Associate Consultant (Infrastructure Performance Consultancy – Production Systems Engineering)

The Role Overview

We are looking for an experienced professional at an associate level with a design, contracting or consulting background to join our growing Infrastructure Performance Consultancy (IPC) team. We are also open to people with an entrepreneurship background, process design or automation experience within manufacturing.

With Expedition, you will play an important role in delivering engineering-led consultancy services. You will work within our teams to help drive innovation, productivity, and efficiency improvements across the industry, supporting major infrastructure and construction clients. Through these projects, you will deliver practical change in line with the Construction Playbook, Project 13, NISTA guidance, PAS4010 and other leading industry thinking.

You might find yourself in a room with representatives from a major infrastructure client organisation diagnosing the project and identifying the key problems to tackle. Within weeks you would be working with leading construction experts to develop analytical physics-based models to predict project performance, present insights and propose actions to the client.

What We Are Looking For

We are looking for a highly versatile problem-solver. A strong civil, structural, or geotechnical design experience is valuable, but less critical than having a robust, overall understanding of the end-to-end design and construction process. Deep experience in manufacturing will also be considered. In particular, this individual will have strong skills in either digital, site-based or manufacturing fields which will help expand our team’s capabilities.

You are someone who bridges the gap between site and the digital environment—you are as happy standing on site talking to teams about the root cause of a problem as you are developing bespoke tools, automation scripts, or data pipelines to solve the problem back at the office. You have the experience to know when traditional engineering tools are good enough.

The sort of digital skills you have might include:

• Advanced construction or manufacturing planning software or business process simulation.
• Python for automation
• Data visualisation e.g. PowerBI , Jupyter Notebooks or JavaScript libraries
• Database development
• Computational design frameworks like Grasshopper/Dynamo
• AEC data integration tools ,e.g. Speckle
• Digital development in small teams, using version control and collaboration tools

You will have built up a portfolio of experience in the construction, manufacturing or infrastructure sector, potentially including highly regulated environments like nuclear facilities or defence, and be ready to use your expertise in new ways. As a key member of the team, you will be responsible for the planning and delivery of consultancy and engineering-focused projects.

Key Expertise Areas

We do not expect candidates to possess every skill listed below. Rather, we are looking for candidates who combine a strong core understanding of construction with specialist experience in one or more of the following areas:

• Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) & Buildability: Experience in construction engineering, temporary works, demountable structures, or the development of mass-produced structural products.
• Digital Engineering & Automation: Experience in bespoke software development, building custom engineering design tools, or computational design.
• Consultancy & Strategy: Advising major infrastructure clients on delivery performance improvements, driving innovation, and transforming major capital programmes.
• Project Leadership: Experience in the commercial and technical management of consultancy projects, adapting rapidly to developing briefs, and synthesizing complex technical landscapes for clients.

Essential Requirements

Professional Qualification: Chartered Professional (e.g., CEng) and Membership with an appropriate professional body such as IStructE, ICE, CIBSE, or IMechE or equivalent body.

Process Knowledge: A strong overall understanding of the design and construction process, with the ability to diagnose issues systemically.

Communication: Strong written English and a track record of delivering high-quality client reports, technical publications, or technical advice. Excellent communication skills to maintain and develop productive client relationships.

Culture & Values: A collaborative, adaptable team player who is comfortable working in a small, fast-paced organisation and has a passion for creating a better built environment in line with the Trust’s values.

Who We Are

The Useful Simple Trust (UST) is an award-winning group of professional design and consultancy practices driving change in the built environment through our three brands: Expedition Engineering, Useful Projects, and Useful Studio.

Certified as a B Corp, Social Enterprise, and Employee Benefit Organisation, we are addressing the significant issues of our time, including Net Zero carbon, circular economy, biodiversity gain, and social impact. We are a certified Carbon Literate Organisation, and are committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

What We Offer

As an employee benefit trust, we offer a comprehensive benefits package, mentoring support to accelerate learning, and plenty of opportunities for advancement.

• Flexible and hybrid working, including the possibility to work a compressed nine-day fortnight. 25 days annual leave + bank holidays.
• Personal development programme including enhanced learning and mentoring, as part of a coaching culture.
• Private medical insurance for you and your family.
• Company Pension Scheme (grade dependent, minimum of 6%).
• Life Assurance, Annual Eyecare Plan, and Cycle to Work Scheme. Free access to our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for you and your family.

Diversity Statement

UST strives to be a diverse and inclusive place where we can all be ourselves. We encourage people from culturally diverse backgrounds, women, people with different abilities, the LGBTIQ+ community, and all age groups to apply. We know that diversity makes us stronger, and we are committed to creating an inclusive working environment.

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