Lead Design Engineer / Design Manager, Water

AECOM; Hasland; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Dynamic team

Industry-leading professionals

Inclusive environment

Continuous learning

Competitive salary

Work-life balance

Job summary

AECOM in the UK is seeking a Lead Design Engineer / Design Manager for our Water team in the North & Midlands (Manchester, Leeds, Chesterfield, Birmingham). You will lead technical delivery of water and wastewater schemes, guiding multidisciplinary design teams through feasibility to construction.

This role offers hybrid working, exposure to high-profile projects with major water clients, and opportunities to shape resilient infrastructure while mentoring junior engineers.

Qualifications

• Experience managing technical delivery of water and wastewater projects with multi-disciplinary knowledge.
• Experience leading multi-disciplinary design teams.
• Experience in a similar role for a water company, consultancy or contractor.
• Degree in civil, electrical, mechanical or related engineering; Chartered/ Incorporated.

Responsibilities

• Lead: Drive technical delivery of water, wastewater, and flood infrastructure projects, managing multidisciplinary teams to deliver innovative, value-added solutions throughout the design lifecycle.
• Manage: Oversee key packages of work from concept to handover, interfacing with AECOM teams, clients, and suppliers to create seamless technical solutions.
• Collaborate: Work closely with clients and AECOM partners to ensure stakeholder buy-in for solutions, contributing to AECOM's wider technical capability and innovative approach.
• Develop: Perform line manager duties and support the development of junior team members, mentoring them.

Skills

Technical delivery

Project management

Water/wastewater design

Team leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Engineering degree

Chartered/ Incorporated

Job description

Responsibilities

• Lead: Drive technical delivery of water, wastewater, and flood infrastructure projects, managing multidisciplinary teams to deliver innovative, value-added solutions throughout the design lifecycle.
• Manage: Oversee key packages of work from concept to handover, interfacing with AECOM teams, clients, and suppliers to create seamless technical solutions.
• Collaborate: Work closely with clients and AECOM partners to ensure stakeholder buy-in for solutions, contributing to AECOM's wider technical capability and innovative approach.
• Develop: Perform line manager duties and support the development of junior team members, managing their input to projects and mentoring them.

If you're passionate about innovation and turning bold ideas into reality, AECOM welcomes you. Join our team, where we don't just deliver infrastructure solutions-we safeguard human health and the environment. Follow our AECOM Water page on LinkedIn to stay updated on the impactful projects we're delivering across the UK. Come & Grow with Us. Become part of our dynamic Water business, which boasts around 700 experts across the UK & Ireland. Collaborate with top-tier engineers and consultants to deliver a variety of captivating projects, from small initiatives to large-scale ventures, all the way from concept to completion.

Ready to push the limits of what's possible?,

Experience

• Experience in managing the technical delivery of water and wastewater engineering projects with multi-disciplinary knowledge, ideally including treatment schemes and/or pipeline design. You will also have experience leading multi-disciplinary design teams.
• Relevant experience in a similar role for a water company, consultancy or contractor.
• Hands on experience, designing complex wastewater treatment solutions.
• A degree or equivalent in a related engineering subject (e.g. civil, electrical, mechanical) and/or equivalent experience.
• Chartered or Incorporated with a relevant institution e.g. ICE, CIWEM or working towards it.
• Experience of undertaking feasibility studies, options appraisal and concept design, and/or outline and detailed design for water company clients and design and build contractors. Work with Us. Change the World.

At AECOM, we're delivering a better world. Whether improving your commute, keeping the lights on, providing access to clean water, or transforming skylines, our work helps people and communities thrive. We are the world's trusted infrastructure consulting firm, partnering with clients to solve the world's most complex challenges and build legacies for future generations. There has never been a better time to be at AECOM. With accelerating infrastructure investment worldwide, our services are in great demand. We invite you to bring your bold ideas and big dreams and become part of a global team of over 50,000 planners, designers, engineers, scientists, digital innovators, program and construction managers and other professionals delivering projects that create a positive and tangible impact around the world. We're one global team driven by our common purpose to deliver a better world. Join us.

Join our dynamic Water team as a Lead Design Engineer / Design Manager , based in our North & Midlands offices (Manchester, Leeds, Chesterfield & Birmingham), with the benefit of our flexible hybrid working model. At AECOM, we're at the forefront of delivering exceptional water programmes and projects through long-term partnerships with leading clients, including Wessex Water, Thames Water, Welsh Water, Severn Trent Water, South West Water, and international contractors. In this role, you'll work on high-impact projects ranging from potable water and sewage networks to treatment works and flood mitigation schemes, covering all stages of design and delivery-from feasibility to construction, operation, maintenance, and asset management.

Local and High-Profile Projects Our North & Midlands team is engaged in some of the UK's most high-profile, industry-leading infrastructure projects, as well as international programmes. Recent projects include:

• Wanlip Sewage Treatment Works (Leicestershire): Major upgrade delivering improved water quality.
• Mansfield Strategic Flood Resilience Project (£76m): Largest Sustainable Drainage (SuDS) retrofit in the UK.
• Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme: Technical advisor providing protection to over 1,000 homes and 470 businesses.
• M54-M6 Link Road (Staffordshire): Flood risk and drainage consultancy.
• Scottish Water Primary Designer 2027-2033: Leading water and wastewater infrastructure projects nationally.
• International Flood Mitigation Works: Projects including Al Ula, Saudi Arabia.

We also advise national and government clients such as Network Rail , DEFRA , and National Highways , providing design guidance and legislative support that keeps us at the forefront of the UK water industry.

Interested in the role or curious about life at AECOM? Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to explore our AECOM voices, employee stories, latest projects, and much more! At AECOM, we are committed to maintaining a secure and trustworthy recruitment process and take any fraudulent hiring activity seriously. To support this commitment, all newly hired employees are required to attend an in-person Day 1 onboarding at an AECOM office location as a condition of employment.

About AECOM AECOM is the world's trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle - from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, new energy and the environment, our public- and private-sector clients trust us to solve their most complex challenges. Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivaled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of $16.1 billion in fiscal year 2025. See how we are delivering sustainable legacies for generations to come at aecom.com and @AECOM.

Freedom to Grow in a World of Opportunity You will have the flexibility you need to do your best work with hybrid work options. Whether you're working from an AECOM office, remote location or at a client site, you will be working in a dynamic environment where your integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and pioneering mindset are championed. You will help us foster a safe and respectful workplace, where we invite everyone to bring their whole selves to work using their unique talents, backgrounds and expertise to create transformational outcomes for our clients. AECOM provides a wide array of compensation, benefits and well-being programs to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. We're the world's trusted global infrastructure firm, and we're in this together - your growth and success are ours too. Join us, and you'll get all the benefits of being a part of a global, publicly traded firm - access to industry-leading technology and thinking and transformational work with big impact and work flexibility. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person's potential, and we'll help you reach yours.

• Be part of a dynamic team that tackles challenging and impactful water projects.
• Work alongside industry-leading professionals and thought leaders.
• Engage in a collaborative and inclusive work environment.
• Access to continuous learning and development opportunities.
• Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package.
• Enjoy the flexibility to work in a way that fits your lifestyle while supporting a healthy work-life balance.