Principal Mechanical Engineer (Water)

Sweco; Peterborough; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible/hybrid working

Pension

Life Assurance

Private Medical Insurance

Company car or car allowance

Discretionary annual bonus

Subscriptions

25 days + bank holidays

Cycle2Work

Employee Assistance Programme

Employee discounts

Electric Vehicle salary sacrifice

Tree planting

Job summary

Sweco UK&I is seeking a Principal Mechanical Engineer to lead mechanical design delivery for water infrastructure projects, with a flexible hybrid work pattern averaging three days in office or on site.

You'll mentor junior engineers, uphold HSE by design, and drive sustainable, cost-effective solutions while collaborating with project and engineering leaders to shape strategic decisions.

Qualifications

• Degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
• Chartered status or working towards it.
• Experience in mechanical design in water/infrastructure environments.
• Proficiency with CAD and engineering software.
• Strong leadership and mentoring abilities.
• Knowledge of industry health and safety standards.

Responsibilities

• Lead and review mechanical designs for compliance, safety and performance.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to deliver projects on time, within budget and to high quality standards.
• Promote use of digital tools and modular construction techniques.
• Drive health & safety by design and reduce whole-life costs.
• Champion sustainability and carbon reduction across the design lifecycle.
• Mentor junior engineers and foster technical excellence and learning.
• Work with project leaders and contribute to strategic decisions.

Skills

Mechanical design

Mentoring

CAD

Leadership

Decision making

Education

Mechanical Engineering degree

Tools

CAD software

Engineering software

Job description

About the @one Alliance

The Anglian Water @one Alliance is a totally collaborative organisation made up of nine partner companies (Anglian Water, SWECO, Balfour Beatty, Barhale, Binnies, MMB, MWH Treatment, and Skanska) and an extended supply chain, delivering over half of Anglian Water’s capital investment programme.

About the @one Alliance

The Anglian Water @one Alliance is a totally collaborative organisation made up of nine partner companies (Anglian Water, SWECO, Balfour Beatty, Barhale, Binnies, MMB, MWH Treatment, and Skanska) and an extended supply chain, delivering over half of Anglian Water’s capital investment programme.

About Sweco

Transforming society together, we're planning and designing sustainable communities and cities of the future. Solving the great societal challenges of our time is more relevant, demanding and inspiring than ever before. At Sweco, we bring together experts with different perspectives and skills to develop solutions that address the challenges of urbanisation, harness the positive power of digitalisation and make societies more sustainable. We offer our clients a combination of global expertise and local presence, adapted to their business and reality. Our ambition is to be our clients’ most relevant partner, working together to help them solve their challenges, today and into the future. To ensure we support our objectives of collaboration across the business whilst providing our workforce with the agility to achieve a healthy work/ life balance, we are asking our employees to have office or site presence on an average of three days a week. As a Principal Mechanical Engineer, you’ll be at the forefront of designing and delivering innovative water solutions. You’ll lead technical delivery, drive sustainable and cost-effective design decisions, and guide junior engineers to deliver work that’s safe, future-proof, and built to last.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Lead and review mechanical designs to ensure compliance, safety, and performance excellence.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to deliver projects on time, within budget, and to high quality standards.
• Promote the use of digital tools and modular construction techniques.
• Drive Health & Safety by design, identifying improvements and reducing whole-life costs.
• Champion sustainability, carbon reduction, and innovation across the design lifecycle.
• Mentor junior engineers and create a culture of technical excellence and continuous learning.
• Work closely with project and engineering leaders, contributing to strategic decisions.

About You

You will ideally have:

• A degree in Mechanical Engineering (or related discipline).
• Preferably chartered, or working towards chartered status.
• Proven experience in mechanical design—ideally in the water sector or similar complex infrastructure environment.
• Strong understanding of industry standards, health and safety legislation, and construction principles.
• Leadership experience with a passion for coaching, mentoring and developing others.
• Proficiency in CAD and engineering software.
• Confident decision-maker, with a collaborative mindset and strong communication skills.

Employee Benefits

• Flexible and hybrid working (Flexworks Policy)
• Competitive pension contribution
• Life Assurance
• Private Medical Insurance
• Company car or car allowance
• Discretionary Annual Bonus Scheme
• Payment of two relevant professional subscriptions
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays (with the option to purchase up to 5 additional days per year)
• Cycle2Work Scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme (wellbeing, mental health, financial and work advice)
• Employee discounts via Sweco Benefit Select (Faircare)
• Salary Sacrifice Electric Vehicle Scheme
• We plant a tree for all new starters!

@OneAlliance vision

A Collaborative Alliance, Driving Change. Empowering Us To Set Global Benchmarks And Building a Better Environment For Our Customers. We Strive To Empower our people; Delight our Customers; Embrace digital transformation; Deliver brilliance.

@OneAlliance Values

To bring environmental and social prosperity to the region we serve through our commitment to Love Every Drop we: Build trust; Do the right thing; Are always exploring

The Anglian Water @one Alliance. Nine partners, endless opportunities.

Let’s transform society together at Sweco.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

It’s important to us that those all our colleagues thrive at work - we strive to have a friendly and inclusive culture which respects the contribution individuals can bring to Sweco. We aim to promote equality, inclusivity and diversity for everyone.

Here at Sweco we positively encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status, pregnancy or maternity/paternity.

We have signed the Armed Forces Covenant to ensure those who serve or have served, and their families, are treated fairly. To find out more The Armed Forces Covenant - Our Commitments | Sweco UK .

We are an accredited Real Living Wage Employer which reflects our commitment to fair pay and support for all colleagues.

We are also proud to be a Disability Confident Committed employer, and will interview applicants covered by the Equality Act 2010 that opt into the guaranteed interview scheme on the application form and meet the minimum criteria for the role.

If I have a disability, can I get help (e.g. “reasonable adjustments”) with the application process?

If you’re an applicant with a disability that requires a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process or are limited in the ability or unable to use the online application system and need an alternative method for applying, please contact [e-mail] for assistance.

In order to address your request the following information is needed:

• Name
• The best method for contacting you (Phone or email)
• The position title
• Requisition/vacancy number

Upon receipt of this information, we’ll respond to you promptly to obtain more information about your request.

Please note: we reserve the right to close vacancies before the advertised closing date.

Sweco UK&I have an internal resourcing team who are responsible for all recruiting activity. We have a Preferred Supplier List of trusted agencies who we work with on those “hard to fill” roles.

We have defined processes for recruitment applications and it is company policy not to accept speculative CVs. Any speculative CVs received into the business (whether to a manager or member of the resourcing team) will become the property of Sweco and the agency will not be eligible for an introductory fee.

Our Talent Community for experienced professionals is a great way to keep up to date with our latest news, insights, future vacancies, as well as gaining access to exclusive events hosted by our experts.

To learn more Join Our Talent Community - Sweco United Kingdom