Process Principal Design Engineer

Galliford Try; Bristol; Hybrid; GBP 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK construction company is seeking a Process Principal Design Engineer to join their Engineering Design Team in locations including Bristol. The successful candidate will ensure technical compliance and quality assurance in design, engage in engineering governance, and mentor junior engineers. This role offers a competitive salary, comprehensive benefits, and opportunities for professional development and growth in a collaborative environment focused on innovation.

Benefits

Generous holiday entitlement

Agile working policy

Comprehensive pension plan

Private medical scheme options

Paid yearly membership to a professional association

Qualifications

• Expert in a contracting/consulting environment with commercial awareness.
• Excellent knowledge of multi-disciplinary engineering design in water engineering.
• Strong experience in checking & approving discipline design packages.

Responsibilities

• Deliver high-quality designs in compliance with regulations.
• Provide technical support to the supply chain procurement activities.
• Champion lessons learnt on projects for future improvements.

Skills

Liaising with clients and supply chain

Process Calculations

Preparing Process Block Diagrams

Developing Process Control Philosophies

HAZOP leadership

Education

Degree level in Engineering

Chartered Member of a recognized professional Engineering body

Job description

Job Title – Process Principal Design Engineer (Water Sector)

Location: Warrington/Annesley/Plymouth/Grangemouth/Rickmansworth/Bristol/Stafford/Normanton/Indian Queens. The role can be based out of any of these locations.

About Us

Galliford Try is one of the UK’s most formidable construction businesses with an enviable track record of delivering schemes that strive to provide positive, lasting change for the communities we work in. As a FTSE 250 organisation, we turnover £1.9 billion and employ over 3,500 people across three very successful Divisions: Building, Infrastructure and Specialist Services. As one of the UK’s top principal contractors you’ll have the opportunity to work on some of the UK’s most exciting projects offering you stability as well as the chance to stretch your capabilities and realise long‑held career goals. You will be joining diverse teams working at a high professional level with exceptional levels of commitment.

Our Environment Business

Following various acquisitions, we are now the largest Tier 1 Contractor operating in the UK Water / Environment sector with a long‑term portfolio trading £500 million a year. As part of our 2030 Strategy we have bought together all aspects of Engineering Design under one Business Unit which is expanding to provide in‑house design support to our various Regional Business Units across the UK.

Purpose Of The Role

As Principal Engineer you will be an important member of the Engineering Design Team and will be required to work with the Discipline Manager(s), Design Team, Design Manager(s) and Design Leads to ensure your discipline design is delivered to highest quality to GT process and in compliance with the BMS and H&S Regulations. This is a technical role, engaged directly on projects, which requires expertise in technical design delivery in the water and wastewater industry. You will be called upon to provide technical expertise and direction on more complex designs. The Principal Engineer can have line management responsibility for senior engineers and others as required.

As well as providing direction and promoting innovation, you will be expected to undertake engineering governance of your discipline design activities, ensuring that design integrates with the other discipline design production activities, providing technical support to the supply chain procurement activities and supporting site activities as required. You will also be expected to support the Discipline Manager for knowledge sharing, training, and development of the discipline engineers, including mentoring and support of early careers.

Key Accountabilities

• Ensure technical compliance and excellence on projects. Default approver for design outputs to ensure technical assurance and quality control.
• Seek optimal solutions and drive our teams to produce efficient designs that balance capital and operational cost benefits.
• Assist, or operate as, the Principal Designer Lead in ensuring CDM regulations compliance.
• Ensure design for buildability, safe construction, and operation, working alongside project delivery peers.
• Ensure procedural governance is adhered to.
• Working as part of the Design team to ensure scheme designs adhere to client specifications and standards.
• Working as part of the Design team to ensure full compliance with relevant Health, Safety and Environmental Legislation.
• Technical problem solving throughout the project life cycle (e.g. from concept design through to final construction support), moreover, to ensure that potential issues are identified, mitigated and or safely managed through technical governance and risk and opportunity management.
• Champion of lessons learnt on projects, covering good and bad to feedback to be promoted or avoided on future schemes.
• Line Management of multi‑disciplinary Senior Design Engineers.
• Developing and supporting staff to encourage them towards accreditation with professional bodies (e.g. IChemE).

Person Specifics

• Expert at liaising with client and supply chain to establish and develop best process solutions.
• Expert in carrying out Process Calculations, Mass Balances, Heat Balances and Hydraulic Calculations.
• Expert at preparing Process Block Diagrams, PFDs and P&IDs.
• Expert at developing Process Control Philosophies and Process Commissioning Plans.
• HAZOP leadership experience preferable.
• DSEAR experience preferable.
• Educated to Degree level in Engineering or other equivalent qualification.
• Strong preference for Chartered Member of a recognised professional Engineering body.
• Expert in a contracting / consulting environment, with commercial awareness.
• Excellent knowledge of multi‑disciplinary engineering design in water engineering.
• Expert with strong experience in checking & approving discipline design packages.
• Knowledge of current H&S legislation and British Standards and experience in applying them across designs.

What We Can Offer in Return

With an impressive order book of over £3.8 billion we are one of the industry’s leading principal contractors, affording you the opportunity to work on some of the UK’s most exciting projects offering you stability as well as the chance to stretch your capabilities and realise long‑held career goals. You will be joining diverse teams working at a high professional level with exceptional levels of commitment. With an ambitious strategy, we’re poised for further growth and success, so if you’re committed, talented and enthusiastic, Galliford Try is the right place for you.

We are committed to maintaining the physical and mental wellbeing of all our people, through our ‘Be Well’ programme which offers discounts on certain products, advice and support for a range of issues.

We invest in high‑quality training for employees of all levels, from our leadership development framework to our apprenticeship programmes. Through our Career Paths initiative, individuals receive tailored training and support to fulfil their potential.

Our industry is all about creating talented teams that excel in their areas of expertise. As an employer, we know you are most motivated to give your best when you feel valued and engaged.

Our Agile Working programme empowers you with flexibility in when, where and how you work. Where appropriate, site and office‑based employees can take advantage of a wide variety of working practices, offering different amounts of structure, regularity and flexibility to suit your needs as well as those of your wider team.

Our benefits

We put our people first and our benefits package reflects that by offering a comprehensive range of attractive options to help support your career on top of a competitive salary.

• Generous holiday entitlement, increasing with years of service, plus the opportunity to purchase further holidays
• Enrolled into our car benefit scheme – which depending on the role includes company car or car allowance
• Agile working policy (flexible home working arrangements)
• Annual pay review and discretionary bonus
• A wide range of corporate discounts
• Cycle to Work schemes
• Comprehensive pension plan
• Regular Save as You Earn share purchase scheme
• Private medical scheme options are available for all salaried employees and our employee assistance programme also provides free 24/7 support to those who need it
• Paid for yearly membership to one recognised professional association relevant to your role

Additional Information

Galliford Try welcomes applications from candidates who would like to work full‑time, reduced hours and / or flexibly and this will be discussed in more detail as part of the recruitment process.

We encourage you and would be grateful if you could confirm any requirements we can reasonably fulfil to make this application a positive experience for you.

Don’t meet every requirement of the role? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Galliford Try, we are committed to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every requirement of the role, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

A full job description for this role is available upon request.

Closing Date: 16/01/2026

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For more information on this role or to enquire about other positions available within our Environment business please contact Adam Wright on [e-mail].