Principal Civil Engineer

Overview

In this role you lead civil engineering across United Utilities, acting as a technical authority to shape water and wastewater infrastructure. You’ll guide capital programmes, develop engineering standards, and mentor talent to drive engineering excellence. You partner with cross-functional teams, academia, and industry to raise UU’s profile and deliver safe, sustainable outcomes. This is a high-impact leadership position in a FTSE 100 company addressing real-world infrastructure challenges.

Pay / Benefits

• 26 days annual leave
• pension scheme with up to 14% employer contribution
• up to 20% performance-related bonus
• £5000 annual car allowance
• company-funded healthcare plan
• life assurance cover

Responsibilities

• Provide civil engineering leadership and governance across the business
• Lead teams of technical professionals and ensure high-quality outputs
• Be accountable for technical decision-making and engineering assurance
• Support delivery of complex capital programmes and strategic projects
• Provide expert lifecycle advice from concept to handover
• Ensure activities comply with standards, legislation and best practice
• Develop and continuously improve engineering standards and procedures
• Promote governance across functions and act as Designer under CDM
• Raise UU’s profile through industry engagement, publications, and academia
• Lead, mentor and develop engineers; support professional registrations
• Act as Company Administrator for the ICE Training Scheme within six months
• Build strong stakeholder relationships and advise non-engineering stakeholders
• Influence senior leadership decisions through technical expertise

Key requirements

• Chartered Engineer (CEng) with substantial post-chartership experience
• Proven track record leading complex engineering activities and technical judgement
• Strong ability to influence engineering decisions across a large organisation
• Experience leading multi-disciplinary teams in complex environments
• Delivery of capital projects and strategic programmes across full lifecycle
• Excellent understanding of engineering governance, standards, policy and assurance
• Strong knowledge of water, wastewater and sludge treatment, hydraulic design
• Ability to communicate complex concepts to technical and non-technical audiences
• Experience producing technical reports, specifications and standards
• Demonstrated commitment to health, safety and safe design principles

• leadership
• influencing and stakeholder engagement
• mentoring and people development
• engineering governance, standards and assurance
• water/wastewater and sludge treatment processes
• hydraulic design

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