Principal/Associate Mechanical Engineer

Aldwych Consulting Ltd; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days leave

Private medical cover

EV salary sacrifice

Share options

Flexible and hybrid working

9-day fortnight

Professional development

Networking opportunities

Social and wellbeing initiatives

Career progression opportunities

Job summary

Aldwych Consulting Ltd is seeking a Principal/Associate Mechanical Engineer for its Building Services team in the UK. The role is based in Bournemouth or Reading with flexible, hybrid working on a diverse portfolio spanning residential to data centres.

You will lead projects from concept to delivery, manage client relationships, provide technical guidance, and mentor engineers within a collaborative, multidisciplinary environment.

Qualifications

• Degree in Mechanical Engineering or Building Services Engineering.
• Significant consultancy experience in mechanical building services.
• Proven leadership of multidisciplinary design teams.
• Strong client-facing and stakeholder management.
• Commercial awareness and risk mitigation.
• Experience mentoring engineers.

Responsibilities

• Act as senior client contact and develop long-term relationships.
• Establish project briefs and represent the consultancy at meetings.
• Lead mechanical projects from concept through delivery.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary design teams and disciplines.
• Manage workloads, resources and project priorities.
• Provide technical leadership and review junior work.
• Monitor project financial performance and risks.
• Identify opportunities to grow existing clients and win new work.
• Support bids, proposals and business development.
• Ensure designs meet standards and regulatory requirements.
• Mitigate project risks and manage procurement considerations.
• Share knowledge and contribute to best practice.

Skills

Mechanical building services

Leadership

Client management

Project management

BIM

Education

Mechanical Engineering degree

Building Services Engineering degree

Tools

BIM software

Engineering software

Job description

Principal / Associate Mechanical Engineer - Building Services

Location: Bournemouth or Reading

Employment: Full-time

Sector: Mechanical / Building Services Engineering

The Opportunity

A leading UK engineering consultancy is looking for an experienced Principal or Associate Mechanical Engineer to join its Mechanical Engineering team, based in either Bournemouth or Reading. You will play a key role in delivering high-quality, sustainable mechanical engineering solutions across a diverse portfolio of built environment projects. The business works across sectors including residential, hospitality, leisure, commercial, healthcare, research, data centres, critical infrastructure, manufacturing and technology. Projects range from complex developments to technically demanding specialist environments, working with both public and private sector clients. You will work within a collaborative, multidisciplinary team alongside experienced engineers and specialist consultants, with opportunities to contribute to technically challenging projects while supporting the development of colleagues and the wider business.

The Role

As a Principal / Associate Mechanical Engineer, you will be responsible for a combination of technical, project, client and team leadership, including:

• Acting as a senior point of contact for clients and developing strong, long-term relationships.
• Establishing project briefs, managing client expectations and representing the consultancy at project meetings.
• Leading mechanical engineering projects from concept through to delivery.
• Coordinating multidisciplinary design teams and specialist engineering disciplines.
• Managing workloads, resources and project priorities to ensure successful delivery.
• Providing technical leadership and reviewing the work of engineers and junior team members.
• Monitoring project financial performance, expenditure, resources and commercial risks.
• Identifying opportunities to develop existing client relationships and generate new business.
• Supporting bids, proposals and other business development activity.
• Ensuring designs meet relevant standards, regulations and technical requirements.
• Identifying and mitigating project risks and maintaining awareness of contractual and procurement considerations.
• Contributing to technical knowledge sharing, innovation and best practice across the business.

About You

You will ideally have:

• A degree or equivalent qualification in Mechanical Engineering, Building Services Engineering or a related discipline.
• Significant experience within mechanical building services, ideally gained in a consultancy environment.
• Strong technical knowledge and experience delivering complex mechanical building services designs.
• Proven experience leading projects and multidisciplinary design teams.
• Strong client-facing and stakeholder management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with confidence managing challenging situations.
• Demonstrable commercial awareness, including project financial management and risk mitigation.
• Experience mentoring, managing or developing engineers and technical staff.
• Strong organisational and planning skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and demanding deadlines.
• Good knowledge of industry-standard engineering software and BIM processes.

Why Consider the Opportunity?

This is an opportunity to join an established, highly regarded engineering consultancy and take a senior role within a growing Mechanical Engineering team. The position offers exposure to high-profile, technically challenging and sustainable projects, alongside genuine opportunities for technical leadership, client development and career progression. The wider package includes:

• 25 days' annual leave, increasing with service
• Private medical cover
• Electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme
• Share/stock options
• Flexible and hybrid working
• Opportunity to participate in a 9-day fortnight
• Professional and technical development programmes
• Employee communities and networking opportunities
• Social and wellbeing initiatives
• Long-term career development and progression opportunities

This would suit an experienced Senior, Principal or Associate Mechanical Engineer looking for greater project responsibility, client exposure and the opportunity to play a significant role in the growth of a high-performing engineering team.

Aldwych Consulting values diversity and promotes equality. No terminology in this advert is intended to discriminate against any of the protected characteristics that fall under the Equality Act 2010. We encourage and welcome applications from all sections of society and are happy to discuss reasonable adjustments and/or additional arrangements as required to support your application.

Candidates must be eligible to live and work in the UK.

For the purposes of the Conduct Regulations 2003, when advertising permanent vacancies we are acting as an Employment Agency, and when advertising temporary/contract vacancies we are acting as an Employment Business.