Senior Civil Engineer

Location/s: Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle; UK
Recruiter contact: Maria Cervantes

Mott MacDonald is a global engineering, management, and development consultancy with over 20,000 employees across more than 50 countries and 140+ offices. 

We work across incredible global industries, delivering exciting work that is defining our future and making an important societal impact in the communities we serve. Our people power our performance – we succeed when they do. With countless opportunities to collaborate, learn, and grow, the possibilities for excellence are as varied as every individual. 

Whether you want to grow as a subject matter expert or broaden your experience with roles across our international community, you’re surrounded by global specialists who want to combine their expertise and champion you to be your best. As a proudly employee-owned business, we benefit our clients, our communities, and each other, investing in creating the right space for everyone to feel empowered, included, and valued. Whatever your ambition, Mott MacDonald is where people come to be brilliant.

About the business division
The Water Utilities Division is Mott MacDonald’s centre of excellence for responding to the UK and Ireland's water and wastewater challenges. The work we do is at the forefront of ensuring safe water supplies for future generations, preventing urban flooding, and improving the health of our rivers and coastal environments. Our multi-disciplinary teams provide a variety of services throughout the full project life cycle, from advisory services and feasibility studies to outline and detailed design. Together, we deliver best-in-class solutions to our clients while offering diverse and technically stimulating opportunities to our people.

Overview of the role

Due to sustained framework successes, we have opportunities for Senior Civil Engineers in our Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle offices within our multidisciplinary Water Utilities Division. This is a design-focused role, primarily supporting the delivery of outline and detailed design for water and wastewater projects across major UK water frameworks. You will work as part of integrated design teams to develop practical, buildable and efficient engineering solutions that help improve water infrastructure and environmental performance. We work on a range of design projects covering, for example:

• Water treatment
• Water distribution
• Wastewater networks
• Wastewater treatment / recycling
• Storm overflow upgrades

The role will involve taking projects from feasibility design into outline and detailed design, producing and coordinating design drawings, calculations, specifications, schedules and supporting technical documentation. You will help manage design interfaces, contribute to buildability reviews, support technical assurance and provide technical input during construction where required. This is an opportunity to develop your technical leadership capability while working on varied, high-profile water sector projects with colleagues across our UK and global business. Our clients include the majority of UK water utility companies, as well as governmental organisations and private companies in the UK and overseas.

In this role you will be responsible for:

• Delivering outline and detailed civil engineering design for water and wastewater projects, with a main focus on United Utilities and other UK water clients
• Preparing and coordinating design deliverables, including calculations, drawings, specifications, schedules, technical reports and design submissions
• Working closely with multidisciplinary teams, including hydraulic, process, mechanical, electrical, environmental and construction specialists
• Managing design interfaces, resolving technical issues and helping ensure designs are practical, safe, buildable and efficient
• Supporting technical assurance, including checking and reviewing design information in line with project and client requirements
• Mentoring and supporting junior engineers and technicians, helping them develop their technical capability
• Engaging confidently with clients, contractors and stakeholders to support successful project delivery and build strong working relationships

You will work in close partnership with clients and contractors, building trusted relationships and helping strengthen Mott MacDonald’s reputation for high-quality, collaborative design delivery.

Candidate specification

We are looking for someone who enjoys solving practical engineering problems, working collaboratively and developing designs that can be confidently taken forward into construction.

Essential:

• Civil Engineering degree or other relevant degree
• Chartered or near chartered status (ICE or equivalent)
• Water and/or wastewater engineering OR infrastructure engineering design experience, ideally including outline and detailed design deliverables
• Experience preparing or reviewing engineering calculations, drawings, specifications, reports or design submissions
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Understanding of the importance of prioritising health, safety, and environmental issues
• Proactive approach, with the ability to adapt to changing project requirements and work collaboratively across design teams
• Awareness of construction issues affecting design and being confident in developing solutions in collaboration with Client delivery partners.

Desirable

• Strong digital capability (e.g. Civils 3D, GIS)
• Contributed towards the identification and development of low carbon solutions
• Knowledge of CDM and especially duties of Designers and Principal Designers
• Knowledge of contractual arrangements and commercial processes

UK Immigration

Mott MacDonald Ltd. are not currently offering sponsorship to candidates under the Skilled Worker visa route in the UK. This decision is as a consequence of the changes made to the Skilled Worker route by the UK Government in April 2024. We continue to welcome applications from candidates who are eligible for alternative immigration routes in the UK, that do not require sponsorship as a Skilled Worker now or in future.

Equality, diversity, and inclusion 

We put equality, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of our business, seeking to promote fair employment procedures and practices to ensure equal opportunities for all. We encourage individual expression in our workplace and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels they can contribute.

Accessibility

We want you to perform your best at every stage in the recruitment process. If you are disabled or need any support to enable you to apply or attend an interview, please contact us at [email removed] and we will talk to you about how we can support you.

Agile working  

We are happy to talk openly about flexible working and how we can support your responsibilities beyond the workplace. 

We offer some fantastic benefits including:

Health and wellbeing

• Private medical insurance for all UK colleagues.
• Health cash plan to support you with every day health costs and treatments.
• Access to Peppy, providi