Graduate Design Engineer

Costain Group PLC; City of Westminster; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading engineering firm in the UK is looking for a Principal Design Manager to manage and lead their design team. This position involves ensuring that design projects are delivered on time and within budget while meeting technical requirements. Applicants should have significant experience in civil engineering, particularly in rail systems, and be a chartered member of a professional institute. The role focuses on collaboration, quality assurance, and innovative problem-solving within a complex engineering environment.

Qualifications

• Significant post-graduate experience in infrastructure or related industry.
• Authority in design and construction process models.
• Experience in design and assurance processes on rail projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead a design team to ensure designs are delivered on time and budget.
• Establish collaborative working relationships with HS2 and stakeholders.
• Manage design change and work with procurement teams.

Skills

Collaboration with delivery teams

Creative problem-solving

Understanding of design processes

Contractual negotiation

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Management

Chartered member of professional institute

Project Management training

Job description

Principal Design Manager

This is a key engineering leadership role, alongside the Systems Integration and Assurance Manager and the Quality and Business Improvement Manager, reporting to the Lead Engineering Manager who oversees the wider Engineering team on the project. As Principal Design Manager, you are accountable for all the design on the project. You will lead our design team and manage all the designers (including Costain Engineering and Design, Mott MacDonald / Systra Design JV, and all subcontractors with design responsibility, including contract management). You are responsible for the design being delivered on time, to budget and technically compliant to the HRS02 Works Information, comprising of the design for: construction tunnel ventilation system, plus construction ventilation control system, permanent tunnel ventilation system, plus VCS, tunnel M&E, including LV distribution, lighting, signage, CMS, fire main, tunnel pumped drainage, CCTV, PAVA and all associated tunnel and M&E SCADA systems, open route LV and lighting systems.

Responsibilities

• Establish collaborative working relationships with HS2, design organisations, delivery team and supply chain.
• Oversee all design and engineering related management on behalf of the Lead Engineering Manager.
• Set up and maintain all required Engineering Management plans and processes (as required by our contract and as necessary for design delivery) and check they are clearly defined and understood by the wider team.
• Ensure that these are being followed by the designers.
• Develop a programme‑led design delivery culture within the design team, with detailed integrated design programmes, short interval control methods and progress metrics as part of a weekly/monthly drumbeat.
• Ensure reporting on design progress and technical risks regularly.
• Establish MDIP (and specific TDIPs), with clearly defined outputs (deliverables) at each design stage (plan appropriate design stages and sub‑design stages to control the design production in line with the projects requirements and Assurance Plan) and define how design deliverables can be progressively checked and earned value measured.
• Hold the designers to account for delivering to this engineering delivery plan through reporting and contractual mechanisms.
• Implement sufficient processes so that the designs we receive from the designers are quality controlled, technically assured and are of sufficient detail for the design lifecycle stage (concept, scheme and detailed design).
• Ensure that the designs are suitable for the assurance, procurement and installation activities at each lifecycle stage.
• Manage designer accounts, reporting of design account management and design progress.
• Manage design change and influence HS2, the other Rail systems contractor and our procurement/delivery teams to prevent unnecessary or disruptive design change. Systematically challenge the need for design change.
• Work with our commercial team to draft technically oriented correspondence (upstream to HS2 and downstream to designers and subcontractors).
• Ensure the designs are constructable, follow safe‑by‑design principles and achieve the projects sustainability goals, including reporting or carbon metrics as required.
• Embed the principles of Production Thinking / MMC into our design solutions.
• Provide judgement and advice, including bringing in wider Costain expertise as required, to create optimised solutions (off‑site fabrication and use of robotics for installation is a project aspiration and this must be enabled by the design), and to meet the HS2 requirements and achieve our commercial aims.
• Influence the project procurement and delivery teams so that they are engaged in the design development and options selection and have appropriate ownership of the designs.

Essential: Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

Demonstrable ability to work with delivery teams, HS2, other/alliance Rails Systems contractors, and other stakeholders. Significant post‑graduate design, engineering or management experience in infrastructure or related industry with demonstrable track record of achievement. Be an authority in multiple design and construction process models (especially M&E such as BSRIA). Practical approach, logical thought process and a methodical way of working. Creative and innovative approach to problem‑solving. Thought leader in the field of design and design management, with the ability to ‘horizon scan’ for new ideas or technologies that will influence the delivery of HS2. Experience of design and assurance processes on rail systems projects. Experience of technical management being able to understand and review design deliverables and demonstrate the ability to collate information and prepare reports. Ability to understand technical concepts and detail across a range of disciplines (e.g. structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering); this is not however likely to part of their daily workload. Experience of drafting effective contractual correspondence and the facilitation of collaborative solutions (strong understanding of delivering projects to NEC4 PSC). Experience of developing & implementing procurement and contract strategies for design. Negotiating and team‑working, solutions across the UK's energy, water, transportation and defence markets.

Essential Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree / Engineering or management apprenticeship with industry experience.
• Chartered member of professional institute (MICE/IMechE/MCIOB etc).
• Project Management training / skills.

Desirable Qualifications

• Competency to discharge the Principal Designer Role under the CDM regulations, on behalf of Costain.
• Secondary professional qualifications and training desirable (e.g. MAPM, MCIarb, MICW etc).
• Experience in multiple infrastructure markets/sectors.
• Master's / post‑graduate degree (preferred).