Principal Design Engineer

Calibre Search; Leeds; Hybrid; GBP 48,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Calibre Search is seeking a Principal Design Engineer in Leeds city centre to provide technical leadership across permanent and temporary works for complex infrastructure schemes. You will review and approve calculations and drawings, coordinate multidisciplinary teams, and mentor engineers while maintaining buildable, cost-effective solutions.

The role offers hybrid working (up to two days from home) and a challenging, hands-on engineering environment that values practical buildability as much

Qualifications

• Established track record in infrastructure design and leadership responsibilities.
• Degree-qualified Civil or Structural Engineer with 10+ years' relevant experience.
• Experience reviewing, approving calculations and drawings across permanent and temporary works.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership across permanent and temporary works design.
• Review, check, approve and sign off engineering calculations and drawings.
• Coordinate design with geotechnical, tunnelling, temporary works and construction teams.
• Lead technical and design assurance reviews and drive buildability improvements.
• Represent the design function in client meetings and bids.

Skills

Leadership

Technical authority

Mentorship

Team management

Education

Degree in Civil or Structural Engineering

Tools

AutoCAD

Civil 3D

Tekla

Revit

Robot Structural Analysis

Job description

Principal Design Engineer Leeds City Centre | Up to £80,000 | Hybrid working - up to 2 days from home

There are Principal Engineer jobs where the title comes with a bit more responsibility and then there are Principal Engineer jobs where you're genuinely trusted to make the technical call.

This is very much the latter.

I'm working with an established specialist engineering and construction business looking to appoint a Principal Design Engineer into its Leeds city centre design team. They need someone technically strong enough to review, approve and sign off engineering calculations and drawings, while providing leadership to the Engineers developing the designs beneath them.

The work is considerably more interesting than conventional building structures.

You'll be involved in complex UK infrastructure projects incorporating shafts, underground structures, retaining walls, reinforced concrete, foundations, temporary works and tunnelling interfaces, working closely with geotechnical, construction and temporary works teams to develop solutions that are not only technically robust, but actually buildable.

What will you be doing?

You'll provide technical leadership across both permanent and temporary works design, remaining close enough to the engineering to get involved in complex calculations and design decisions while taking responsibility for the quality of the team's output.

That will include reviewing and approving structural calculations and drawings, developing solutions for reinforced concrete and steel structures, managing design risk and providing technical assurance across multidisciplinary projects.

You’ll work directly with construction and geotechnical teams during constructability and value engineering reviews, helping determine how challenging pieces of infrastructure are going to be designed and ultimately built.

You’ll also:

• Review, check, approve and sign off engineering calculations and drawings.
• Lead permanent and temporary works design across complex infrastructure schemes.
• Develop solutions for shafts, retaining structures, slabs, foundations and reinforced concrete structures.
• Coordinate structural design with geotechnical, tunnelling, temporary works and construction teams.
• Lead technical and design assurance reviews.
• Identify buildability improvements and value engineering opportunities.
• Prepare and review specifications, design reports and assurance documentation.
• Work within BIM Level 2 / ISO 19650 requirements.
• Ensure designs comply with CDM 2015, Eurocodes, British Standards and internal HSEQ procedures.
• Support projects delivered under NEC4, including early warnings, programme reviews and change management.
• Represent the design function during client meetings, bids and technical reviews.
• Mentor Engineers and help develop the technical capability of the wider Leeds team.

What are they looking for?

This needs someone who has reached the point in their career where they're comfortable taking responsibility for other Engineers' work.

You’ll ideally be a degree-qualified Civil Engineer or Structural Engineer with around 10+ years' experience across infrastructure, heavy civils, structural engineering, temporary works or tunnelling.

Strong experience designing reinforced concrete and steel structures to Eurocodes is important, as is an understanding of how structures actually get built rather than simply how they're analysed.

Experience involving shafts, deep excavations, retaining structures, temporary works, underground structures or tunnelling would be particularly relevant.

Software experience should include AutoCAD, Civil 3D and structural analysis packages, while knowledge of Tekla, Revit or Robot Structural Analysis would be useful.

Chartered status through the ICE or IStructE would be welcomed, although somebody approaching Chartership with the right level of experience and technical authority can still be considered.

Why is it worth looking at?

Firstly, there's the engineering.

This isn't another role designing the same commercial building frame repeatedly. The projects involve the interaction between structures, ground conditions, temporary works, construction methodology and underground infrastructure, giving you some genuinely challenging engineering problems to solve.

Secondly, you'll have influence.

They're looking for somebody who can become a senior technical figure within the Leeds operation - someone Engineers can go to for guidance and somebody the business can trust to make and approve important design decisions.

And while you'll have that responsibility, you're not being moved away from engineering altogether. You can still remain technically involved rather than spending your entire week managing spreadsheets, programmes and people.

The position is based from a Leeds city centre office, Monday to Friday, with up to two days per week working from home available.

If you're an experienced Civil Engineer or Structural Engineer who still enjoys the technical side of the job but wants the authority to lead, review and ultimately put your name to complex engineering designs, this is well worth a conversation.

Calibre Search promote equality in the workplace and we welcome applications from all suitably skilled or qualified candidates regardless of their sex, race, disability, religion/beliefs, sexual orientation or age. We act as both an employment agency and employment business