Water Structural Lead Engineer (Senior/Principal)

Senior Structural Engineer Principal Structural Engineer Structural Discipline Lead - Water Design

Location: Manchester Hybrid Working Available

Permanent (Full-Time) or Contract (Outside IR35)

The Opportunity

Our client is a growing multidisciplinary engineering consultancy delivering major infrastructure projects across the UK water sector. Due to continued growth, they are looking to recruit experienced Senior Structural Engineers , Principal Structural Engineers and Structural Discipline Leads to join their expanding team.

This is an excellent opportunity for a structurally biased engineer with water industry experience to take ownership of engineering design, deliver innovative solutions and, at Principal level, provide technical leadership across multidisciplinary projects.

Whether you're looking to progress into a Principal role or already have experience leading a discipline, you'll play a key role in delivering high‑quality engineering solutions while helping to shape the future of structural engineering across multiple water industry frameworks.

The Role

As a Senior or Principal Structural Engineer, you'll be responsible for delivering safe, efficient and buildable structural designs across clean water and wastewater projects, working closely with Civil, Mechanical and Electrical engineers to provide integrated engineering solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the delivery of structural engineering design packages across water and wastewater projects.
• Produce high-quality design calculations, drawings, technical reports, specifications and Design Risk Assessments (DRAs).
• Develop practical, efficient and buildable engineering solutions based on client requirements and site constraints.
• Ensure all designs comply with relevant standards, regulations, company procedures and water company specifications.
• Carry out structural design activities while ensuring safety, quality and programme objectives are achieved.
• Manage and record design changes throughout the project lifecycle.
• Prepare scopes of work and review outputs from subcontract design teams where required.
• Liaise with equipment suppliers, manufacturers and multidisciplinary project teams.
• Estimate design hours and support project planning and resource allocation.
• Attend and present at client meetings, design reviews and technical workshops.
• Mentor and support Graduate Engineers, Engineers and CAD Technicians, encouraging their technical development.

Principal Engineer / Discipline Lead Responsibilities

• Act as the technical authority for the Structural Engineering discipline across the business.
• Lead structural engineering delivery across multiple projects and frameworks.
• Review and approve engineering calculations, reports, specifications and Design Risk Assessments.
• Set, communicate and maintain structural engineering standards and technical governance.
• Review designs produced in-house and by subcontractors, or appoint competent independent checkers where appropriate.
• Verify technical competency and support mentoring, CPD planning and professional development across the engineering team.
• Coordinate with other discipline leads to ensure effective multidisciplinary project delivery.
• Champion Safety in Design principles and embed CDM 2015 Designer responsibilities across all projects.
• Support tender submissions, design estimates, resource forecasting and technical proposals.
• Drive continuous improvement in engineering standards, quality assurance and design practices.

About You

We're looking for experienced Structural Engineers who are passionate about delivering high‑quality engineering solutions and developing their careers within a collaborative consultancy environment.

Senior Structural Engineer

You'll ideally have:

• Around 10 years' structural design experience within the UK water industry.
• Degree or HND in Structural Engineering or a related discipline.
• Strong experience producing structural engineering designs for clean water and wastewater projects.
• Experience preparing engineering calculations, reports and technical documentation.li>
• Strong understanding of multidisciplinary design environments.
• Good IT and digital engineering capability.
• Membership of a relevant professional institution and working towards Chartered status.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

Principal Structural Engineer / Discipline Lead

In addition to the above, you'll have:

• Chartered Engineer (CEng) status.
• Significant experience leading structural engineering design within regulated infrastructure sectors.
• Previous experience as a Principal Engineer, Technical Authority or Discipline Lead.
• Strong understanding of engineering standards, technical governance and quality assurance.
• Experience reviewing and approving complex engineering designs.
• Experience mentoring engineers, graduates and CAD Technicians.
• Knowledge of BIM and Common Data Environment (CDE) workflows.
• Experience supporting recruitment, competency development and resource planning.li>
• Ability to provide technical leadership across multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Full UK driving licence.

Desirable

• Experience within clean water and wastewater projects.
• Awareness of electrical and control systems.
• Knowledge of construction methods, materials and engineering drawing practices.
• Experience using structural analysis and reinforced concrete design software.
• Experience acting as an independent technical checker.
• Experience supporting framework delivery and client‑specific technical standards.

Why Join?

This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing engineering consultancy where you'll have genuine influence over project delivery, technical standards and the future development of the engineering team.

You’ll benefit from:

• Leading structural engineering design on major UK water infrastructure projects.
• Working within a collaborative multidisciplinary team.
• Clear career progression from Senior Engineer through to Principal and Discipline Lead roles.
• Chartership mentoring and ongoing professional development.
• Regular CPD sessions and industry‑led learning.
• Involvement in major framework projects and technically challenging work.
• Hybrid working with flexibility around office attendance.
• Free parking, excellent transport links and on‑site gym facilities.
• 23 days' annual leave plus bank holidays (increasing with service).
• Option to purchase additional annual leave.
• Cycle to Work scheme.
• Monthly team brunches, quarterly socials and a supportive team culture.
• Competitive salary and benefits package.

If you're an experienced Structural Engineer looking to take the next step in your career—or a Principal Engineer seeking the opportunity to shape technical delivery within a growing consultancy—we'd love to hear from you.

Rullion celebrates and supports diversity and is committed to ensuring equal opportunities for both employees and applicants.

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