Road Traffic Accident Investigator

Precision People UK; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 66,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company Car/Travel Allowance

Private Medical Insurance

Life Assurance

Pension

25 Days Holiday

Professional Development

Job summary

Precision People UK is seeking a skilled Engineer/Scientist for forensic road traffic accident investigation. You will apply engineering and physics to real-world incidents, from initial scene examination to reconstruction and technical reporting.

With travel across the UK, you will gather evidence, perform time-distance studies, determine speeds, and contribute to expert witness work. The role emphasizes practical investigation, analytical reasoning and clear, evidence-based conclusions for

Qualifications

• Requires a good honours degree in Engineering or Physics.
• Postgraduate experience in engineering or scientific environment is preferred.
• Strong understanding of scientific and engineering principles.
• Aptitude for technical problem-solving and evidence-based conclusions.

Responsibilities

• Attend accident scenes to record and gather physical evidence.
• Prepare scene plans and carry out time and distance studies.
• Undertake road traffic accident reconstruction and determine speeds from evidence.
• Examine vehicles and components; investigate potential failures.
• Interview individuals to establish circumstances and background.
• Prepare detailed technical reports suitable for legal proceedings.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Investigative skills

Technical report writing

Engineering principles

Problem solving

Communication skills

Education

Honours degree in Engineering or Physics

Job description

Location: UK - Remote / Hybrid - With Travel

Package: Competitive Salary + Excellent Benefits

Benefits: Company Car/Travel Allowance | Private Medical Insurance | Life Assurance | Pension | 25 Days Holiday | Professional Development

Turn your engineering or scientific expertise into real-world accident investigation.

Are you naturally curious about how and why accidents happen?

Do you enjoy technical problem-solving, analysing physical evidence and applying scientific and engineering principles to understand a sequence of events?

This is a rare opportunity to build a specialist career within forensic road traffic accident investigation, examining a wide variety of road traffic and vehicle-related incidents, including vehicle component failures.

Investigations can relate to both criminal proceedings and civil liability claims, requiring accurate, impartial and evidence-based technical conclusions.

The Role

You will join a specialist forensic consultancy and have the opportunity to take ownership of investigations from the initial scene examination through to accident reconstruction, technical reporting and, with experience, expert witness work.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Attending accident and incident scenes to record and gather physical evidence
• Preparing scene plans and carrying out time and distance studies
• Undertaking road traffic accident reconstruction
• Determining vehicle speeds using physical evidence and vehicle crush damage
• Examining vehicles, components and other physical evidence
• Investigating potential vehicle and component failures
• Testing vehicles and vehicle-related components
• Interviewing individuals associated with incidents to establish the circumstances and background
• Reviewing photographs, plans, drawings, technical manuals, maintenance records and other supporting documentation
• Researching relevant standards, regulations and technical guidance
• Liaising with vehicle and equipment manufacturers to obtain technical information
• Undertaking technical literature reviews
• Devising and carrying out practical tests where required
• Providing clear preliminary technical findings following an investigation
• Preparing detailed, illustrated technical reports suitable for legal proceedings
• Attending meetings with clients and other appointed technical experts
• Progressing towards providing expert witness evidence in Court

The position has a strong practical and investigative element. You may be required to carefully dismantle vehicle components or equipment in a systematic way to preserve evidence and determine the cause of a failure.

What Makes This Role Different

• Investigate real road traffic accidents and vehicle-related incidents
• Take investigations from scene examination through to final technical conclusions
• Combine accident reconstruction, engineering, physics and practical investigation
• Examine both the circumstances of accidents and potential mechanical/component failures
• Work on a diverse range of technically challenging cases
• Opportunity to develop specialist accident reconstruction expertise
• Long-term progression towards Expert Witness work

This is not a routine laboratory or office-based engineering position. The nature, timing and location of investigations can be unpredictable, providing significant variety from one case to the next.

Whom This Would Suit

This opportunity would suit an experienced Engineer, Physicist or technically minded Scientist who is:

• Naturally curious, analytical and interested in understanding how accidents occur
• Confident applying scientific and engineering principles to real-world problems
• Interested in accident reconstruction, vehicle dynamics and engineering failure
• Comfortable analysing physical evidence and drawing evidence-based conclusions
• Practical as well as academically strong
• Methodical and meticulous when gathering and interpreting evidence
• Able to approach unfamiliar technical problems logically
• Confident communicating complex technical findings to non-technical audiences
• Comfortable taking responsibility for technical investigations
• Looking for greater variety than a conventional engineering, scientific or laboratory-based role

What You Will Bring

• A good honours degree in Engineering or an appropriate science-based discipline, such as Physics
• Several years of postgraduate experience, preferably within an engineering or scientific environment
• Strong understanding of scientific and engineering principles
• An aptitude and enthusiasm for technical problem-solving
• Practical engineering ability alongside a strong academic background
• Experience undertaking technical investigations would be advantageous
• Strong analytical and investigative skills
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly, both verbally and in writing
• Confidence producing accurate, evidence-based technical reports
• Self-motivation and the ability to work effectively under pressure
• Flexibility regarding working hours and travel due to the unpredictable nature of investigations
• Willingness to develop towards providing expert witness evidence in Court

These requirements reflect the client's emphasis on strong academic foundations, practical ability, technical investigation experience and the ability to explain complex technical matters clearly.

Previous road traffic accident investigation experience is not necessarily required.

Comprehensive on-the-job training will be provided in the conduct of road traffic investigations, accident reconstruction and the preparation of technical reports for insurance and legal matters.

This will be supplemented by appropriate external training as required.

As your knowledge and experience develop, you will progress towards taking greater ownership of complex investigations and ultimately providing independent expert witness evidence in Court.

Why This Career Stands Out

This is an opportunity to use your engineering or scientific knowledge to understand exactly what happened during real-world road traffic incidents.

Rather than working on repetitive design or project work, you could be analysing vehicle damage, calculating speeds, reconstructing accident sequences, investigating mechanical failures, examining physical evidence and determining whether the technical evidence supports the circumstances being presented.

Every investigation is different, but every conclusion must be supported by the evidence.

If you enjoy technical detective work, problem-solving and applying engineering or physics to real-world situations, this could offer a completely different direction for your career.