Rail Principal Designer — CDM & Safety Lead

SYSTRA UK & Ireland; Manchester; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

SYSTRA is seeking a Principal Designer (Rail) to join the System Safety team in the UK. You will lead CDM 2015 compliance during pre‑construction, guide design teams to achieve health and safety outcomes, and coordinate with clients, designers and contractors to ensure regulatory requirements are met.

The role demands extensive railway sector experience, chartered status, and strong risk management and communication skills to drive safe, compliant project delivery.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience applying CDM 2015 in multi‑disciplinary rail projects.
• Significant railway industry exposure at senior designer/lead engineer level.
• Chartered membership with IOSH, ICE, APS or equivalent.
• Holder of NEBOSH Diploma (or equivalent) and/or Design Certification.
• Strong knowledge of UK rail design standards and EU/UK standards.
• Proven risk assessment and design risk management expertise.
• Excellent communication to chair multi‑disciplinary meetings.
• Ability to plan and manage workload effectively.
• Auditing of projects and processes for improvement.

Responsibilities

• Deliver Principal Designer duties under CDM 2015 during pre‑construction.
• Oversee design team to support health and safety outcomes.
• Liaise with client, designers, and contractors to meet CDM requirements.
• Report project developments and CDM compliance to the client.
• Participate in Design Risk Management and Best Practice forums.
• Maintain hazard management assurance throughout projects.
• Monitor projects to identify lessons and improvement opportunities.
• Contribute to SYSTRA focus groups and governance forums.
• Promote design risk management across the company and client projects.
• Lead hazard identification and design reviews, including constructability workshops.
• Support business development and process improvements.
• Provide guidance on CDM and regulatory requirements for pipelines.

Skills

CDM 2015 knowledge

Railway sector experience

Chartered engineer

NEBOSH Diploma

Design risk management

Effective communicator

Workload planning

Coordination across teams

Auditing experience

Regulatory compliance

Education

Chartered professional engineer

NEBOSH Diploma or Design Certification

Job description

SYSTRA is seeking a Principal Designer (Rail) to join the System Safety team in the UK. You will lead CDM 2015 compliance during pre‑construction, guide design teams to achieve health and safety outcomes, and coordinate with clients, designers and contractors to ensure regulatory requirements are met.

The role demands extensive railway sector experience, chartered status, and strong risk management and communication skills to drive safe, compliant project delivery.