Principal Engineer (Water and Flood Risk)

SYSTRA UK & Ireland; Manchester; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

SYSTRA UK & Ireland is seeking a Principal Engineer in water engineering and SuDS to lead design delivery for United Utilities projects in the Manchester area. You will provide technical leadership across SuDS design, coordinate with UK and international teams, and ensure solutions meet client requirements and regulatory standards.

The role involves defining design approaches, delivering work packages on time and within budget, coaching engineers, and driving first‑time‑right delivery with QA

Qualifications

• Degree in engineering and relevant discipline.
• Chartered Engineer (MICE/CIWEM) preferred.
• Strong knowledge of SuDS design standards.
• Experience on infrastructure, transportation or civil projects.
• Proficient use of Microdrainage, InfoWorks or OpenRoads.

Responsibilities

• Define design approach, integrate inputs from multiple disciplines and resolve conflicts.
• Lead production of work packages, estimate inputs, set dependencies and manage programme.
• Drive technical excellence with QA checkpoints and key technical decisions.
• Ensure solutions meet client specifications and cost estimates within budget.
• Provide day‑to‑day technical guidance, review work and coach engineers.
• Develop innovative, repeatable methods to reduce cycle time.
• Coordinate UK and international teams to deliver integrated drainage designs.
• Lead CDM/design compliance activities and capture lessons learned.

Skills

SUDS knowledge

Leadership

Infrastructure experience

Civil engineering background

OpenRoads experience

Education

Engineering degree

Chartered Engineer preferred (MICE/CIWEM)

Tools

Microdrainage

InfoWorks

OpenRoads

Job description

Around the world, SYSTRA’s specialists plan, design, integrate, test, commission, project manage and deliver mass transit and mobility solutions that are relied on by more than 50 million people every day.

For more than 60 years, the Group has been committed to helping cities and regions contribute to their development by creating, improving and modernising their transport infrastructure with sustainability, accessibility and innovation at the heart of our designs. With over 10,300 colleagues globally and around 1000 in the UK & Ireland we are growing significantly and seeking out the very best talent to join the SYSTRA signature team and be part of leading the way in infrastructure design.

A Principal Engineer in water engineering and SuDS is required to support our delivery of works across our projects for United Utilities. This individual will provide technical leadership across SuDS design and integration with other disciplines. We are looking for someone who has an advanced technical knowledge of SuDS and be able to demonstrate strong understanding of relevant design standards, regulatory requirements and best practice.

The Principal Engineer will be accountable for the design delivery of allocated engineering work packages within our Water team, ensuring the delivery of all the specified project outcomes on time, within budget and to the client’s specifications. The role holder should ensure project requirements are fully met and technically sound design solutions are produced, including all associated reporting and cost estimating, to programme and within budget.

Main Duties:

Working in collaboration with our designers and contract partners, the Principal Engineer will be involved in a variety of tasks such as, but not limited to:

• Define the design approach, integrate inputs from multiple disciplines, and resolve standards or stakeholder conflicts as the internal specialist.
• Lead production of work packages, breaking work into tasks, estimating inputs, setting dependencies, and maintaining programme, budget, and quality control.
• Drive technical excellence and first-time-right delivery, setting QA and Safe by Design checkpoints and approving key technical decisions.
• Ensure solutions meet client specifications and acceptance criteria, with clear reporting and cost estimates, delivered to programme and within budget.
• Provide day-to-day technical guidance, review, and coaching for engineers and graduates, giving clear direction and constructive feedback.
• Develop and document innovative, repeatable methods and tools to address design problems and reduce cycle time.
• Allocate work effectively across designers and locations, delegating clearly and reviewing outcomes.
• Coordinate UK and international teams (including offshore production centres) to deliver integrated drainage designs with consistent quality.
• Lead CDM/design compliance activities, evidencing hazard elimination and capturing lessons learned for continuous improvement.

Profile

• Degree qualified in a relevant Engineering discipline
• Chartered Engineer, MICE or CIWEM preferred
• Essential demonstrable knowledge of SUDs designs
• Experience of working on infrastructure, transportation or civil engineering project
• Software - Experience of using Microdrainage and/or InfoWorks, Openroads
• Experience of team leadership (line management and/or virtual project team)