Principal Process Engineer

Sweco; Ipswich; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible and hybrid working (Flexworks

Competitive pension contribution

Life Assurance

Private Medical Insurance

Company car or car allowance

Discretionary Annual Bonus Scheme

Professional subscriptions

25 days holiday + bank holidays

Cycle2Work Scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Job summary

Sweco in the United Kingdom seeks a Principal Process Engineer to lead process design across AMP8 water projects, ensuring technical accuracy, regulatory compliance, and on-time delivery.

You will mentor junior engineers, drive safety and sustainability, and collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams to apply digital innovations and reduce carbon impact in design.

Qualifications

• Engineering degree in Chemical, Mechanical, or Process Engineering or equivalent experience.
• Chartered status or working towards chartership.
• Extensive experience in water sector process design and capital delivery projects.
• Thorough knowledge of regulations, standards, and environmental requirements.
• Proven track record mentoring junior engineers.
• Experience in a Design & Build environment is advantageous but not essential.
• Strong leadership and collaborative communication skills with a sustainability focus.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage quality through the process design workflow to deliver projects on time, within cost, and to quality standards.
• Review mass balances, process sizing, hydraulic calculations, P&IDs, process flow diagrams, and other design documentation for technical accuracy and compliance.
• Check construction site design queries and change requests to provide prompt, accurate responses and maintain design integrity.
• Support Project Design Managers with design planning and stakeholder engagement for process design acceptance.
• Provide technical input for supplier contracts and deliverables review.
• Champion health, safety, and welfare, ensuring designs comply with process standards and hazardous area regulations (DSEAR).
• Mentor and develop junior engineers, fostering professional growth and best practices.
• Embrace innovation and digital technologies to drive continuous improvement and reduce carbon impact in design.
• Participate in wider Anglian Water initiatives such as HAZOPs, technical standards forums, and emergency response activities.

Skills

Leadership

Process design

Mentoring

Technical leadership

Regulatory knowledge

Communication

Decision making

Education

Engineering degree (Chemical/Mechanical/Process)

Chartered status or working towards

Job description

Job Description

We are gearing up for our most exciting and challenging Asset Management Period yet, known as AMP8, this will see us deliver a programme of work larger than we’ve ever delivered before. We’ll be embarking on a new kind of project delivery focusing on nature-based solutions like wetlands and urban drainage schemes.

We are driving change, empowering us to set global benchmarks and build a better environment, with the opportunity to offer enhanced growth and development to our workforce. We’re looking to build on our existing teams with an environment built for career progression.

With such an exciting portfolio of projects planned for AMP8 to keep the water flowing across the region, our ability to manage our work and outperform against our customer’s expectations will come under greater scrutiny.

We need aspiring driven talent to help us achieve our ambitious targets, are you ready to join us as we prepare to deliver the most creative and innovative AMP we have ever seen?

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 Process Engineer within one of our four business units, you will provide technical leadership and direction to process engineers, ensuring that process design deliverables are thoroughly checked, fit for purpose, and meet all required standards and project outcomes.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Lead and manage quality through the process design workflow to deliver projects on time, within cost, and to quality standards.

• Review mass balances, process sizing, hydraulic calculations, P&IDs, process flow diagrams, and other design documentation to ensure technical accuracy and compliance.

• Check construction site design queries and change requests to provide prompt, accurate responses and maintain design integrity.

• Support Project Design Managers with design planning and stakeholder engagement for process design acceptance.

• Provide technical input for supplier contracts and deliverables review.

• Champion health, safety, and welfare, ensuring all designs comply with process standards and hazardous area regulations (DSEAR).

• Mentor and develop junior engineers, fostering professional growth and promoting best practice.

• Embrace innovation and digital technologies to drive continuous improvement and reduce carbon impact in design.

• Participate in wider Anglian Water initiatives such as HAZOPs, technical standards forums, and emergency response activities.

About You

We’re seeking a proactive and experienced Principal Process Engineer with strong leadership and technical skills. Ideally, you will have:

• An engineering degree (Chemical, Mechanical, Process Engineering) or equivalent experience.

• Chartered status or working towards chartership.

• Extensive experience within the water sector, particularly process design and capital delivery projects.

• Thorough knowledge of relevant regulations, standards, and environmental requirements.

• A proven track record of mentoring and developing junior engineers.

• Experience in a Design & Build environment is advantageous but not essential.

• Strong leadership, communication, and decision-making abilities with a collaborative approach.

• A genuine commitment to sustainability and reducing the environmental impact of engineering solutions.

Depending on your skills, experience, and interests, you could be aligned to one of our four business units:

Water

The Water Business Unit provides strategic support across the clean water network, covering both system performance and infrastructure planning. We assess the future hydraulic state of the network in response to population growth and increased demand, support the design and delivery of capital and infrastructure schemes to ensure hydraulic resilience, and work with optimisation teams to enhance overall network efficiency.

Water Recycling (East and West)

Our Water Recycling Business Unit, split into East and West regions, is responsible for the collection, conveyance, and treatment of wastewater across an extensive network. We operate over 76,000 km of sewerage infrastructure and 1,163 treatment centres, ensuring safe and sustainable discharge to the environment while driving innovation and environmental performance.

Why Join Us?

This is a fantastic opportunity to work with one of the UK’s most successful capital delivery alliances. You’ll have the chance to contribute to cutting‑edge projects that shape the future of water infrastructure, working alongside a team of experts across various disciplines. We offer a culture that values innovation, continuous learning, and professional growth, with a focus on delivering sustainable solutions that make a positive environmental impact.

Let’s transform society together at Sweco!

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!

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.

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

Let’s transform society together at Sweco.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

It’s important to us that that 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 .

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.