Engineering Graduate Leadership Development Programme

The scheme

Engineering is the lifeblood of Heathrow. Our engineering teams work across the airport on a vast range of state-of-the-art development, construction and maintenance projects. Together, they are responsible for £14bn worth of assets, including 4 million square metres of airfield pavements, 180km of roads, 33 surface car parks, 50 tunnels and 31 bridges, not to mention the largest private water distribution system in Europe.

This three-year professional development programme prepares you for engineering and management roles within engineering and asset management. The scheme is also intended to provide you with sufficient experience to meet the initial professional development requirements of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE), which will allow you to apply for membership of the Institution at either Incorporated or Chartered level in due course.

We offer four exciting streams; Operational Technology, Civil Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering and Fire Engineering.

You will gain a breadth of exposure to our work, which could include:

• Airside and landside engineering
• Water management
• Heating & Cooling Systems
• Terminal engineering
• Technical Services
• Project Management
• Rail
• Baggage
• Asset Management

You will join us on significant projects and learn from our expert engineers on a personalised programme that will consider your aspirations, passions and skills.

Supporting you for success

Throughout the programme, you will be supported by a dedicated mentor who can answer any questions you may have about the organisation and help you find solutions to any challenges you may face. Plus, you will have a 'buddy' to show you the ropes until you find your feet. In the final months of the programme, you will also have the support of a senior sponsor from our leadership team. They will be there to help you build your networks, challenge your thinking and unlock opportunities.

You will embark on a comprehensive and defined training route while receiving one-to-one coaching from mentors, which will build up your knowledge, experience and leadership skills needed to succeed as a future leader at Heathrow. We expect you to achieve either Incorporated or Chartered Engineer status with us and, ideally, take a fast-track route into a managerial role.

What we're looking for

To make it onto this programme, you need a real passion for engineering as well as a degree accredited by the relevant professional institution by August 2027. You can check if your degree is accredited via this link . Unfortunately, we are unable to progress your application if you do not meet this requirement.

We're looking for graduates who are eager to explore new ideas and thrive on the challenge of working across different areas of Engineering to build capability -especially as we embrace digital innovation and data-led decision-making. It's essential for you to demonstrate a can-do attitude, integrity, and a real passion for living our Heathrow values.

As well as having great people skills we are looking for individuals who drive success, have strong communication skills and can adapt to change.

Graduate Programme

Applications for our Engineering Graduate Programmes are open until midnight on 13 November 2026. Please apply as soon as possible as applications may close early if interest is high.