Principal Civil Engineer

Mott MacDonald Bentley | MMB

Madrid

On-site

EUR 70,000 - 110,000

Full time

14 days+

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Benefits offered by this job

Holiday entitlement

Life assurance

Professional membership subscription

Private medical insurance

Pension scheme

Agile/flexible working

Annual bonus scheme

Flexible benefits: restaurant voucher,

transport card or day care voucher

Wellbeing support and networks

Social outcomes learning

Job summary

Mott MacDonald Bentley is recruiting a Project Design Manager to lead design for major infrastructure projects from feasibility through detailed design and handover, based in Madrid, Seville or Barcelona. You will coordinate multi-disciplinary teams, ensuring practical, sustainable designs aligned with cost, time and quality goals, and act as Principal Designer under CDM.

This hands-on, collaborative role places you at the heart of UK water sector projects within the @one Alliance, with

Qualifications

Degree in civil engineering or related discipline.
Proven experience in design or engineering leadership within complex infra/projects, ideally water sector.
Working knowledge of CDM 2015 regulations, with prior experience as Principal Designer or design risk management.
Strong understanding of multi-disciplinary project delivery.
Experience with BIM workflows and integrated design processes.

Responsibilities

Lead the design process on major capital projects from concept to detailed design and handover.
Ensure design outputs are integrated to meet operational, commercial, and environmental objectives.
Act as Principal Designer under CDM regulations and manage design risk.
Drive digital design excellence using BIM and 3D modelling to improve coordination and data integration.
Promote high design standards, innovative and low-carbon, cost-effective solutions.
Plan and allocate design resources with delivery teams to keep technical work on track.
Build strong relationships with stakeholders to reflect operators, contractors, regulators, and communities.
Champion quality, health and safety, and performance across the Alliance.
Mentor junior engineers and designers; foster learning and growth.
Foster collaboration across disciplines to unlock value at each design stage.

Skills

Communication skills

Stakeholder engagement

Leadership

English proficiency

Regulatory knowledge

Education

Civil Engineering degree

Tools

BIM workflows

Digital design tools

3D modelling

CDM 2015 knowledge

Job description

Proficiency level English (C1 level).

Mott MacDonald Bentley are recruiting for a Project Design Manager to join our office in Madrid, Barcelona or Seville and support our work with the @one Alliance as part of a remote design and build team.

As part of Anglian Water’s @one Alliance, we are on a mission to create a sustainable and resilient future for water. With an ambitious £2.3 billion capital investment in AMP8, we are revolutionising infrastructure, sustainability, and digital transformation to protect the environment and support growing communities.

What you’ll be doing

As a Project Design Manager, you’ll take technical ownership of major infrastructure projects from initial feasibility through to detailed design and handover. You’ll coordinate design delivery across multi-disciplinary teams, ensuring designs are practical, sustainable, and aligned with cost, time, and quality expectations. These projects make a real difference to the community.

You’ll act as a key point of contact across the project lifecycle, working closely with project leaders, engineers, construction teams, and external stakeholders to ensure seamless delivery. It’s a hands‑on, highly collaborative role that puts you at the centre of some of the most important infrastructure work happening in the region.

Your key responsibilities will include:

Leading the design process on major capital projects, from early concept through to detailed technical development and design assurance.
Ensuring design outputs are fully integrated, meeting the operational, commercial, and environmental objectives of the wider project.
Acting as Principal Designer under CDM regulations, managing design risk and ensuring that safety is considered at every stage.
Driving digital design excellence, supporting the use of BIM and 3D modelling to improve coordination, data integration, and project outcomes.
Challenging and improving technical standards, encouraging innovation and the use of repeatable, low-carbon, and cost-effective solutions.
Liaising with project leaders and delivery teams to plan and allocate design resources effectively, ensuring all technical aspects remain on track.
Building strong working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, ensuring that designs reflect the needs of operators, contractors, regulators, and the community.
Championing best practice across quality, health and safety, and performance – both within your own team and the wider Alliance.
Mentoring junior engineers and designers, creating a positive learning culture and helping others grow their skills and confidence.
Driving collaboration across disciplines, promoting a one-team mindset and helping to unlock value at every stage of the design process.

Ideally, you’ll have:

A degree in civil engineering or a related discipline.
Proven experience in a design or engineering leadership role within complex infrastructure or water-related projects, ideally experience of the UK water sector.
A working knowledge of CDM 2015 regulations, with prior experience acting as Principal Designer or managing design risk.
A strong understanding of project delivery in a multi-disciplinary environment.
Experience with digital design tools, BIM workflows, and integrated design processes.
Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills – able to influence, lead, and work collaboratively at all levels.
A proactive, solution-focused mindset with a commitment to quality and continuous improvement.
Proficiency level English (C1 level).
Available to work periodically in UK as required.

We are actively recruiting a diverse workforce that is reflective of the communities we serve. We recognise that differences in ability, skills and experience are a strength and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds.

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 reasonable.adjustments@mottmac.com and we will talk to you about how we can support you.

Agile working

Happy to talk Flexible Working and how we can support your responsibilities beyond the workplace.

We offer some fantastic benefits including:

Holiday entitlement
Life assurance
Professional membership subscription
Private medical insurance
Pension scheme
Agile/flexible working – because life isn’t 9-5
Annual bonus scheme
Flexible benefits that suit you, including restaurant voucher, transport card or day care voucher.
Wellbeing support including access to an independent Employer Assistance Scheme, wellbeing champions and access to learning and support resources
Access to our Advanced Employee Networks which support our LGBTQ+, gender, race and ethnicity, disability and parents/carers communities
The opportunity to make a difference; learn more about oursocial outcomes