Project Engineer, Civil Engineering Major Projects

Our client is recruiting a Project Engineer to work alongside a Senior Project Engineer on the civil engineering scope of a major high speed rail programme. The role covers either route-wide civil engineering or a geographical section of the line of route extending approximately 80 kilometres out of Birmingham. The purpose of the work is to carry the civil assets through design and construction assurance and hand them over, in good order, to the rail systems teams that follow.

This is a supporting role, but it carries real responsibility. You will work with subject matter experts from across the programme, bringing the right people into the right conversations at the right time. You will verify technical evidence produced by designers and contractors, check that it meets the applicable requirements, and make sure it is ready to pass through each assurance stage gate. Where problems arise and delivery is at risk of stalling, your job is to help find the way through.

You will support technical assurance reviews and carry out spot-checks on contractor deliverables, checking that design and construction activity complies with the relevant technical requirements, standards and specifications. You will manage CDM risk within your delegated authority, supporting the duties of Principal Designer Representative under CDM Regulations 2015. You will communicate engineering requirements clearly to contractors and provide responses to technical queries as they arise. Where design solutions need guidance, you will provide it, drawing on best practice and promoting efficient engineering approaches.

Working across supply chain , subject matter experts and railway systems interface teams, you will play an active part in keeping the technical and coordination threads of a complex programme connected. Geographical coordination across the line of route section is part of the work, and the interfaces between civil delivery and rail systems installation will be a constant consideration.

What you need to bring

Your background is in civil engineering, with experience working on major engineering projects or programmes where standards management, technical assurance and safety activity were live parts of your role. You will have dealt with competing demands across cost and schedule and understood the implications of technical decisions on both.

You will know how to gather and assess technical information, apply sound judgement and communicate findings clearly to contractors, stakeholders and decision makers. You will understand UK construction regulations, including CDM, and have sufficient commercial awareness to work across an integrated programme where cost and schedule pressures are real. You will be on the path to Chartered Engineer status or already hold it through a relevant professional institution.

Useful to have

Experience on HS2 or a comparable major infrastructure or transport programme. A background that covers more than one stage of a programme lifecycle, from design development through to construction assurance and handover. Familiarity with NEC3 contract structures and the supervision duties they carry. Experience coordinating assurance activity across multiple supply chain organisations, and familiarity with interface management tools used on large infrastructure programmes.

This role would suit someone moving from a consultancy into a project engineering role, or from within a contractors design team. It isn't a site based engineering role.

The role is based Birmingham and along part of the route