Principal Structures Engineer

National Highways; Manchester; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

National Highways is seeking a Principal Structures Engineer to lead the bridges and structural asset management across the North West. The role covers a broad region and involves steering renewal strategies for multiple sites from our network offices.

The successful candidate will be a Chartered or Incorporated Engineer with deep knowledge of DMRB standards and asset condition assessment, delivering highways structures projects with contractors and partners.

Qualifications

• Chartered or Incorporated Engineer with proven highways structures experience.
• Knowledge of structures asset condition assessment and prioritising defects.
• Understanding of value management processes in asset decision‑making and asset management plans.
• Experience in highways structures‑focused design, construction and delivery, including working with contractors and supply chain partners.
• Knowledge of DMRB standards, structures asset policies and strategies.

Responsibilities

• Develop structures‑specific asset management plans, ensuring decisions adhere to policies deliver value for money and contribute to our wider business objectives.
• Identify and commission survey works on structures assets, to support asset improvement or renewal; reviewing and approving technical briefs, reports, drawings and supporting information.
• Provide clear, technical advice to shape early solutions development for renewals and improvements through the value management process.
• Monitor and analyse structures data to strengthen evidence‑based decisions and support alignment with policy, ensuring high standards of data quality and integrity.
• Develop and recommend best‑practice approaches for assessing structure condition and prioritising defects to inform long‑term maintenance strategies.

Skills

Chartered or Incorporated Engineer

Highways structures experience

Asset condition assessment

Value management

Education

Professional engineering qualification (CEng/IEng)

Job description

National Highways have an excellent opportunity for a Principal Structures Engineer to be at the heart of our bridges and structural asset management schemes in the North West.

Covering a region that stretches from the Scottish border to the Midlands, and from Cheshire to Cumbria, you will play a key role in managing and improving some of the busiest and most diverse bridges and structural assets in the country. With over 21,000 bridges and structures nationally and more than 1,300 of these in the North West, the scale of the challenge and the impact you will make is significant.

This role can be based from our Manchester, Warrington, Preston or Penrith offices.

Please note that you will be required to drive as part of your role, and you will need to have no more than 3 points to be considered for this position and during employment.

• Develop structures‑specific asset management plans, ensuring decisions adhere to policies deliver value for money and contribute to our wider business objectives.
• Identify and commission survey works on structures assets, to support asset improvement or renewal; reviewing and approving technical briefs, reports, drawings and supporting information.
• Provide clear, technical advice to shape early solutions development for renewals and improvements through the value management process.
• Monitor and analyse structures data to strengthen evidence‑based decisions and support alignment with policy, ensuring high standards of data quality and integrity.
• Develop and recommend best‑practice approaches for assessing structure condition and prioritising defects to inform long‑term maintenance strategies.

About you.

• Chartered or Incorporated Engineer with proven experience in highways structures and bridges.
• Demonstrable knowledge of structures asset condition assessment (inspection, assessment and management of structures), including prioritising defects.
• Understanding of value management processes and their role in asset decision‑making and asset management plans.
• Experience in highways structures‑focused design, construction and delivery, including working with contractors and supply chain partners.
• Knowledge of DMRB standards, structures asset policies and strategies.

About us.

Here at National Highways, we manage and improve England’s motorways and major A roads, helping our customers have safer, smoother and more reliable journeys. Our priorities are safety, customers and delivery, and at the core of this, are our values of passion, integrity, safety, teamwork and ownership.

Operations is at the heart of keeping the strategic road network moving and ensuring our customers get the best possible experience when using our roads.

We address over 39,000 customer enquiries every month, plan and deliver all maintenance activities on the network, drive efficiencies and improvements across our systems and roads, and respond to incidents across 4,500 miles of motorways and major A-roads that we manage. All to make sure National Highways customers have safer, smoother, and more reliable journeys.

External candidates will be offered a starting salary at the lower end of the pay scale, while current employees will be appointed in accordance with our established pay policy.

We are committed to creating a diverse environment and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.