Principal Process Engineer - Water

Thames Water Utilities Limited; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 54,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous pension scheme

Private medical health care

Holidays 26-30 days

Employee benefits program

Flexible working arrangements

Job summary

Thames Water Utilities Limited is hiring a Principal Process Engineer - Water in Reading. You’ll lead water treatment projects, provide expert process engineering direction, mentor teams, and ensure compliance with standards from design through commissioning.

The role emphasizes technical leadership and collaboration across disciplines to deliver sustainable water solutions. The position offers hybrid working, a 36-hour week, and a salary up to £90,000 per year.

Qualifications

• Significant process engineering experience within the water sector.
• Proven ability to lead complex engineering projects and provide technical leadership.
• Experience mentoring and developing engineering teams.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Understanding of commercial/contractual considerations in project delivery.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and technical assurance of complex water engineering schemes.
• Provide expert process engineering support to operations and project delivery.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory standards and asset guidelines.
• Act as technical authority through design, commissioning and handover.
• Mentor engineers and foster a high-performing team culture.
• Review outputs from design partners for technical excellence and value.
• Support incident investigations and drive improvements and actions.
• Influence and improve technical standards and guidance.
• Collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams on innovative solutions.
• Assist evaluation and deployment of emerging technologies.

Skills

Process engineering

Water treatment design

Technical leadership

Mentoring

Stakeholder management

Education

Degree in Process Engineering

Chartered Engineer (CEng)

Job description

Job title Principal Process Engineer - Water Ref 45966 Division Asset Operations & Capital Delivery Location Hybrid - Clearwater Court - RG1 8DB Contract type Permanent Full/Part-time Full-time or part-time Salary Salary of up to £90,000 per annum depending on experience Job grade C Closing date 20/10/2026

What you'll be doing as a Principal Process Engineer - Water

As a technical leader within our Process Engineering team, you'll provide specialist expertise and strategic direction across a diverse portfolio of water treatment projects and operational challenges. Your responsibilities will include:

• Leading the design and technical assurance of complex water engineering schemes.
• Providing expert process engineering support to operational teams and project delivery programmes.
• Ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, industry standards, and Thames Water asset standards.
• Acting as a key technical authority, approving designs and providing assurance throughout project lifecycles through to commissioning and handover.
• Mentoring and developing a team of engineers, creating a high-performing and collaborative engineering culture.
• Managing and reviewing engineering design partner outputs to ensure technical excellence and value.
• Supporting complex incident investigations and driving process improvements and corrective actions.
• Influencing and continuously improving technical standards, best practices and engineering guidance.
• Working with multi-disciplinary teams to develop innovative, sustainable and resilient engineering solutions.
• Supporting the evaluation and implementation of emerging technologies that will help transform our business and customer outcomes.

Base location: Hybrid working with time split between home and our Reading office at Clearwater Court (RG1 8DB).

Working pattern: 36 hours per week, Monday to Friday.

What you should bring to the role

We’re looking for a subject matter expert with significant water treatment design experience.

You'll ideally bring:

• Significant process engineering experience within the water sector.
• A strong track record of leading complex engineering projects and providing technical leadership.
• Experience managing, mentoring and developing engineering teams.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence at all levels.
• A collaborative approach and commitment to fostering an inclusive and diverse engineering environment.
• A degree in Process Engineering (or equivalent) and Chartered Engineer status, or clear progression towards chartership.
• An understanding of commercial and contractual considerations within project delivery environments.
• Strong knowledge of engineering design, constructability, commissioning, operability, maintainability and asset lifecycle management.

What's in it for you?

This is an opportunity to join a business investing billions in its assets, people and communities, where you'll have the platform to influence major strategic programmes and help shape the future of water infrastructure.

• Salary of up to £90,000 per annum depending on experience.
• 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service (plus bank holidays)
• Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Private Medical Health Care.
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

Find out more about our benefits and perks (Please note different T&Cs apply if on secondment)

Who are we?

We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process . If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else just let us know, we’re here to help and support .

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.