Senior / Principal Water Engineer

Senior / Principal Water Engineer Permanent, London

Are you an experienced Water Engineer looking for a role where you can stay close to the technical work, take on greater responsibility and have a genuine opportunity to shape how a growing consultancy delivers its services?

My client is looking for a Senior / Principal Water Engineer to join its London team. This is an excellent opportunity if progression within a larger organisation feels limited and you are looking for a long-term position where your technical expertise and development will be valued.

A business where you can make an impact My client is an employee-owned consultancy with an established presence in the infrastructure sector. The business is continuing to develop its water and SuDS capability and needs someone who can strengthen the technical expertise within its London team.

You will be joining an environment where attitude, aptitude and the ability to develop are valued alongside your previous experience. Rather than moving immediately into a heavily management-focused position, you will stay technically engaged while gradually developing your mentoring, client and leadership responsibilities.

There is also longer-term potential for you to contribute to the development of new services as the business grows.

What you will be doing As a Senior / Principal Water Engineer, you will help bridge the technical gap between the team lead and the existing senior engineering team.

You will be doing technically challenging work across water, drainage and SuDS projects, providing high-quality engineering input while becoming a trusted technical contact for colleagues and clients.

Your responsibilities will include:

• You will provide technical input and guidance across water, drainage and SuDS projects.
• You will undertake and oversee technical design, assessment and engineering work.
• You will help solve complex technical challenges and support high-quality project delivery.
• You will work directly with clients, communicating technical information clearly.
• You will support and mentor other engineers as your role develops.
• You will work with senior colleagues to strengthen the team's technical capability.
• You will contribute ideas to the future development of the water service offering.

Day-to-day people management will not initially be a major part of the role, making this well suited to someone who wants to continue developing as a technical specialist while gaining greater influence.

What will help you succeed My client is open-minded about your exact career history and is particularly interested in your technical ability, attitude and potential.

For this Senior / Principal Water Engineer opportunity, you will ideally have:

• Strong technical experience within water, drainage and/or SuDS engineering.
• Chartered Engineer status, or be working towards chartership.
• The confidence to communicate with clients and represent the business professionally.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to adapt to different technical challenges.
• The ability to work effectively between senior leadership and engineering delivery teams.
• An interest in mentoring and supporting colleagues.
• A desire to build a long-term technical career and grow alongside the business.

You do not need to have followed one specific career path. If you have strong technical foundations, can learn quickly and want a broader technical challenge, my client would be keen to hear from you.

Salary and benefits This is a permanent position based in London.

Salary is £45,000 - £60,000 per year dependent on experience. You will also benefit from joining an employee-owned business with a bonus scheme, giving you the opportunity to share in the success of the company.

Where this role could take you The Senior / Principal Water Engineer position is intended as a long-term appointment rather than simply meeting an immediate project requirement.

You will have the opportunity to deepen your technical expertise, develop your mentoring and client-facing experience and potentially help shape future service offerings.

The role is based in London, with a hybrid working pattern.

Interested? If you are looking for a technically focused water engineering position where you can take on more responsibility without moving away from engineering, this could be an excellent next step. Apply with your CV to discuss the opportunity in more detail.

If you feel that you are right for this role technically, but the salary, location or seniority does not suit you specifically then please still feel free to send us your CV. We constantly recruit for roles very similar to this one at all levels UK Wide. We are always keen to chat with you discreetly about your employment situation.

Even if you are happy in your current role for now, we always welcome calls from Highways, Infrastructure & Transportation professionals keen to make their introductions for future months or years. Carrington West's Highways, Transport & Infrastructure division is the fastest growing in the country, our specialist team has a combined over 100+ years' experience in this market. Please call Adam Butler at Carrington West on (phone number removed) for more information.

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