Principal Engineer - Adoptions

West Northamptonshire Council; Northampton; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A local council in Northamptonshire is seeking a Principal Highways Engineer to lead the technical review and approval of highway agreements. In this role, you will ensure high-quality infrastructure and mentor junior engineers. The ideal candidate will possess strong highways engineering expertise and experience in managing highway agreements. This position plays a vital part in supporting sustainable growth within the community.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in highways development management.
• Confidence to lead on complex schemes.
• Knowledge of the planning process.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical reviews for Section 38 and 278 agreements.
• Conduct detailed design reviews to protect council interests.
• Build relationships with developers and internal colleagues.
• Mentor junior engineers in the team.

Skills

Highways engineering principles

Technical negotiation

Communication skills

Mentoring

Job description

Our benefits

See full list of employee benefits on our careers site.

What will you be doing?

As a Principal Highways Engineer in our Highways Development Management team, you will take a lead role in ensuring that new developments across West Northamptonshire deliver safe, sustainable, and high-quality highway infrastructure.

• Lead on the technical review and approval of Section 38 and Section 278 agreements, guiding schemes through design, construction, inspection, and adoption into the public highway.
• Carry out detailed design reviews to ensure proposed layouts and works meet both local and national standards, protecting the council’s interests and securing long‑term, maintainable assets.
• Work closely with developers, consultants, contractors, and planning colleagues to negotiate suitable solutions and mitigation measures that support growth and protect the highway network.
• Provide expert technical advice on more complex or high‑profile schemes and assist colleagues in responding to planning applications where highways input is required.
• Mentor and support junior engineers, sharing your expertise and helping to build capability within the team.

This role directly influences the quality of growth in West Northamptonshire, ensuring that new developments contribute positively to our communities and transport network.

About you

You will be a skilled and motivated highways professional with strong technical expertise and a passion for delivering high‑quality infrastructure. Ideally, you will bring significant experience in highways development management, highway agreements (S38/S278), design reviews, and the adoption process, along with the confidence to lead on complex schemes.

We are looking for someone who can:

• Demonstrate a strong understanding of highways engineering principles, standards, and design guidance.
• Manage and progress highway agreements through the full lifecycle — from initial negotiation and technical approval to inspection and adoption.
• Provide clear, pragmatic technical advice on development proposals and infrastructure design.
• Build effective relationships with developers, consultants, contractors and internal colleagues, negotiating positive outcomes for the council and community.
• Communicate confidently and professionally, both in writing and verbally.
• Mentor and support junior colleagues, helping to develop the wider team’s skills and capability.
• Possess knowledge of the planning process, as you may be required to assist in providing highways input into planning applications and related discussions.

This role is suited to someone who is proactive, organised and solutions‑focused, with the ability to balance technical detail with the bigger picture of supporting sustainable growth across West Northamptonshire.

About us

At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, care about every detail and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences, a place to forge new opportunities, to empower you in your career and unite you with like‑minded people.

Our vision is ‘to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower; they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services.

Hear more from our Chief Executive, Anna Earnshaw, about what it’s like to work at West Northants Council.

We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximise their full potential. We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant and a Care Leaver Covenant partner.

We value DEI: watch WNC colleagues explain what DEI means to us.

If you need additional support or reasonable adjustments during the application process, including needing the job description in another format or language, please email [e-mail] for support.

West Northants Council, where careers thrive.