Drainage Engineer

JACOBS; Stevenage; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

Jacobs in the United Kingdom is seeking a drainage design specialist to own highway drainage across a growing portfolio of local authority transportation projects. You’ll work from feasibility through to detailed design and construction documentation with support from a wider global drainage team.

You’ll turn complex drainage challenges into practical, buildable solutions, using modelling tools, coordinating with other disciplines, and helping clients with planning, cost forecasting and bids.

Qualifications

• Practical knowledge of drainage design for highway/transport projects.
• Experience across project stages: feasibility to construction information.
• Ability to use drainage modelling or design software and understand guidance like DMRB or SuDS.

Responsibilities

• Own highway drainage design across a portfolio of local authority projects.
• Develop and review designs, test options with modelling tools, and coordinate with disciplines.
• Contribute to project planning, cost forecasting and bids.

Skills

drainage design

highway projects

feasibility to construction

clear communication

team collaboration

Education

Civil engineering degree

Tools

drainage modelling software

Job description

At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good.

Your impact

Your drainage expertise will help local authorities deliver safer, more resilient and better-value transport infrastructure.

You will solve practical design challenges across highway and transportation schemes, from early feasibility through to detailed design and construction documentation. Your judgement will influence how drainage systems perform, how risks are managed, and how successfully projects move into delivery.

You will bring more than technical calculations. You will help clients make informed decisions, identify better design solutions and balance performance, cost, safety, buildability and environmental considerations.

Working as part of a UK transportation consultancy team and a wider global drainage delivery network, you will have the opportunity to contribute to a growing portfolio of local authority projects while learning from drainage specialists across different disciplines and locations.

About the opportunity

This is an opportunity to take ownership of highway drainage design across a growing portfolio of local authority transportation projects. You’ll work on schemes at different stages, from early feasibility through to detailed design and construction documentation, with access to expertise from a wider global drainage team.

You’ll turn complex drainage challenges into practical, buildable solutions. That means developing and reviewing designs, using modelling tools to test options, coordinating with other disciplines and helping clients make informed decisions. You’ll also contribute to project planning, cost forecasting and bids, giving you broader exposure beyond technical design alone.

Here’s what you’ll need

• Practical knowledge of drainage design, supported by experience on highway, transportation or comparable civil infrastructure projects.
• Experience contributing to projects at one or more stages, such as feasibility, preliminary design, detailed design or preparation of construction information.
• The ability to use relevant drainage modelling or design software. We are open to candidates with experience of different industry-standard platforms.
• An understanding of relevant drainage and highway design guidance, including the DMRB, SuDS Manual or comparable standards.
• Working knowledge of health, safety and designer responsibilities within an engineering environment.
• The ability to explain technical information clearly through drawings, reports and conversations with colleagues, clients and stakeholders.
• A relevant civil engineering qualification or equivalent technical knowledge gained through practical experience.

Why Join Us?

Work with visible, practical impact

Your work will support infrastructure used by communities every day. You will be able to see how your technical decisions influence safety, resilience, environmental performance and long-term value.

Build broader technical experience

The portfolio covers several stages of project delivery, giving you the opportunity to strengthen your experience beyond one narrow part of the design lifecycle.

Access a wider drainage community

You will work as part of a global drainage delivery team, creating opportunities to exchange knowledge, solve complex problems collaboratively and develop your professional network.

Develop your professional profile

The role provides relevant experience for engineers working toward Incorporated or Chartered status, particularly through technical delivery, client engagement, multidisciplinary working and designer responsibilities.

Join a growing portfolio

The local authority workload is growing. This creates an opportunity to contribute at an important point in the team’s development rather than simply filling an established delivery position.

#Drainage #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 you 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 disabled candidates who best meet the criteria. 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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