Principal Transport / Highways Engineer

WSP; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

WSP’s Reading office is seeking a Principal Engineer to lead technical design of highways, active travel and public realm schemes, balancing design leadership with delivery.

You will act as technical lead and checker, ensuring compliance with UK standards and CDM, and mentor junior staff while coordinating multidisciplinary teams.

This hybrid role from Reading offers opportunities to shape streets that are safer, greener and more inclusive on landmark projects.

Qualifications

• Chartered or near Chartered Civil Engineer status.
• Strong experience in UK highways, active travel and public realm design.
• Experience in highway design and supporting packages.
• Familiarity with MfS, DMRB, TSRGD and LTN guidance.
• Demonstrated passion for design quality and collaborative delivery.

Responsibilities

• Lead pre-design development and detailed design for highways, active travel and public realm projects.
• Act as technical lead and checker, ensuring compliance with UK standards and CDM.
• Coordinate highways, drainage, and public realm designs with multidisciplinary teams.
• Support junior staff through technical leadership and mentoring.

Skills

Highways design

Public realm design

Team leadership

Mentoring

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Chartered or near Chartered Civil Engineer

Tools

MfS

DMRB

TSRGD

LTN guidance

Job description

What if you could do the kind of work the world needs?

At WSP, you can access our global scale, contribute to landmark projects and connect with the brightest minds in your field to do the best work of your life. You can embrace your curiosity in a culture that celebrates new ideas and diverse perspectives. You can experience a world of opportunity and the chance to shape a career as unique as you.

About your role...

WSP is seeing a Principal Engineer with a strong focus on pre-design development and detailed design delivery to join our growing Liveable Places team. The role is based from WSP's Reading office, with hybrid working allowing for a mix of in-office and home working.

In this role you will play a key role in leading the technical design of high quality highways, active travel and public realm schemes - shaping streets and designing places that are safer, greener and more inclusive. This is a hands on technical role, balancing project management, design leadership, assurance and mentoring, while working closely with clients and multidisciplinary teams.

This is a varied role with responsibilities including:

• Leading pre-design development and detailed design for highways, active travel, road safety and public realm projects
• Acting as technical lead and checker, ensuring compliance with UK standards, CDM compliance and best practice
• Coordinating highways, drainage, transportation and public realm designs with experience in managing multidisciplinary disciplines (e.g. structures, environment & geology)
• Supporting junior staff through technical leadership and mentoring

About the Liveable Places Team…

WSP's Liveable Places team work with a wide range of clients from across the UK to help them achieve their place-making ambitions. We deliver a wide range of schemes from concept to delivery that include public realm, traffic engineering, transport planning, road safety, traffic signals, pedestrian / traffic modelling, active travel, and parking. We have had recent key successes working with clients including: Gloucestershire County Council, West Sussex County Council, East Sussex County Council, West Berkshire Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, West of England Combined Authorities, Devon County Council, National Highways, Westminster City Council and many, many more.

The Liveable Places team are based in offices across the country with over 200 staff, currently making up the team and with further growth planned. We enjoy our work and are exceptionally enthusiastic people who are great at what we do. This is an excellent opportunity for you to develop in your career through exposure to a wide variety of experiences.

What we’re looking for...

• Chartered or near Chartered Civil Engineer
• Strong experience in UK highways, active travel of public realm scheme development and detailed design
• Experience in highway design and supporting packages
• Confident working with standards such as MfS, DMRB, TSRGD and LTN guidance
• Passionate about design quality and collaborative delivery

Imagine a better future for you and a better future for us all.

Join our close-knit community of talented individuals who share your passion for making a positive impact. Our global team includes more than 80,000 employees, working together to make a difference in communities both close to home and around the world.