Engineer

Southern Water; England; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Southern Water is seeking a Principal Civil Engineer to provide technical leadership to our design team across water and wastewater projects. You will guide delivery, ensure value for money, and drive innovative solutions through strong analysis and stakeholder engagement.

The role focuses on leading a skilled team, solving complex engineering challenges, and coordinating with Project Design Leads to meet safety, quality, and regulatory standards. Pre-employment vetting will apply.

Qualifications

• Experience leading design teams on water infrastructure projects.
• Strong technical analysis and problem-solving skills.
• Proven ability to manage complex projects and budgets.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership to the design team on water and wastewater schemes.
• Perform detailed technical analysis and support financial project management.
• Ensure delivery, value for money, and adherence to safety and quality standards.

Skills

Leadership

Civil Eng

Water/wastewater

Stakeholder comms

Job description

As a Principal Civil Engineer, you will be providing technical leadership and guidance to a design team in the delivery of water and wastewater projects. The role involves detailed technical analysis, as well as financial project management and ensuring project delivery. As a leader of schemes, you will be working with Project Design Leads and stakeholders to ensure that delivery, value for money and innovation are brought into the process.

What you will be responsible for:

• As a leader of the team, you will have a clear understanding the roles within the team and working co-operatively with other teams to achieve business aims.
• The nature of this work will be ideally suited to someone with strong critical thinking and empowered to make decisions and drive resolutions.
• You will be solutions focussed and excellent in identifying and resolving complex engineering issues, and proactive, demonstrating a high level of initiative.
• You will be responsible for developing and maintaining projects in accordance with the corporate health and safety, environment and quality standards, and ensuring the project team comply with such standards as you will be providing technical guidance and leadership of the project team.
• As a good communicator you will be liaising with stakeholders, negotiating and influencing senior internal and external stakeholders, In line with Southern Water's security requirements, successful candidates will be required to provide evidence of their identity, eligibility to work in the UK, criminal record check (DBS) and verification of their employment and/or education history for the past three years.

Appointment to this role is subject to the successful completion of all pre-employment checks, including security vetting. Please note that if a candidate does not meet the required security standards or fails to pass the vetting process, Southern Water reserves the right to withdraw the offer of employment. Some positions may also require higher levels of security vetting, which may involve providing additional documentation.

This role has a focus on leading a highly skilled team, technical problem solving, data analysis, and decision making.

If you have previous Water/Wastewater Infrastructure and Civil Engineering experience, then we would love to hear from you. We are particularly keen to hear from people who are excellent communicator, presenting and articulating technical ideas and arguments to both technical experts and lay people.

Southern Water is at the forefront of transforming Britain's water industry, investing significantly to enhance resilience, sustainability, and service excellence.

With £7.8bn planned investment for 2025-30, this is an unparalleled opportunity to join a business committed to delivering a generational shift in the way water services are managed.

You will be joining at a time of significant change, working alongside a highly skilled leadership team with a clear vision for the future.

We offer an environment where senior professionals can make a meaningful impact, influence major strategic decisions, and drive long-term value creation.

"At Southern Water, we believe diverse perspectives drive innovation. If you're passionate about making a positive impact and think you can bring value to our team, we'd love to hear from you-even if you don't tick every box. Your unique skills and experiences could be exactly what we need."

Our Commitment to Diversity: We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We do not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or any other protected characteristic.