Principal Highways & Public Realm Design Engineer

GHD; London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A global professional services leader, GHD, is seeking a Principal Highways & Public Realm Design Engineer to join their Urban Design team in London. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in public realm design, lead project teams, and collaborate across disciplines to deliver high-quality designs. This role offers growth opportunities in a supportive environment within a dynamic organization committed to solving global challenges.

Benefits

Competitive remuneration package

Support for professional development

Dynamic and pleasant working environment

Qualifications

• 8+ years’ experience in public realm and transport design.
• Ability to manage projects and mentor junior staff.
• Excellent technical knowledge with a goal-oriented approach.

Responsibilities

• Manage projects and project teams in urban highway and public realm schemes.
• Lead the resolution of complex technical issues.
• Develop high quality designs and manage client relationships.

Skills

Public realm design

Cycle design

Junction design

Communication skills

Organisational skills

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering

Advanced degree or MBA

Tools

AutoCAD

Civils 3D

Microsoft Office

Open Roads

Job description

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Principal Highways & Public Realm Design Engineer, London

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Client:

GHD

Location:

London, United Kingdom

Job Category:

Other

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EU work permit required:

Yes

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Job Reference:

7682e551626d

Job Views:

26

Posted:

22.06.2025

Expiry Date:

06.08.2025

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Job Description:

Principal Highways & Public Realm Design Engineer

Join a global professional services leader. We are committed to solving the world’s biggest challenges in the areas of water, energy and urbanisation.

We are looking for a passionate and dynamic Principal Engineer to join our Urban Design team in London or Guildford. With an established track record of delivering a wide variety of projects on both local and national scales, we work with private and public sector clients, architects, planners and other professionals throughout the project life cycle, providing services from concept design through to detailed design and construction. We also support other GHD business lines where their projects have a transport interface.

We seek enthusiastic and motivated individuals who have 8+ years’ experience and are engaged in or ready to work toward professional qualification. Successful candidates will have a good technical background in public realm and transport design, together with excellent written and oral communication skills which we would continue to develop. We are looking for a candidate who is willing to take the initiative and proactively drive projects forward. We are seeking a candidate with a willingness to learn and improve the technical and softer skills required form a good consultant.

We offer a dynamic challenging job in a pleasant working environment and a competitive remuneration package. This exciting opportunity provides the right candidate with a platform from which they can take on responsibility, help develop the business and grow with the team. You will be supported by our senior employees and management team to help strengthen your skills, experience and continuing professional development.

Responsibilities

As a key role in the Urban Design team, your activities will include:

• Managing projects and project teams in the delivery of urban highway, transport and public realm schemes.
• Leading the resolution of complex technical issues on multi-disciplinary urban highway, transport and public realm schemes.
• Leading the development of high quality designs and drawings from concept stage through to detailed design in line with company and client requirements as well as national standards and codes of practice. This is to cover the full suite of drawings at each stage of design
• Leading collaboration with other design disciplines to ensure the integrity of the overall design
• Managing client and stakeholder relationships as part of project delivery and providing professional advice to internal and external clients as required
• Providing leadership and act as a mentor to junior members of staff
• Leading the preparation of bids for new commissions and supporting on business development activities
• Attending sites when required to carry out, manage or assist with surveys, liaise with clients/contractors and monitor works as required
• Ensuring tasks are carried out within agreed timescales and budgets
• Keeping up to date with the latest relevant design methods and standards
• Ensuring that due attention is paid to all aspects of Quality Assurance in accordance with company procedures.

These are in addition to working towards professional qualifications and undertaking training.

Requirements for the Role
One or more of the following qualifications would be considered:

• Bachelor’s degree: Engineering is preferred, but other relevant subjects will be considered
• Advanced degree or MBA is a plus
• Excellent practical and technical knowledge in, but not limited to:
  o Public realm design
  o Cycle design
  o Bus schemes
  o Junction design
  o Drainage design
  o Section 278 works
  o Safety schemes
  o Parking schemes
  o Utility diversions
  o Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM)
• Excellent understanding of standards, including TfL standards, for the design of public realm schemes including, road markings, road signs, parking, cycle design, etc.
• Experience in creating Bills of Quantities.
• Good knowledge of highway engineering construction methods, materials and specifications.
• Proficient in the use of AutoCAD and associated software packages like Civils 3D, road sign design and road markings design.
• Excellent IT skills and use of Microsoft Office suite of packages.
• Ability to communicate technical information to non-technical audiences.
• Excellent written and oral communication and interpersonal skills
• A positive and enthusiastic team player
• Goal-oriented and ambition to develop and strive to provide good service
• Confidence to work effectively in a high-energy, fast-moving environment
• Good organisational skills and ability to meet deadlines and work well under pressure in a busy and demanding environment.
• Ability to manage members of the team and mentor
• Experience of using Open Roads

Our commitment to you
Commitment is a powerful word that defines how we do business, how we serve our clients and how we care for one another. We will support your needs by giving you the tools to do your best work and then recognise achievements. We will set your curiosity free to allow brilliant minds to do their best work. We will invest in new ideas, removing barriers where we can. Finally, we will encourage you to collaborate with thousands of diverse people across our global business.

Who we are
We are committed to solving the world's biggest challenges in the areas of water, energy and urbanisation. GHD is a global professional services company that is a leader in engineering, construction and architectural expertise. Established in 1928, we remain wholly owned by our people. We are 10,000+ diverse and skilled individuals, yet we are proudly ‘One GHD’ across more than 200 offices, spanning five continents – Asia, Australia, Europe, North and South America, and the Pacific region. Delivering extraordinary social and economic outcomes, we are passionate about building lasting relationships with our partners and clients.

Interested? Please hit the apply now button.

At GHD we encourage individual achievement and recognize the strength of a diverse workforce. GHD aims to provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified employees and applicants without regard to gender reassignment, age, disability, religion, or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, or race.