and duties include:

• Lead and oversee front-end engineering delivery across multiple projects
• Provide technical leadership and assurance, setting standards for quality and best practice

Lead and coordinate multi-disciplinary teams, ensuring effective integration across disciplines

Drive the development of consentable schemes, including NSIP/DCO processes

Act as a senior technical reviewer/approver for key deliverables

Build and maintain strong relationships with clients, regulators and strategic stakeholders

Line manage, mentor and develop engineers and junior staff, supporting career progression and capability growth

Champion technical excellence, innovation and continuous improvement across the team

Play a key role in resource planning, team development and capability building

Lead or significantly contribute to bids, proposals and strategic work-winning activities

Ensure alignment with health, safety, environmental and quality standards

Candidate specification

We are looking for a highly capable and collaborative engineer who combines technical leadership, people development and strategic thinking, with a passion for delivering innovative, sustainable and cost-effective solutions.

Essential:

• Chartered Engineer with a relevant degree
• Experience on major, complex infrastructure projects, ideally within the UK water sector
• Extensive experience in civil engineering design, design assurance and technical leadership
• Strong knowledge of water and/or wastewater standards and specifications
• Proven ability to lead multi-disciplinary teams and coordinate complex interfaces
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management and influencing skills
• Demonstrated ability to balance technical, environmental and commercial drivers
• Experience mentoring, coaching and developing others, with an interest in people leadership
• Strong commercial awareness and project delivery experience
• Commitment to technical excellence and continuous professional development

Desirable:

• Strong understanding of front-end engineering and project development lifecycle
• Experience with planning and consenting processes, including DCO/NSIPs
• Experience in pipelines, water/wastewater treatment, reservoirs, flood risk or large-scale infrastructure
• Knowledge of CDM regulations and designer responsibilities
• Experience with digital engineering tools (e.g. Civils 3D, GIS, modelling)
• Experience driving low-carbon and sustainable engineering solutions
• Experience of technical authoring of public facing reports
• Flexibility to travel to sites and offices as required

Why Join Mott MacDonald?

• Lead and shape delivery of nationally significant infrastructure projects
• Be part of an employee-owned business, where you can directly influence our direction, culture and success
• Play a central role in developing our people and growing our capability
• Collaborate with industry-leading experts in a supportive environment
• Access flexible and varied career progression opportunities
• Contribute to projects delivering meaningful social and environmental impact

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We believe that different perspectives strengthen our teams and improve the solutions we deliver. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and encourage you to apply, even if you do not meet every requirement listed.

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.

Agile working  

At Mott MacDonald, we believe it makes business sense for you and your manager to choose how you can work most effectively to meet your client, team, and personal commitments. We offer a hybrid working policy that embraces your well-being, flexibility, and trust.

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 reasonable.adjustments@mottmac.com and we will talk to you about how we can support you.

We offer some fantastic benefits including:

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.

Employee Ownership

• Our employee ownership model means no external investors, just us, creating a culture of shared success.

Our employees have a stake and a voice in our business, giving them a direct connection to our success through our personal and group performance bonuses.

As your career grows, so does your stake, recognising your long-term impact and contribution.

Your voice matters, with the opportunity to connect directly with senior leadership through formal channels to help shape our future.

For our senior roles you will have a direct pathway towards ownership from day one.

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.

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.
• 10 days additional paid leave for Armed Forces Reservists and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers.
• 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.

We offer policies and dedicated support to help military families balance service life with career and wellbeing.

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.
• We are proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and Gold Award holders in the MOD Employer Recognition Scheme, supported by our dedicated internal Armed Forces Network.
• Make a difference within our communities through our social outcomes.

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