Consultant/ Senior Water Resources Hydrogeologist

Tetra Tech Europe; Cardiff; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Tetra Tech Europe is seeking a Hydrogeologist at Consultant or Senior level to deliver groundwater and water-resources projects across the UK and Ireland. The role involves scoping, field investigation, and regulatory submissions, with opportunities for client liaison and team development.

You will work on water resource management, catchment resilience, and environmental protection, collaborating with utilities, regulators and private clients in a hybrid working environment.

Qualifications

• Good honours degree in hydrogeology, geology, earth science, engineering geology or related discipline.
• Postgraduate qualification in hydrogeology, hydrology, water resources management or related subject would be advantageous.
• Experience in water resource assessment, hydrology, or groundwater consultancy combining fieldwork with strong analytical skills.

Responsibilities

• Deliver technical assessments, options appraisals, and regulatory inputs for water resource planning frameworks.
• Plan, coordinate, and supervise fieldwork including borehole investigations and hydraulic testing.
• Analyse hydrological, hydrogeological, meteorological and water-quality data to evaluate resource availability and catchment dynamics.
• Support environmental impact assessments linked to abstraction sustainability and WFD compliance.
• Draft high-quality technical reports, regulatory applications and digital deliverables for clients and regulators.
• Manage project tasks, budgets and subcontractors, with senior candidates leading defined work packages.

Skills

Water resources assessment

Hydrogeology

Fieldwork supervision

GIS

Power BI

Python

Regulatory understanding

Education

Bachelors in hydrogeology or related

Postgraduate qualification in hydrogeology/water resources (advantageous)

Tools

MODFLOW

FEFLOW

GIS

Excel

Job description

Purpose & Scope of the Role

Tetra Tech is a leading global provider of consulting and engineering services. Our Groundwater & Geothermal Team forms part of a wider geo-environmental and water business, delivering projects for public and private sector clients across the UK and Ireland. Our work spans water resources, environmental management, infrastructure, energy, defence, property and mining.

Purpose & Scope of the Role

Due to continued growth, we are seeking an ambitious hydrogeologist to join our team at Consultant or Senior Hydrogeologist grade. The role will focus on a diverse portfolio of groundwater and water-resources projects, supporting sustainable water resources management, water security, catchment-scale resilience, and environmental protection. You will play a key role in helping water utilities, regulators, and private clients navigate climate change, regulatory shifts, and growing water demands. The appointment will be made at Consultant or Senior grade, depending on experience. At Senior level, you will take on increased project ownership, including water resource work package management, direct client liaison, and the technical development of junior staff. You will contribute to projects from initial scoping and field investigation through to technical assessment, reporting and regulatory submission. The role will involve working with water companies, regulators, catchment partners, infrastructure providers and other public and private sector clients.

Your Impact in this position

Reporting to a Principal or Associate, you will contribute to the delivery of groundwater and water-resources projects that support sustainable abstraction, environmental protection and long-term water-resource resilience.

Responsibilities May Include

• Delivering technical assessments, options appraisals, and regulatory inputs for water resource planning frameworks (including WINEP, WRMPs, and Drought Plans).
• Planning, coordinating, and supervising fieldwork, including monitoring, borehole investigations, and hydraulic testing to support resource assessment and source yield evaluations.
• Analysing hydrological, hydrogeological, meteorological, and water-quality data to evaluate resource availability, catchment water balances, and abstractable yields.
• Supporting environmental impact assessments linked to abstraction sustainability, Water Framework Directive (WFD) compliance, and hands-off flow conditions.
• Drafting high-quality technical reports, regulatory applications, and digital deliverables (such as dashboards and figures) for clients and regulators.
• Managing project tasks, budgets, and subcontractors, with Senior-grade candidates taking lead responsibility for defined water resource work packages.

5 Core Capabilities

Technical delivery: Plan, design, and execute hydrogeological and hydrological assessments, catchment water balances, and impact studies to support sustainable water resource management and licensing.

Field leadership: Supervise site investigations, including borehole drilling, test pumping, and hydrometric/groundwater monitoring networks designed to evaluate aquifer properties and resource yield.

Analysis and reporting: Interpret hydrological, hydrochemical, and groundwater-level data to evaluate water resource options, assess climate change impacts, and author high-quality technical reports for regulatory approval.

Digital and regulatory support: Apply GIS, statistical analysis, and digital tools to support abstraction licence applications, environmental permit variations, and catchment-scale resource assessments.

Client and project support: Coordinate resources, subcontractors, and budgets to deliver water resource schemes on schedule, with Senior-grade candidates acting as day-to-day client contacts and contributing to proposals.

Training, Qualifications & Experience

You will have a good honours degree in hydrogeology, geology, earth science, engineering geology, environmental science or a related discipline. A postgraduate qualification in hydrogeology, hydrology, water resources management, or a related subject would be highly advantageous.

You will bring relevant experience in water resource assessment, hydrology, or groundwater consultancy, combining practical fieldwork with strong analytical skills regarding water resource availability, catchment dynamics, and environmental flow constraints. An understanding of UK and/or Irish groundwater regulations and licensing is expected.

Experience in one or more of the following areas would be desirable:

• Water resources planning frameworks (WINEP, WRMPs, or Drought Plans) and water company capital-delivery processes.
• Abstraction licensing, Section 32/32(3) consents, hands-off flow conditions, and Water Framework Directive (WFD) assessments.
• Borehole design, yield testing, and pumping-test analysis for resource evaluation.
• Hydro-ecological assessments, catchment management, and groundwater–surface-water interactions.
• Hydrological or numerical groundwater modelling (e.g., MODFLOW, FEFLOW, or surface water routing tools).

Good Microsoft Word, Excel, and GIS skills are important, together with strong organisation and communication abilities. Experience with Power BI, Python, or other advanced data-analysis tools is highly desirable.

For appointment at Senior Hydrogeologist grade, you should be able to demonstrate experience of managing defined work packages or smaller projects, coordinating subcontractors, engaging directly with clients and reviewing the work of less experienced colleagues.

Chartered status, or experience working towards chartership, would be advantageous. A full driving licence and willingness to travel are required, including travel across Great Britain and Ireland and occasional short periods away from your base office.

Working Environment

This role combines office-based technical work with site activities and client engagement. Hybrid and flexible working arrangements are available.

You will collaborate with colleagues across the wider geo-environmental, water, infrastructure, energy and environmental-management businesses, as well as with clients, regulators, contractors and other technical specialists.

Tetra Tech works across the full project lifecycle worldwide, providing a broad network of technical expertise and a personalised approach to client relationships. We offer a collaborative environment that supports individual performance, innovation and creativity.

Our teams support public and private sector clients on local, national and international projects, delivering sustainable and resilient solutions. Our operations in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands include more than 6,000 employees who are Leading with Science® to solve our clients’ most complex problems.

In alignment with the Equality Act 2010, we will make reasonable adjustments to support candidates and employees requiring additional arrangements. This could include adaptations to work schedules, training approaches or the physical workspace. Please inform us if you require any accommodations during the recruitment process or in your day-to-day role.

About Tetra Tech

Tetra Tech is a leading provider of consulting and engineering services working across the full project lifecycle worldwide. We have a wide range of expertise across our teams, providing a global support network with a personalised approach to client relationships to better understand where we can add value. We provide a collaborative environment that supports individual performance, innovation, and creativity. We support public and private sector clients on local and national, and international projects to deliver sustainable and resilient solutions. Our operations in the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands include more than 6,000 employees who are Leading with Science® to solve our clients’ most complex problems. In alignment with the Equality Act 2010, we will make reasonable adjustments to support candidates and employees requiring additional arrangements. This could include adaptations to work schedules, training approaches, or the physical workspace. Please inform us if you need any accommodations during the recruitment process or in your day-to-day role.