Principal Civil Engineer - Water

AECOM; Basingstoke; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Career development opportunities

AECOM University access

Job summary

AECOM is seeking a Principal Civil Engineer in our Water team. You will lead technical delivery across UK and international projects, guiding teams of engineers, modellers and scientists while ensuring client satisfaction and regulatory alignment.

The role emphasizes leadership, design excellence, and active collaboration with clients and stakeholders, with hybrid working options and a focus on delivering complex water infrastructure programmes.

Qualifications

• Water sector experience and capability across water/wastewater projects.
• Ability to manage multidisciplinary teams and communicate with clients.
• Experience delivering feasibility studies, outline and detailed designs, and technical specifications.
• Proven track record in engineering assessments, options appraisals, and economic assessments.
• Experience across wastewater or water treatment schemes, flood risk management, or drainage schemes.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with engineers, hydraulic modellers, environmental scientists and specialists to deliver UK/overseas projects; liaise with clients to shape scope, pricing and progress updates.
• Deliver feasibility studies, outline and detailed designs, reports and technical specifications.
• Provide line management for junior staff and conduct performance evaluations.
• Ensure design compliance with applicable standards and provide expertise for interdisciplinary studies.

Skills

Water sector experience

Technical leadership

Engineering assessments & appraisals

Outline & detailed design experience

Education

Civil Engineering degree (or equivalent qualification/experience)

Chartered or Incorporated (ICE/CIWEM)

Job description

Company Description

Our thriving Water Team is looking for a Principal Civil Engineer to join one of our growing Southeast offices. We deliver a diverse portfolio of water and wastewater capital programmes and infrastructure projects through long-term frameworks with key clients - including Thames Water, Severn Trent Water, Affinity Water and Southern Water, alongside contractor partners and international clients.

Our work portfolio encompasses strategic asset investment, resilience, environmental improvement and growth-driven infrastructure projects across the water sector. Current projects include strategic water transfer, transmission and distribution pipeline projects, major utility diversion and infrastructure schemes associated with the London Power Tunnels and HS2 programmes, water treatment works (WTW) process upgrades, including UV treatment improvements, potable water network rehabilitation, water treatment works (WTW) and sewage treatment works (STW) upgrades, pumping station improvements, and regulatory compliance and environmental enhancement programmes.

This role offers an excellent opportunity to develop as a technical leader in the water sector, providing engineering expertise across complex infrastructure projects while supporting innovation, technical assurance, risk management and successful project delivery aligned with client, regulatory and sustainability objectives.

Here’s what you’ll do

• Collaborate: Work closely with our teams of engineers, hydraulic modellers, environmental scientists, and technical specialists to deliver a wide range of projects within the UK and overseas. Liaise with clients to develop scope, price proposals and communicate project progress.
• Deliver: Produce feasibility studies, outline designs, detailed designs, reports and technical specifications.
• Leadership: Undertake line manager responsibilities for junior staff, providing guidance and management to them as well as completing performance evaluations for those assigned.
• Quality: Ensure compliance of design with all applicable standards and regulations and provide technical expertise for interdisciplinary analytical studies.

Grow with us

Become part of our dynamic water business, which boasts around 700 experts across the UK & Ireland, and collaborate with top-tier engineers and consultants.

Let’s not forget the perks

You’ll enjoy a range of core and personalized benefits designed to support your future and well-being, customized to fit your lifestyle. Take advantage of career development opportunities, technical practice networks, AECOM University, volunteering days and our flexible hybrid working model to ensure a work-life balance that suits your lifestyle.

Qualifications

Ready to push the limits of what’s possible

Here’s what we’re looking for

• Civil Engineering degree (or equivalent qualification/experience).
• Experience working within the water sector.
• Chartered or Incorporated with a relevant institution e.g. ICE, CIWEM, or approaching chartered status.
• Experience of undertaking engineering assessments, options appraisals, engineering calculations and/or economic appraisals.
• Experience in outline and detailed design, in one of the following areas: wastewater or water treatment schemes, flood risk management or assessment or drainage schemes.

Additional Information

At AECOM, we value everyone's unique contributions and perspectives. We celebrate diversity, including neurodiversity, and believe it enriches our teams. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and abilities so, if you're an applicant with a disability that requires reasonable adjustment to complete the application process, please contact us at [e-mail].

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.

We are a Disability Confident Employer and will offer an interview to applicants who have a disability or long-term condition, who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role. Please let us know using this email address [e-mail] if you would like to apply through the Disability Confident Interview Scheme.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

ReqID:

J10159269

Business Line:

Water

Business Group:

DCS

Strategic Business Unit:

Europe & India

Career Area:

Engineering

Work Location Model:

Hybrid