Senior Designer - Roads & Highways

Surbana Jurong Group; Cairns Regional; On-site; AUD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

SMEC is seeking a Senior Designer – Roads & Highways to join our team in Cairns or Townsville. You’ll deliver complex transport design across Queensland and Australia, mentor junior designers, and collaborate with engineers and multidisciplinary teams to ensure high-quality, practical outcomes.

You’ll lead design packages, apply Austroads and local standards, and drive continuous improvement in design processes and tools while managing deadlines and budgets.

Qualifications

• 6-10 years’ experience in roads and highways design within a consulting or infrastructure environment.
• Strong proficiency in 12d as a primary design platform, with Civil 3D/OpenRoads beneficial.
• Proven ability to prepare and coordinate design drawings in AutoCAD, and develop complex models and documentation.
• Sound knowledge of Austroads, TMR and state/local standards.
• Experience reviewing outputs and contributing to QA processes.
• Ability to mentor junior designers and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead and deliver high-quality roads and highways design outputs per standards and client requirements.
• Develop complex design models, drawings and technical documentation using 12d and AutoCAD.
• Provide technical input into design reports, reviews and project deliverables.
• Review outputs and support QA and peer reviews.
• Ensure designs comply with Austroads, client specs and HSEQ requirements.
• Collaborate with engineers and multidisciplinary teams to develop practical, compliant solutions.
• Provide technical guidance to designers and junior team members.

Skills

Roads & highways design

Team mentorship

Stakeholder collaboration

Quality focus

Prioritization

Communication

Tools

12d

AutoCAD

Civil 3D

OpenRoads

Job description

About the job Join a global consultancy delivering iconic infrastructure projects Work alongside industry-leading specialists in a collaborative, flexible environment Shape your career with genuine professional growth opportunities.

About SMEC

SMEC is a global engineering consultancy renowned for delivering complex, sustainable infrastructure solutions across transport, water, energy, and urban development markets. Our teams are empowered to innovate, solve technical challenges, and contribute to projects that positively shape communities across Australia and worldwide. We are committed to building a diverse, inclusive and gender-equitable workforce and encourages applications from people of all backgrounds across engineering and technical disciplines. SMEC provides a supportive and flexible working environment that recognises individual contribution, supports career progression, and enables our people to balance work and life at all stages of their career. As a family-friendly employer, we offer flexible working arrangements and benefits including 18 weeks of universal paid parental leave. We are proud to foster an inclusive culture that supports gender equity, LGBTI+ inclusion and First Nations representation, with access to strong professional networks, role models, and mentoring and sponsorship programs.

Infrastructure

At SMEC, we understand that our continued success within the infrastructure market is the result of building long-term client relationships. We listen and understand the specific needs of our clients and deliver a complete value chain of services to provide sustainable solutions across major infrastructure projects worldwide.

The Role

We’re seeking a Senior Designer – Roads & Highways to join our team in either Cairns or Townsville, supporting the delivery of transport infrastructure projects across Queensland and Australia. This is an opportunity for a Senior Designer who enjoys solving complex design challenges, collaborating across disciplines, and taking greater ownership of design outcomes. You’ll bring strong technical capability while supporting the development of others and contributing to consistently high-quality project delivery. As a senior member of our Roads & Highways team, you’ll play a key role in the delivery of complex projects, with a focus on design quality, technical rigour and coordinated outcomes. You’ll work closely with engineers, designers and multidisciplinary project teams, providing technical guidance and helping drive practical, efficient and constructable solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and deliver high-quality roads and highways design outputs in line with technical standards, client requirements and SMEC quality expectations
• Develop complex design models, drawings and technical documentation using appropriate design and drafting tools and methodologies, with 12d and AutoCAD as the primary platforms
• Provide technical input into design reports, documentation, reviews and project deliverables
• Review design outputs and support quality assurance and peer review processes
• Ensure designs comply with Austroads, client specifications and relevant HSEQ requirements
• Collaborate closely with engineers and multidisciplinary teams to develop practical, compliant and cost-effective design solutions
• Provide technical guidance and mentoring to designers and junior team members
• Communicate effectively with internal teams, clients and project stakeholders to maintain alignment across deliverables
• Manage design activities against project deadlines and budgets, maintaining accuracy and minimising rework
• Contribute to continuous improvement across design processes, digital tools and project delivery

About You

You’re an experienced and technically capable Designer with a strong background in roads and highways design. You’re comfortable taking ownership of complex design packages, working collaboratively across multidisciplinary teams and providing guidance to less experienced designers, while maintaining a strong focus on quality and practical project outcomes. You will bring:

You’ll bring

• 6-10 years’ experience in roads and highways design within a consulting or infrastructure environment
• Strong proficiency in 12d as a primary design platform, with experience in other packages such as Civil 3D or OpenRoads considered beneficial
• Strong experience preparing and coordinating design drawings in AutoCAD, along with complex design models and supporting technical documentation
• Sound working knowledge of Austroads, TMR and relevant state and local authority standards
• Experience reviewing design outputs and contributing to technical and quality assurance processes
• The ability to provide technical guidance and support the development of junior designers
• Strong communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with engineers, designers and multidisciplinary project teams
• A proactive, solutions-focused approach with a strong commitment to design quality and continuous improvement
• The ability to manage competing priorities and deliver high-quality work within agreed project timeframes and budgets

Don't meet every requirement? We still encourage you to apply. We recognise that talent comes from many different experiences and backgrounds, and we're committed to creating an inclusive culture for people from all walks of life.

SMEC Overview

SMEC is a global engineering, management and development consultancy delivering innovative solutions for our clients and partners. Leveraging our 70-year history of delivering nation-building infrastructure, we provide technical expertise and advanced engineering services to resolve complex challenges across major infrastructure and energy projects. SMEC has a long and proud history which dates back to Australia’s iconic Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme in 1949, one of the largest and most complex hydroelectric schemes in the world. Headquartered in Australia, we have offices across more than 35 countries in Oceania, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa and the Americas. Together with our clients and partners, we deliver projects that directly contribute to improving health, quality of life and development outcomes for communities and neighborhoods around the world. Driven by innovation, ingenuity and skill, our people have shaped these outcomes in some of the world’s most remote and challenging environments. Since 2016, SMEC has been a member of the Surbana Jurong Group, an Asia-based global powerhouse of over 16,000 employees. Through our network of global specialists and by collaborating with local partners, we connect clients with the best teams and capabilities to deliver sustainable solutions.