Associate Director of Drainage

Jacobs; Stafford; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Hybrid working

Global company culture

Job summary

Jacobs is seeking an Associate Director of Drainage to shape and deliver drainage solutions for the UK's transport infrastructure. You will lead drainage design across complex highway and rail projects, providing technical judgment and ensuring high-quality outcomes.

You will mentor engineers, build technical capability within the drainage discipline, and influence bid opportunities while supporting clients with practical, long-term sustainable solutions.

Qualifications

• Strong professional experience in drainage engineering for highways, rail or related infrastructure.
• Ability to lead drainage design and provide assurance on complex projects.
• Experience guiding projects through multiple design and delivery stages.

Responsibilities

• Lead drainage design across highway, rail and transportation projects.
• Provide technical leadership and design assurance for complex schemes.
• Mentor and develop engineers within the team.

Skills

Drainage design leadership

Highway/rail drainage experience

Mentoring engineers

Technical decision making

Job description

Associate Director of Drainage Your drainage expertise will help shape how some of the UK's most important transport infrastructure is designed and delivered.

You'll bring technical leadership to complex highway and rail projects, helping teams solve difficult drainage challenges, make sound engineering decisions and deliver designs that are practical, sustainable and built around long-term performance.

Just as importantly, your impact will extend beyond individual projects. You'll help develop engineers around you, strengthen technical capability across the drainage discipline and give clients confidence that they have experienced leadership behind the decisions that matter.

This is an opportunity to use your experience at a broader level: influencing technical direction, improving how projects are delivered and helping develop the people who will become the next generation of drainage specialists.

About the Opportunity

You'll take a leading role in shaping and delivering drainage solutions across complex highway, rail and wider transportation projects, working with major UK infrastructure clients. From early feasibility and optioneering through to detailed design and delivery, you'll provide the technical judgement and leadership needed to solve challenging drainage problems, influence multidisciplinary design decisions and ensure projects deliver practical, sustainable and high-quality outcomes.

Beyond individual projects, you'll have the opportunity to make a wider impact across the drainage team. You'll work closely with clients and technical specialists, provide assurance on complex designs, develop and mentor engineers, and help identify better ways of delivering our work. You'll also contribute to future opportunities through bids and project development, giving you the chance to influence not just how projects are delivered, but how the drainage capability grows.

• Strong professional experience in drainage engineering, particularly within highways, rail or comparable infrastructure environments.
• The technical judgement to lead drainage design and provide assurance on complex projects.
• Experience taking drainage projects or packages through multiple stages of design and delivery.
• Practical knowledge of relevant UK drainage design principles and standards, including DMRB and/or applicable UK rail standards.
• Experience applying SuDS principles to infrastructure projects.
• Experience using, reviewing or technically overseeing appropriate drainage modelling and design tools.
• An understanding of health, safety and risk within engineering design.
• Experience supporting the development of other engineers.

Manchester Greater Manchester United Kingdom Birmingham West Midlands United Kingdom Warrington Cheshire United Kingdom Leeds West Yorkshire United Kingdom Civil and Structural Transportation

Joining Jacobs not only connects you locally but globally. Our values stand on a foundation of safety, integrity, inclusion and belonging. We put people at the heart of our business, and we truly believe that by supporting one another through our culture of caring, we all succeed. We value positive mental health and a sense of belonging for all employees.

With safety and flexibility always top of mind, we've gone beyond traditional ways of working so you have the support, means and space to maximize your potential. You'll uncover flexible working arrangements, benefits, and opportunities, from well-being benefits to our global giving and volunteering program, to exploring new and inventive ways to help our clients make the world a better place. No matter what drives you, you'll discover how you can cultivate, nurture, and achieve your goals - all at a single global company. Find out more about life at Jacobs .

We aim to embed inclusion and belonging in everything we do. We know that if we are inclusive, we're more connected and creative. We accept people for who they are, and we champion the richness of different perspectives, lived experiences and backgrounds in the workplace, as a source of learning and innovation. We are committed to building vibrant communities within Jacobs, including through our Jacobs Employee Networks, Communities of Practice and our Find Your Community initiatives, allowing every employee to find connection, purpose, and belonging. Find out more about our Jacobs Employee Networks here .

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As a disability confident employer, we will interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for a vacancy. We welcome applications from candidates who are seeking flexible working and from those who may not meet all the listed requirements for a role.

We value collaboration and believe that in-person interactions are crucial for both our culture and client delivery. We empower employees with our hybrid working policy, allowing them to split their work week between Jacobs offices/projects and remote locations enabling them to deliver their best work.

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