Principal Highway Engineer - Road Design

Parsons; Dubai; On-site; AED 334,800 - 502,200; Full time

Job summary

Parsons is seeking a Principal Highway Engineer in Dubai to lead road design teams on complex infrastructure projects. This senior role involves managing highway design deliverables and applying UAE standards effectively. Candidates should have a minimum of 13 years of significant experience in highway design and be proficient in Civil3D and OpenRoads.

The position offers the chance to work on high-profile projects, providing a pathway to contribute to Dubai's future transport infrastructure.

Qualifications

• Minimum 13 years of experience in major highway design projects.
• Proven ability to lead a team of design engineers on complex projects.
• Strong design knowledge of UAE local standards and international infrastructure standards.

Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee highway engineering teams on major road projects.
• Review ongoing design work for technical accuracy and compliance.
• Coordinate with internal and external departments on design alignment.

Skills

Highway design

Civil engineering

Geometric design

Road design

Interchange design

Civil3D

OpenRoads

Design review

Education

Degree in Civil Engineering

Tools

Civil3D

Bentley InRoads

OpenRoads

Job description

Job Snapshot

Principal Highway Engineer – Road DesignLocation: Dubai, United Arab EmiratesIndustry: Civil EngineeringFunction: Civil & Structural EngineeringExperience: Minimum 13 years of major highway design experienceJob Type: Full‑time

Overview

Principal Highway Engineer – Road Design in Dubai is a senior civil engineering position that leads highway engineering teams, manages complex road design deliverables, and applies UAE and international standards across major transport and master‑planning projects. The role requires strong geometric design capability, highway design review expertise, Civil3D and OpenRoads knowledge, and the confidence to resolve technical constraints while improving project value and delivery quality.

Job Details

Country: United Arab Emirates
City: Dubai
Industry: Civil Engineering
Function: Civil & Structural Engineering
Salary: 30000-45000 – estimated range based on similar jobs; confirm final offer with the employer.
Gender: Any
Candidate Nationality: Any

Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee highway engineering teams working on major road, infrastructure, expressway, interchange, and master‑planning development projects.
• Review ongoing highway design work to ensure technical accuracy, compliance, constructability, and alignment with project objectives.
• Develop, check, and approve engineering drawings, design reports, specifications, calculations, and road design deliverables.
• Prepare and review highway plan layouts, road profiles, geometric design elements, junction layouts, interchanges, and complicated road design schemes.
• Use appropriate road design software to support preliminary design, feasibility studies, detailed design, and design review activities.
• Resolve challenging geometric constraints by applying sound engineering judgment, road safety awareness, and value engineering principles.
• Coordinate with internal and external departments to align highway design with utilities, structures, drainage, traffic, landscape, urban planning, and authority requirements.
• Support the Design Manager with task allocation, design planning, engineering priorities, and technical delivery coordination.
• Assist Proposal Managers with technical input, project approach, resource planning, and highway design content for proposals.
• Maintain daily oversight of project deliverables to ensure quality, completeness, and timely submission.
• Conduct engineering reviews and provide clear technical comments to improve design quality and reduce rework.
• Coordinate highway deliverables with CAD and BIM teams to ensure drawings, models, and documentation remain consistent.
• Manage design resources, workload distribution, technical support needs, and team productivity across assigned projects.
• Prepare technical reports, design narratives, presentations, review notes, and engineering documentation for management and client use.
• Apply UAE and international road design standards, infrastructure guidelines, material specifications, and civil works requirements.
• Support pavement design considerations, advanced directional signage strategy, and road safety input where required.
• Guide and mentor design engineers, strengthening technical quality, software use, coordination discipline, and delivery standards.
• Communicate clearly in Arabic and English with clients, authorities, consultants, project managers, and multidisciplinary teams.
• Perform other highway engineering, design coordination, and technical leadership duties as required.

Ideal Profile

• Degree in Civil Engineering from a reputable university.
• Minimum 13 years of experience in major highway design projects.
• Strong experience in interchange design, expressways, road design, design review, and discipline coordination.
• Experience supporting master‑planning development projects and large infrastructure schemes.
• Excellent design knowledge of UAE local standards and relevant international road and infrastructure standards.
• Proven ability to lead a team of design engineers on complex highway and civil infrastructure projects.
• Strong technical capability in Civil3D, Bentley InRoads, OpenRoads, and related road design software.
• Good understanding of highway geometric design, road corridors, profiles, alignments, cross sections, junctions, interchanges, and constructability requirements.
• Knowledge of Road Safety and BIM is preferred.
• Experience developing advanced directional signage strategies is preferred.
• Knowledge of material specifications related to highways and civil works is preferred.
• Pavement design knowledge is preferred.
• Master’s degree is an advantage.
• Excellent communication skills in Arabic and English.
• Strong report writing, presentation, coordination, and technical review skills.
• Ability to communicate logically and confidently with management, staff, clients, authorities, and multidisciplinary project teams.
• Able to work in a high‑quality engineering consultancy environment focused on technical excellence, design leadership, and timely project delivery.

Skills Set

• Highway design
• Road design
• Civil engineering
• Infrastructure design
• Geometric design
• Interchange design
• Expressway design
• Road alignment
• Road profiling
• Preliminary design
• Feasibility studies
• Design review
• Design coordination
• Master‑planning development
• Civil3D
• Bentley InRoads
• OpenRoads
• CAD coordination
• BIM coordination
• Engineering drawings
• Technical reports
• Specifications
• Resource management
• Road safety
• Pavement design
• Directional signage strategy
• Value engineering
• UAE road standards
• International design standards
• Material specifications
• Team leadership
• Arabic communication
• English communication
• Dubai infrastructure projects

Why Join Us

This opportunity is ideal for a senior highway engineer who wants to lead major road and infrastructure design work in Dubai’s Civil Engineering sector. The role offers exposure to complex highway schemes, interchange layouts, expressway design, master‑planning coordination, BIM collaboration, proposal support, and high‑level technical decision‑making. It is a strong fit for an engineering leader who wants to guide teams, improve design quality, and contribute to future‑ready transport infrastructure with an international project delivery company.

About the Company

Parsons Corporation is a global engineering, infrastructure, and construction management company delivering major projects across transportation, roads, utilities, buildings, urban development, and community infrastructure. In Dubai, Parsons supports Civil Engineering projects through highway design, technical review, project controls, construction supervision, design coordination, and client‑focused delivery. The company offers professionals the opportunity to work on meaningful infrastructure programs while growing in a collaborative, innovative, and quality‑driven engineering environment.