Senior Roads & Highways Designer - Lead with Flexible Work

SMEC (An SJ Group Company); Cairns Regional; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

SMEC (An SJ Group Company) is seeking a Senior Designer – Roads & Highways to join our team in Cairns or Townsville, Queensland. You will deliver complex road design packages, mentor junior staff, and collaborate with engineers across multidisciplinary project teams to achieve practical, constructible outcomes.

You will work in a flexible, supportive environment with a focus on design quality and continuous improvement.

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 experience in Civil 3D or OpenRoads considered beneficial.
• Strong experience preparing and coordinating design drawings in AutoCAD, with complex design models and documentation.
• Sound knowledge of Austroads, TMR and relevant standards.
• Experience reviewing design outputs and contributing to QA processes.
• Ability to provide technical guidance and mentor junior designers.
• Strong communication and collaboration across multidisciplinary teams.
• Proactive, solutions-focused approach with emphasis on design quality and improvement.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and deliver high-quality work on time and budget.

Responsibilities

• Lead and deliver high-quality roads and highways design outputs per standards and client specs.
• Develop complex design models, drawings and technical documentation using 12d and AutoCAD.
• Provide technical input into design reports, reviews and project deliverables.
• Review design outputs and support QA and peer review processes.
• Ensure designs comply with Austroads, client specs and HSEQ requirements.
• Collaborate with engineers and multidisciplinary teams to develop practical, compliant solutions.
• Provide technical guidance and mentoring to designers and juniors.
• Communicate with internal teams, clients and stakeholders to align deliverables.
• Manage design activities against project deadlines and budgets, minimizing rework.
• Contribute to continuous improvement across design processes and digital tools.

Skills

Team leadership

Communication

Design quality

Collaboration

Tools

12d

AutoCAD

Civil 3D

OpenRoads

Job description

SMEC (An SJ Group Company) is seeking a Senior Designer – Roads & Highways to join our team in Cairns or Townsville, Queensland. You will deliver complex road design packages, mentor junior staff, and collaborate with engineers across multidisciplinary project teams to achieve practical, constructible outcomes.

You will work in a flexible, supportive environment with a focus on design quality and continuous improvement.